As candidates look forward to the 22 states holding primaries and caucuses on February 5, Women's Voices Women Vote releases a report detailing the strong turnout of unmarried women in the early state contests, as well as identifying their significance as vital swing voters.

WVWV's and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research's latest report, Unmarried Women Active in Early Contests, examines exit polls from 2008 primaries and caucuses that asked marital status of voters. The report identifies the elevated level of participation of unmarried women, and examines the impact of their vote.

"The incredible turnout of women on their own in these early contests is a clear sign that unmarried women will play a critical role in the national discussion, and demand the attention of the Presidential candidates," said Page Gardner, President of Women's Voices Women Vote. "The impressive measure of unmarried women in these early races is an encouraging sign that the 20 million unmarried women absent on Election Day in 2004, will make their voices heard in 2008," said Gardner.

In the early nominating contests participation rates of unmarried women has equaled, or exceeded their over-all share of the population. Unmarried women comprise 20 percent of all registered Iowa voters, and were a stunning 26 percent of all voters in the Democratic caucus. In New Hampshire, unmarried women are 19 percent of the state's registered voters, and were 22 percent of Democratic primary voters. Unmarried women were 30 percent of Democratic voters in South Carolina, while they make up 23 percent of registered voters in the state.

"In these early contests, unmarried women have shown up and voted at a higher share than their proportion of registered voters," said Gardner. "It is clear --- unmarried women are making their voices heard. All of the early elections have seen women on their own are paying attention, participating, and making the difference," said Gardner.

In the three Democratic contests where marital status was asked, unmarried women have made up more than one in five of all voters in each contest and more than one in four voters twice. Unmarried women have not only participated in record number, but have also emerged as the decisive voters. Compared to other demographics, unmarried women have proven their vote is not guaranteed for any one candidate, as they have emerged as one the true swing groups in early primaries and caucuses.

"Most groups, like young voters, have consistently come out in support of the same candidate in each of the races," noted Gardner. "Unmarried women, regardless of their age or race, have greatly impacted political outcomes, and have shown us their vote is up for grabs. Single women have an agenda, and they will support whichever candidate speaks to the issues they care about," said Gardner.

Senator Obama won the Iowa caucus and the votes of unmarried women by 13 points over Senator Clinton. In New Hampshire, Senator Clinton won the support of more than half (51%) of all single women voters, and subsequently the primary. In the largest swing of any demographic, unmarried women offered a 32 point difference from Iowa to New Hampshire. Comparing results from New Hampshire to the South Carolina primary, the swing vote of unmarried women was 46 points, as Obama won 57 percent of single women's votes.

Marital status has not been asked in all of the 2008 primary and caucus exit polls. On the Democratic side, the marital status question was included in every contest except Nevada. On the Republican side, marital status was only asked in New Hampshire.

For the first time in history, nationally there are as many unmarried women – single, separated, divorced, widowed – as there are married women. There are 53 million unmarried women in the country, and they account for 26% of eligible voters. However, compared to their married sisters, unmarried women in recent history are 9 percentage points less likely to register, and 13 percentage points less likely to vote. Marital status is one of the top four determinants of whether an individual will vote.

Although unmarried women historically register and vote at lower rates than married women, WVWV's recent research indicates unmarried women will improve their participation in the electorate in 2008. In an example of their eagerness to participate, among single women in New Hampshire, one in nine Democratic primary voters, and one in fourteen Republican primary voters registered on Election Day.

"Ninety percent of unmarried women agreed they must speak up and make their presence felt in the national conversation, if they are not satisfied with the direction our country is headed in" said Gardner, referencing WVWV's latest research. "Our research tells us that unmarried women are proud that they're making it on their own, and feel it's time for the decision-makers in Washington to understand the societal contributions of single women, and create public policies reflective of their every-day life," said Gardner.

WVWV polling shows unmarried women think this country is on the wrong track by greater margins than most voters, yet they are also overwhelmingly hopeful the election can substantially change the country. According to polling data, 75% of unmarried women surveyed said they were "absolutely certain" they would vote in the 2008 election.

The full report may be viewed at: http://www.wvwv.org/assets/2008/2/1/ep.pdf

Women's Voices Women Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization created to activate unmarried women to participate in their government and in our democracy. With a goal of registering over 1 million unmarried women to vote, WVWV is currently conducting an aggressive mail registration program, and sponsoring the "20 Million Reasons to Vote" Public Service Announcements. The PSAs feature stars such as Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jurnee Smollett, and Christine Lahti, and they are set in the Oval Office, evoking the importance of having women's voices heard and their power felt in electing candidates to every office. The PSAs are visible at wvwv.org.

Some memo data was derived from the National Election Pool Survey conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International, a cooperative arrangement among ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, Cable News Network, FOX News and NBC News.