National Survey Shows Small Business Owners Worried About State of Democracy, Support Voting Rights Legislation

New survey of more than 1,000 small business owners shows that 60% have concerns about the state of American Democracy and nearly three-quarters support the For the People Act, which would expand voting rights 

June 15, 2021—A new Small Business for America’s Future national survey shows that a majority of small businesses are concerned about the state of our democracy, and they support federal legislation that expands and protects voting rights.

The survey of 1,052 small business owners in the Small Business for America’s Future network asked about their feelings on a number of issues around democracy—from Major League Baseball's decision to pull the All-Star Game out of Georgia after the state passed legislation restricting voting rights, to their thoughts on corporate CEOs who speak out in favor of voting rights. The survey results show:

• 60% of small business owners are concerned with the current state of our democracy, with 38% saying it is “Poor” and 22% saying it is “Very Bad”
• 74% of small business owners surveyed said they support H.R. 1, the federal For the People Act, which would expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, limit partisan gerrymandering, and create new ethics rules for federal officeholders
• An overwhelming majority (86%) of small businesses believe there should be limits on the amount of money individuals and third party groups (e.g. PACs, Super PACs) can donate to political campaigns and candidates
• 60% of small business owners surveyed say that it is important for CEOs to speak out against efforts to restrict voting access and 41% of small businesses owners went as far as to say CEOs speaking out in support of voting rights makes them think more favorably of that CEO’s company 
• 58% of small businesses said Major League Baseball's decision to pull the All-Star Game out of Atlanta in response to changes to Georgia’s voting laws would not hurt (46%) or have no impact (12%) on small businesses. A plurality of respondents (46%) agreed Major League Baseball made the right decision to pull the All-Star Game from Atlanta in response to restrictive changes to Georgia’s voting laws

The survey shows that small business owners are highly engaged in our political process. Findings include:

• 74% of small business owners said they vote in every election they can
• 58% of respondents also vote for campaigns or causes
• 42% give financial contributions to campaigns or causes
• Nearly a quarter of respondents volunteer for campaigns or causes themselves

View the full survey report here.