U.S. Elections & Voters

Overview Just over half of the public (53%) say they followed news about Hurricane Sandy and the storm’s impact very closely last week, outpacing interest in the 2012 presidential election (47% very closely) and news about the U.S. economy (38% very closely). The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & […]

This interactive graphic summarizes the voting preferences of major religious groups, drawing on data from the latest survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press among registered voters reached on landlines and cell phones.

Obama and Romney have switched places in poll results over the final two months of the campaign. This chart tracks likely voters, based on national polls conducted by Pew Research Center. Read Pew Research’s final estimate for Election Day, which allocates a portion of the undecided voters to each candidate here.

Overview Barack Obama has edged ahead of Mitt Romney in the final days of the presidential campaign. In the Pew Research Center’s election weekend survey, Obama holds a 48% to 45% lead over Romney among likely voters. The survey finds that Obama maintains his modest lead when the probable decisions of undecided voters are taken […]

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both received more negative than positive coverage from the news media in the eight weeks since the conventions, but Obama has had an edge overall, a new PEJ study finds. The report also examines how the candidates fared in different media outlets, the tone of the conversation on social media and offers comparisons to 2008 campaign coverage.

55% of registered voters have watched political videos online this election season, and 52% have had others recommend political videos for them to watch online

Overview In the final days before Tuesday’s election, most of the focus will be on those likely to cast votes. But a sizable minority of adults choose not to vote or are unable to vote. By their absence, they also will affect the outcome. Nonvoters are numerous; in 2008, they constituted about 43% of the […]

Overview Just as the presidential race is deadlocked in the campaign’s final days, the candidates are also running about even when it comes to the ground game. Voters nationally, as well those in the closely contested battleground states, report being contacted at about the same rates by each of the campaigns. And with a fifth […]

Overview As the presidential campaign enters its final week, Barack Obama has failed to regain much of the support he lost in the days following the first presidential debate and the race is now even among likely voters: 47% favor Obama while an identical percentage supports Mitt Romney. The latest national survey by the Pew […]

As the presidential election enters the last lap, where are people going to learn about the campaign and the candidates? A new PEJ survey finds an increasingly diverse ecosystem for political news.