Eight out of ten likely 2024 Washington voters are supportive of adopting legislation that would put an end to child marriages in the Evergreen State, a poll recently conducted for the Northwest Progressive Institute has found.
80% of 700 likely 2024 Washington State voters surveyed by Public Policy Polling for NPI in November of 2023 expressed support for enacting legislation that would require both parties to be at least eighteen years old to legally marry.
A mere 14% were opposed, while 6% said they were not sure.
It’s very rare that we find the voting public in Washington this united behind pending state-level legislation, but it goes to show that even in polarized times, there are areas of bipartisan, cross-ideological agreement.
Ending child marriage is one of the Northwest Progressive Institute’s 2024 legislative priorities, and it has a first-rate champion in State Representative Monica Stonier, who introduced House Bill 1455 last session.
Fittingly, HB 1455 received no opposition whatsoever when it appeared on the House floor last year, reflecting the deep and strong support for ending child marriage that we can now see in our research polling.
Regrettably, HB 1455 stalled out in the Senate due to a massive logjam of bills that senators weren’t able to fully clear due to time constraints.
(Unlike Congress, Washington’s bicameral Legislature is only in active regular session for 105 days in odd years and 60 days in even years.)
But since bills from odd year sessions carry over to even year sessions, Representative Stonier doesn’t have to start over with a new bill. The House can simply send HB 1455 back over to the Senate a second time, where Law & Justice Chair Manka Dhingra — a Northwest Progressive Foundation boardmember — is ready to hear it and report it out with a “do pass” recommendation.
HB 1455 could be on Governor Inslee’s desk in a matter of weeks if the Senate follows the House’s lead this time and approves the bill unanimously.
Our research shows Washingtonians are very enthusiastic about HB 1455.
Here’s the exact question we asked and the responses we received:
QUESTION: Washington State currently does not prohibit marriages in which one or both parties are under the age of eighteen. Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose passing a law to end child marriage by requiring that both parties be at least eighteen years old to legally marry?
ANSWERS:
- Support: 80%
- Strongly support: 64%
- Somewhat support: 16%
- Oppose: 14%
- Somewhat oppose: 8%
- Strongly oppose: 6%
- Not sure: 6%
Our survey of 700 likely 2024 Washington State voters was in the field from Tuesday, November 14th through Wednesday, November 15th, 2023.
The poll utilizes a blended methodology, with automated phone calls to landlines (42%) and online answers from respondents recruited by text (58%).
It was conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP) for the Northwest Progressive Institute, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7% at the 95% confidence interval.
Follow this link for additional methodology details, including demographic data.
NPI and PPP have worked together for a decade and have a track record of excellence, as detailed in this 2022 electoral polling recap and this 2020 one.
Child marriage has been declared by the United States Department of State to be a human rights violation. Yet, in much of the country, it’s legal — including in all of the states in the Pacific Northwest. That needs to change.
So far, ten states have banned child marriage. Those are:
- Delaware (2018)
- New Jersey (2018)
- Pennsylvania (2020)
- Minnesota (2020)
- Rhode Island (2021)
- New York (2021)
- Massachusetts (2022)
- Vermont (2023)
- Connecticut (2023)
- Michigan (2023)
All of those states are in the Great Lakes, New England, or mid-Atlantic regions. Washington could become the first state in the American West to ban child marriage if House Bill 1455 is successful.
Washington has a history of human rights leadership, including the successful repeal of the death penalty. Let’s continue that leadership in 2024 by making sure the Evergreen State becomes the next state to end child marriage.
Monday, January 8th, 2024
80% of 2024 likely Washington voters support ending child marriage, NPI poll finds
Eight out of ten likely 2024 Washington voters are supportive of adopting legislation that would put an end to child marriages in the Evergreen State, a poll recently conducted for the Northwest Progressive Institute has found.
80% of 700 likely 2024 Washington State voters surveyed by Public Policy Polling for NPI in November of 2023 expressed support for enacting legislation that would require both parties to be at least eighteen years old to legally marry.
A mere 14% were opposed, while 6% said they were not sure.
It’s very rare that we find the voting public in Washington this united behind pending state-level legislation, but it goes to show that even in polarized times, there are areas of bipartisan, cross-ideological agreement.
Ending child marriage is one of the Northwest Progressive Institute’s 2024 legislative priorities, and it has a first-rate champion in State Representative Monica Stonier, who introduced House Bill 1455 last session.
Fittingly, HB 1455 received no opposition whatsoever when it appeared on the House floor last year, reflecting the deep and strong support for ending child marriage that we can now see in our research polling.
Regrettably, HB 1455 stalled out in the Senate due to a massive logjam of bills that senators weren’t able to fully clear due to time constraints.
(Unlike Congress, Washington’s bicameral Legislature is only in active regular session for 105 days in odd years and 60 days in even years.)
But since bills from odd year sessions carry over to even year sessions, Representative Stonier doesn’t have to start over with a new bill. The House can simply send HB 1455 back over to the Senate a second time, where Law & Justice Chair Manka Dhingra — a Northwest Progressive Foundation boardmember — is ready to hear it and report it out with a “do pass” recommendation.
HB 1455 could be on Governor Inslee’s desk in a matter of weeks if the Senate follows the House’s lead this time and approves the bill unanimously.
Our research shows Washingtonians are very enthusiastic about HB 1455.
Here’s the exact question we asked and the responses we received:
Our survey of 700 likely 2024 Washington State voters was in the field from Tuesday, November 14th through Wednesday, November 15th, 2023.
The poll utilizes a blended methodology, with automated phone calls to landlines (42%) and online answers from respondents recruited by text (58%).
It was conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP) for the Northwest Progressive Institute, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7% at the 95% confidence interval.
Follow this link for additional methodology details, including demographic data.
NPI and PPP have worked together for a decade and have a track record of excellence, as detailed in this 2022 electoral polling recap and this 2020 one.
Child marriage has been declared by the United States Department of State to be a human rights violation. Yet, in much of the country, it’s legal — including in all of the states in the Pacific Northwest. That needs to change.
So far, ten states have banned child marriage. Those are:
All of those states are in the Great Lakes, New England, or mid-Atlantic regions. Washington could become the first state in the American West to ban child marriage if House Bill 1455 is successful.
Washington has a history of human rights leadership, including the successful repeal of the death penalty. Let’s continue that leadership in 2024 by making sure the Evergreen State becomes the next state to end child marriage.
# Written by Andrew Villeneuve :: 9:30 AM
Categories: Civil Liberties, Policy Topics, World Commmunity
Tags: Human Rights, Research Poll Findings
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