WASHINGTON, D.C. | October 06, 2020 — A new national poll conducted by Marist on behalf of Whistleblower News Network shows that likely voters – regardless of party affiliations and other demographic differences – agree that Congress should prioritize passing stronger whistleblower laws that protect employees who report corporate fraud. In total, 81% of likely voters believe that passing corporate whistleblower protections should be prioritized.
In addition to finding strong voter support for better protecting corporate fraud whistleblowers, the Marist poll finds overwhelming public support for expanded protections for federal employees. The poll also finds that a large segment of the voting public considers a candidate’s position on corporate fraud whistleblowers when weighing whether to support them. The complete survey results can be found here.
John Kostyack, NWC Executive Director said: “Fighting corporate fraud is especially critical in the midst of the combined COVID-19 and climate change crises. Experience shows that fraud proliferates in times of crisis. With broad, bipartisan public support for protecting whistleblowers who bravely report fraud in the corporate sector, Congress has no excuses for further delay in acting on pending anti-corruption bills. The first priority is for the Senate to address the need for better protecting securities fraud and commodities fraud whistleblowers, building on the successful House vote on this matter last year.”
Stephen M. Kohn, Chairman of the NWC Board of Directors, said: “The results of this poll could not be any clearer: the American people want more whistleblower protections. The past year’s partisan battles over whistleblowing surrounding President Trump’s impeachment proceedings appear to have had no impact on public support for whistleblower protection.”
Further takeaways from the survey include:
- 88% of Democrats and 74% of Republicans surveyed think Congress should prioritize stronger whistleblower laws for corporate fraud whistleblowers;
- 83% of men and 82% of women surveyed agree on this priority;
- 82% of rural residents and 81.9% of suburban residents surveyed agree on this priority; and
- 89% of Latinos, 82% of Whites and 79% of Blacks surveyed agree on this priority.
For more information, please contact Nick Younger at nick.younger@whistleblowers.org.
