Based on Whistleblower Network News’s recently released Marist poll and the 2016 voter turnout, 60,720,000 American voters would consider a candidate’s stance on whistleblowing when casting a vote this November. This number is based on the polling results issued by the highly respected Marist Poll.
That whistleblowing will factor into the votes of 60,720,000 Americans is a shocking statistic but is based upon solid polling. Marist is one of the few A+ rated pollsters according to FiveThirtyEight, and the questions of the poll were carefully constructed by WNN staff with input from expert pollsters at Marist. As noted by whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn in his recent article for The Hill, the three questions in the poll were designed to capture the different degrees to which the American public supports whistleblower causes.
The first survey question’s results reveal that 86% of likely voters (or approximately 219,000,000 American voters) support stronger protections for federal whistleblowers. But as Kohn points out, “it is one thing to generally support whistleblowers… But will you, a voter, take personal action on behalf of whistleblowers? Will you hold your leaders accountable in the voting booth?” Thus, the results for the third survey question are notable for demonstrating just how important whistleblower issues are to the American public. As Kohn explains: “given the competition among issues, such as the environment, gun control, or abortion, the fact that 44 percent of likely voters also would take a candidate’s position on whistleblowing into consideration when they cast their ballot is a game changer.”
Based on the Marist Poll’s scientific polling methodology, 44% of likely voters translates into over 60.7 million actual voters (based on the total voter turnout of the 2016 election). It should be noted that this 60.7 million number may be an underestimate given the early indications of a record voting turnout.
“Whistleblowers and their supporters must loudly communicate to all candidates that whistleblowing is a campaign issue. Politicians must be told that officials who refuse to support whistleblowers will be held accountable,” Kohn said. Kohn is an experienced whistleblower lawyer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Whistleblower Center.
“There are critical bills pending in Congress that could immediately be signed into law. These include corporate whistleblower laws designed to stop money laundering, protect COVID-19 whistleblowers, ensure that federal employees can testify before Congress, and fix loopholes in the Dodd-Frank Act. The overwhelming majority of the American people want their elected leaders to act. Delay costs taxpayers billions in waste and fraud, and places lives at risk,” Kohn stated.
Read the National Law Review article on the Pending Corporate Whistleblower Laws