“..new analysis of Pew Research Center survey data collected in the fall lead-up to the 2014 midterm elections finds that at least as striking is the degree to which those who are financially insecure opt out of the political system altogether, and how that opting out disproportionately affects Democratic support. Financial security is strongly correlated with nearly every measure of political engagement. For example, in 2014, almost all of the most financially secure Americans (94%) said they were registered to vote, while only about half (54%) of the least financially secure were registered. And although 2014 voting records are not yet available, pre-election estimates suggest that 63% of the most financially secure were “likely voters” last year, compared with just 20% of the least financially secure. This pattern is not unique to 2014. Looking back at voting records from four years earlier, 69% of the most financially secure cast ballots in the 2010 midterm, while just 30% of the least financially secure did so…Throughout this report, we divide the public into five groups based on their overall level of financial security, a measure that correlates with income but provides a more nuanced understanding of the extent to which Americans at different income levels are on solid footing in the modern economy. To do this, we created a scale of financial security, based on 10 interrelated items. Using the scale, we then divided the public into five groups that vary between 15% and 25% of the public. Four of the items on the scale are measures of financial security (having a savings account, a checking account, a credit card or any form of retirement savings), while six of the items on the scale are measures of financial insecurity, including two items measuring the receipt of means-tested benefits (SNAP benefits, Medicaid), as well as four measures of financial stress (having trouble paying bills, affording housing or medical care or borrowing money from family or friends). Overall, 25% of the public are in the most financially secure group (having all four of the characteristics of financial security and none of the indicators of financial insecurity); 20% of the public are in the least financially secure group…Financially insecure Americans are also far less likely than those at the top of the security scale to be politically engaged in other ways. For example, just 14% say they have contacted an elected official in the last two years; by comparison 42% of the most secure have done this. And when it comes to overall awareness of the political landscape, about six-in-ten (61%) of the most financially secure Americans could correctly identify the parties in control of both the House and Senate, compared with just 26% of the least financially secure. (To put this in context, because these are two two-option multiple-choice questions, this latter figure is no greater a percentage than would have identified this by chance.) This report is based on Pew Research Center data collected as a part of the center’s American Trends Panel, a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults surveyed online and by mail. Most of this analysis is drawn from a survey conducted Sept. 9-Oct. 3 with 3,154 panelists. Rather than relying on family income – a useful but blunt measure – as a surrogate for a person’s financial situation, this survey included detailed questions about economic security and insecurity, including measures of financial hardship (such as having difficulty paying bills and receiving means-tested government benefits), as well as financial assets and tools (such as having credit cards, bank accounts and retirement savings).”