NARAL Pro-Choice New York’s 501(c)3 partner organization, the National Institute for Reproductive Health, commissioned the poll, which was conducted by the non-partisan research organization PerryUndem among a representative sample of 802 registered voters across New York state May 20-26, 2014.
The poll found that support for provisions of the WEA is incredibly high, ranging from 77 percent support for protecting a woman’s right to decide to have an abortion as established in Roe v. Wade and for strengthening human trafficking laws to 94 percent for laws to ensure equal pay for equal work. Overall support for the WEA is 84 percent.
Reiterating previous polling, 73 percent said they want the legislature to pass the full 10-point bill that the Assembly has passed, which protects a woman’s right to choose, versus only 23 percent who want to see a 9-point bill excluding reproductive rights pass.
When asked how they would feel if the Senate failed to follow the Assembly’s lead in passing the 10-point Women’s Equality Act, 63 percent of respondents said they’d be “disappointed” and 34 percent replied that they’d be “angry.” Sixty-eight percent of voters said they are more likely to vote to re-elect elected officials who support the 10-point bill.
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Support for the WEA is high across all demographics in the state, including among 79 percent of men, 76 percent of Republicans, and 75 percent of upstate voters.
“New Yorkers’ support for passing the Women’s Equality Act is decisive, unequivocal, and ubiquitous,” said Miller. “Voters are frustrated – and a significant proportion is truly outraged – by a Senate majority that refuses to act on a bill that improves women’s lives across a wide spectrum of interconnected issues. There is no excuse for elected officials to thwart the will of their constituents as we’ve seen over the past two sessions. The Senate majority would be wise to take action in the waning days of session, or anticipate backlash in November.”
The survey was administered by telephone including landlines and cell phones. The margin of sampling error is + 3.5 percentage points.
