Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, It's Off to Vote We Go

October 29, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Amid some suggestion that next week's Presidential election may draw one of the highest voter turnout percentages in history, a new CareerBuilder survey found 87% of workers polled said they will head to the polls on Election Day.

A CareerBuilder news release said among workers surveyed, 41% plan to head for their polling station after work, 31% plan to go before, and 14% at some point during the work day.

An equal number of male and female workers say they will be voting this year, 87% and 86%, respectively. Ninety-five percent of workers over 55 say they will cast a vote this presidential election, compared to 92% of workers ages 45-54, 84% of workers ages 35-44, 80% of workers ages 25-34, and 77% of workers ages 18-24.

By location, 89% of Midwestern workers say they will be casting votes this year, followed by 87% in the West, and 86% in both the Northeast and South.

Employers can also expect a good deal of workplace political arguments. According to the news release, 28% of workers say they have debated another co-worker in the office over politics, while 63% report they are keeping their political affiliations to themselves in the office. Sixty-eight percent of female workers say they do not discuss their political affiliation in the office, compared to 58% of their male counterparts.

When it comes to displaying political campaign materials in the workplace, 21% of workers say their employers do not allow them to display materials from either candidate or party.

The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 6,194 employees (employed full-time; not self-employed; non-government) between August 21 and September 9, 2008.

«