In its new survey about the upcoming election, Sage North America reports that small business owners are deeply engaged during this general election season and are planning to vote in overwhelming numbers. In fact, 95 percent of small business owners are planning on voting this November and 86 percent have already made up their minds about whom they would like to elect.
Out of all survey respondents, 49 percent identified themselves as Republicans, 13 percent as Democrats, and 38 percent as independent, libertarian, or declined to state their affiliation. The majority, at 44 percent, say they would be willing to vote for candidates who were not from their political party, while 43 percent say they would not vote for candidates who were not from their political party. Interestingly, 30 percent of respondents do not believe that either party is looking out for the interests of small businesses.
While most small business owners have already decided whom they will be supporting this election season, the issues that they find of greatest concern include government spending (70 percent), the deficit (68 percent), and healthcare (66 percent).
Moreover, 54 percent of small businesses are putting off making business decisions until after the election. The top three business decisions to be postponed include increasing investment expenditures (19 percent), hiring (16 percent), and either dropping or adding employee healthcare (9 percent).
“…It is clear that small business owners are engaged and will voice their opinions by taking to the polls in November,” says Connie Certusi, executive vice president and general manager, small business accounting solutions, Sage North America. “Respondents to the Sage election survey believe that public policy can affect the success of our nation’s small businesses. The most surprising finding from our survey is that 30 percent of small business owners don’t believe their interests are being represented by either party…”
The survey was conducted by Sage during the period of October 5 to October 15, 2012, among Sage customers in the U.S. who are business owners at companies with fewer than 100 employees. A total of 598 people completed the Web-based survey. The margin of error is +/- 6 percent with a confidence level of 95 percent.
