With the elections coming up soon, I was going to write my own article about how important it is for each one of us to get out and exercise our political right/responsibility by voting. I asked Nicky Grist of the Alternatives To Marriage Project if she would like to contribute to this blog post and she responded magnificently.

I will not to tell you who you should vote for, just that YOU NEED TO VOTE. It's important, because, as my friend Nicky so eloquently puts it... 

Unmarried People Will Choose the Next President
       By Nicky Grist, executive director of the Alternatives to Marriage Project

Who we are, why it matters, and what you need to do
 
Political strategists say unmarried people are the key voting block in the 2008 presidential election. The New York Times said that the unmarried majority “could ultimately shape social and workplace policies, including the ways government and employers distribute benefits.” Why? We’re big and growing, we’re new, and we’re consistent.

We’re big: There are 92.8 million unmarried individuals over age 18 in the United States.  (Only 12 million are in cohabiting couples – the rest are living a variety of single lifestyles, including widows, divorcees, gays and lesbians, and still-looking for Mr/Mrs Right.)  Since 2005, the majority of households have been unmarried.  Unmarried people are raising one-third of all children.  Roughly 85 million unmarried people are eligible to vote, including over 53 million unmarried women who are eligible to vote: a bigger potential voting block than seniors, people of color or union members. Unmarried households are the majority in four of the seven “toss-up” states: Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Ohio.

We’re growing fast: for each new married voter there are almost 2.5 new unmarried voters.  Equal percentages of married and unmarried 20-25 year olds report that they vote regularly (30%) and try to influence others’ votes (35%). Single women’s voting rates increased dramatically in 2006 and again in the February 2008 primaries.

We’re new: Married people have been voting while unmarried people were sitting out elections.  This year, a higher percentage of unmarried people are expected to vote.  Between the 2002 and 2006 mid-term elections, the number of unmarried women voters shot up over 13%.  There’s lots of room for improvement.  Historically, among unmarried people, widows and widowers voted the most, followed by the separated and divorced.  African-American women who were separated or divorced voted more than white women of the same status.  Unmarried women voted more than unmarried men, especially among singles and divorcees.  Singles and younger unmarried Americans were the least likely to vote.  But in this exciting election year, all that is set to change!

We’re consistent: In the 2004 presidential election, it was easier to predict who you voted for based on your marital status than your gender.  Unmarried women voters are comparable in size and party loyalty to another political target group: white evangelicals.  So increasing unmarried voter turnout could turn underdog candidates into winners, if those candidates address our central concerns.

Health care is our top domestic priority:  The Alternatives to Marriage Project has nearly 9,000 members in all 50 states, and over 20% have experienced marital status discrimination in health care.  Political researchers found that many of us were unable to pay for necessary health care in the past year (over 14% of unmarried voters and almost 20% of unmarried non-voters, compared to less than 5% of married voters).  They also found that unmarried voters strongly support fundamental health care reform to provide universal coverage that can never be taken away. Only a single payer system promises unmarried people truly equal access to health insurance. Stripping marital status discrimination out of intermediate reforms would reduce the number of uninsured Americans: 18% of unmarried 18-64 year olds have no health insurance, compared to 12% of married people.

The public easily recognizes and ridicules the fact that people get married for health insurance. Outrage begins to build with stories of young adults, military survivors or senior citizens who cannot marry, or abused spouses who cannot divorce, because doing so would cause them to lose health insurance.

Insurance is never the whole story on health care. Even time off and sick leave decisions are based on how an institution or law defines your family.  Each of these decisions leaves out unmarried families and makes single people pay the cost of married people’s care. Unmarried people relate viscerally when someone is fired for taking time off to care for his fiancé, or is shut out of a hospital room though she is the only person who knows what treatment the patient wants. AtMP calls for reforms to give more unmarried people access to paid sick leave, leave to care, and recognition as health care decision makers.

Unmarried people will not be persuaded to register and vote unless they hear candidates speak to their concerns. Rhetoric about same-sex marriage fails to cure the thousands of laws that use marital status to allocate public resources. Singles hear rhetoric about working families as exclusive and dismissive – not because they don’t have families, but because their families (which may include unmarried partners, disabled siblings, aging parents, or loyal neighbors) are not recognized when it comes to taxes, social security and particularly health care.

So you’re part of the prize voting bloc, and the candidates aren’t saying what you want to hear.  You need to do something about this!  There are two simple steps every single single person must take: become a voter, and voice your opinion.

If you want better access to health care, tell the people who are shaping the debate and making the decisions.  Email your favorite candidate.  Email your local newspaper or TV station.  Start the conversation with your employer – government change usually happens after companies demonstrate that it works.

If you are among the 45% of singles who skipped the last presidential election, now is the time to change!  Vote on November 4th! 

If you want to learn more or get more involved, join the Alternatives to Marriage Project.  AtMP believes in equality and fairness for unmarried people, including those who are single, choose not to marry, cannot marry, or live together before marriage.  We believe marriage is only one of many acceptable family forms, and society should recognize and support healthy relationships in all their diversity.  AtMP provides practical support and information, fights discrimination on the basis of marital status, educates the public and policymakers about relevant social and economic issues.  We lobby and accept tax-deductible donations as permitted under our 501(c)(3) status.

Other ways to learn more:
www.wvwv.org
www.ontheissues.org
http://www.unmarried.org/politics.html