.png)
Memo to Harris-Walz Campaign and
Democratic Congressional Candidates:
"Support a Federal Jobs Guarantee"
42 million eligible low-income voters did NOT vote in 2020.
Even a small increase in poor and low-income voter participation could determine the election outcome.
Supporting a Federal Jobs Guarantee combined with grassroots voter outreach can increase low-income voter turnout to levels needed to help Democrats win the presidency, flip the House, and expand the Senate
URGENT CALL TO ACTION!
Sign the memo to urge the Harris-Walz Campaign and Democratic Congressional Candidates to support a Federal Jobs Guarantee!
To: Harris-Walz Campaign, Democratic Congressional Candidates
From: Democratic Voters, Small-Dollar Donors
Re: Supporting a Federal Jobs Guarantee to increase low-income voter participation and unite working-class voters of all races
A Historic Election Calls for a Historic Policy – A Federal Jobs Guarantee
Vice President Kamala Harris' historic nomination has inspired much-needed hope and enthusiasm for Democrats in the upcoming November elections. However, persistently tight polling shows that victory is far from certain and Democrats still face uphill battles against Donald Trump and Republicans in many parts of the country.
42 million eligible poor and low-income voters who did not participate in 2020 could drastically tip the 2024 elections heavily in favor of Democrats –if and only if, we can give them a concrete vision of how voting and democracy can positively transform their lives and communities. Supporting a Federal Jobs Guarantee can do just that by empowering and mobilizing poor and low-income voters who often feel neglected by politicians and society.
Along with empowering and mobilizing low-income voters. Supporting a Federal Jobs Guarantee can unite working people across race, geography, and even partisan divides—neutralizing Republicans’ generations-long strategy of sowing racial division for political gain.
A Federal Jobs Guarantee would create living-wage jobs with benefits for people unable to find full-time work. Under this policy, the government would create jobs by investing in health care, education, infrastructure, climate change solutions, and other socially useful goods and services to address our country’s most urgent needs.
By reducing the fear of unemployment, a Federal Jobs Guarantee would also increase the bargaining power of working people from the bottom up to gain higher wages and better working conditions at a time when workers and unions are standing up across the country.
Implementing a Federal Jobs Guarantee would fight inflation by providing stable, full-time employment, establishing a minimum livable wage without increasing prices, enhancing economic productivity, and reinforcing price stability.
Prominent Democrats such as Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and Senators Cory Booker and Bernie Sanders have authored Federal Jobs Guarantee policies. However, the Democratic Party as a whole should support this policy.
Democrats Need Poor and Low-Income Voters to Win!
140 million poor and low-income people make up 40% of the US population but vote at a lower rate than middle and high-income voters. In 2020, 42 million eligible low-income voters did not cast a ballot.
Polling data shows that 65% of respondents who did not vote in the 2020 presidential election felt positively about a Federal Jobs Guarantee, reinforcing this policy's great potential to motivate low-income voters to turn out in higher numbers.
If just 2% to 7% of poor and low-income voters who did not participate in the 2020 election turn out for Democrats in 2024. Then Democrats would be in a significantly stronger position to win critical swing states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan and flip red states like North Carolina, Florida, and Texas.
Increasing Low-Income Voter Turnout Can Expand Win Margins in Blue Swing States
Source: Poor People's Campaign, Waking the Sleeping Giant: Poor and Low Income Voters in the 2020 Elections
Example: Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes in 2020. Increasing low-income voter turnout by just 5% would expand Democrats' win margin in Georgia to over 200,00 votes; making Georgia an easier win for Democrats in 2024.
Increasing Low-Income Voter Turnout Can Flip Red Swing States
Source: Poor People's Campaign, Waking the Sleeping Giant: Poor and Low Income Voters in the 2020 Elections
Example: In Florida in 2020, nearly 3.4 million low-income voters did not vote while Donald Trump won the state by 371,686 votes. If low-income voters in Florida increase their turnout for Democrats by just 4% then Democrats can be in a position to win this state in 2024.
Voters across the political divide support a Federal Jobs Guarantee
A 2020 Poll showed strong support for a Federal Jobs Guarantee with voters across the political divide: 89% of Democrats, 74% of Republicans, and 72% of Independents. A Federal Jobs Guarantee is especially popular with rural Republican voters; whom Democrats can win over by offering impactful policy solutions to create more living-wage jobs in rural communities.
70% of swing state voters support a Federal Jobs Guarantee including red states won by Donald Trump in 2020 - Florida, Ohio, and Texas.
70% of Swing State Voters Support a Federal Jobs Guarantee
Source: DATA FOR PROGRESS
URGENT CALL TO ACTION!
We, the undersigned Democratic voters and small-dollar donors urge the Harris-Walz Campaign and Democratic Congressional Candidates to support a Federal Jobs Guarantee to empower low-income voters; and unite working-class voters across race, geography, and partisan divides around economic opportunity.