Refuse to be pigeonholed
8,000 Faithful America members have already signed the petition asking the media pollsters to stop stereotyping people of faith! Can you help us reach 10,000 signatures by adding your name to the petition right now? Click here to sign:
We will send your names and comments directly to the polling directors at each of the media organizations that sponsor the exit polls ON THURSDAY – just days before millions more voters head to the polls.
Since faith leaders started speaking up about this problem, the media pollsters have improved the exit poll surveys when it comes to religion. They are now asking Democratic primary voters some religion questions in each state – but not all the questions asked of Republicans. When we send this petition, signed by 10,000 people, we’ll make it clear to the media pollsters that it’s time to ask all voters the same religion questions.
The petition says: "The presidential primary exit polls, sponsored by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox and the AP, must stop stereotyping people of faith. We call on the media pollsters to ask all voters -- Republicans and Democrats -- the same religion questions on the exit poll surveys."
As you know from watching this space, the exit polls have asked Republican voters more religion questions than Democratic voters in every single primary state. In Michigan and Iowa they didn't ask Democratic voters any religion questions at all. In every state, they have exhaustively analyzed Republican evangelicals and completely ignored evangelical Democrats, even though our own research says one-third of evangelical voters are voting in Democratic primaries.
The pollsters say that there is "limited real estate" on their questionnaires, and that they "do not talk publicly about what questions are on our surveys."
That's ridiculous. They've made plenty of room on their Republican surveys for religion questions. They can do the same for their Democratic surveys. All people of faith should have the same chance to be represented.
It's time for thousands of us to call for balanced questioning in presidential exit polls. Click here to sign your name:
If we are silent, the media pollsters will continue to reinforce false stereotypes about religious voters. The wedge-issue "values voter" will be the face of faith in politics AGAIN. We must refuse to be pigeonholed.
The exit polls are especially egregious when it comes to polling about evangelicals. The broadening of the evangelical issue agenda to include issues like poverty and the environment has been a major news story all year. But the exit polls have asked not asked Democratic voters in a single state -- while asking Republicans in every state -- if they are evangelical.
Faith in Public Life and the Center for American Progress Action Fund commissioned a poll in two Super Tuesday states, Missouri and Tennessee, to demonstrate what the pollsters are missing. Their poll, released last week, showed:
• One-third of all white evangelical voters in both states participated in the Democratic primaries.
• There were 160,000 evangelical Democratic voters in Missouri and 180,000 evangelical Democratic voters in Tennessee. In both states, that's as many or more than all African-American voters, all voters over 65, or all voters who said the Iraq war is the most important issue facing the country.
• Majorities of evangelical voters in both states support a broader issue agenda that goes beyond abortion and same-sex marriage to include ending poverty, protecting the environment, and tackling HIV/AIDS.
If enough of us sign, we can make it plain to the networks' pollsters: no party can own any faith. Click here to sign your name:
Or if you have already signed, click her to forward the petition to your friends:
We need less than 2,000 more people to sign to reach 10,000 signatures!
