U.S. Elections & Voters

With Election Day approaching, here’s a closer look at voter attitudes on violent crime and an analysis of the nation’s violent crime rate.

There has been a sharp decline in the share of Republican voters who are “very confident” that votes cast at polling places will be counted accurately.

The economy is clearly the top issue for voters; fully 79% say it will be very important to their voting decisions – the highest share among 18 issues included on the survey. The public continues to take a dim view of current economic conditions. Just 17% of U.S. adults say the economy is in excellent or good shape, little changed from the 13% who said this in July.

21% of the roughly 1,000 candidates for U.S. Senate, House or state governor on the fall ballot claim some degree of military experience.

Abortion has risen as an election issue for Latinos, with a majority saying it should be legal in all or most cases. Meanwhile, 80% say the economy is a very important issue when deciding who to vote for in the upcoming congressional midterm elections, a greater share than any other issue.

While the economy remains the dominant issue in this fall’s midterm elections, the issue of abortion has increased markedly in importance. More voters continue to view their midterm vote as an expression of opposition to Joe Biden than support for him. But across both parties, more voters now say Biden is not much of a factor in their vote.

32% of Republicans say they like a political leader who has no previous government experience, compared with just 10% of Democrats.

The national total in the 2020 census was largely accurate, but the Census Bureau has estimated miscounts for some states and demographic groups.

71% of Republican voters say their vote for Congress is “against Biden.”

Only a small share of Americans have heard a lot about redistricting in their state and a majority are not sure how they feel.