Americans are most likely to say Congress and elected officials are the biggest obstacles to getting America back on track.
- Less than half as many voters say the bureaucracy, special interests, or the news media is the biggest obstacle.
Voters are also most likely to say less corruption and more accountability are the most important changes needed from our government to get America back on track.
WHY IT MATTERS – Voter frustration with our elected leaders could lead to record support for third-party and outsider candidates this November.
HOW TO USE THIS DATA – Candidates and activists can use these results to build a government reform agenda that meets voter concerns.
Click on the image below to read the full report…or read the summary below.
Corruption, Accountability, and Truthfulness
- Given a list of 14 options, 45% of voters say less corruption is one of the three most important changes needed from government to get America back on track. This includes 51% of Republicans, 40% of Democrats, and 44% of swing voters.
- 38% of voters say more accountability is one of the top three most important changes needed from government to get America back on track. This includes 44% of Republicans, 34% of Democrats, and 38% of swing voters.
- 33% of voters say more truthfulness is one of the top three most important changes needed from government to get America back on track. This includes 36% of Republicans, 29% of Democrats, and 30% of swing voters.
- New Majority voters match voters overall in choosing less corruption, more accountability, and more truthfulness as the top three most important changes needed in government.
- Left Minority voters also chose less corruption as their most important change, but also prioritized government being more solutions-focused and less partisan, in addition to more accountable.
Desire for common-sense change
- 64% of voters say common-sense change is most needed for getting America back on track, while 32% say “profound change” is most needed.
- The most significant difference is by age, with 70% of Baby Boomers preferring common-sense change, compared to only 59% of Gen Z.
- 66% of New Majority voters prefer common sense, compared to 58% of New Majority voters.
Biggest obstacles
- 46% of voters say Congress and other elected officials are the biggest obstacles to getting America back on track.
- Less than half as many say bureaucracy (19%), corporations and special interests (17%), or the news media (14%) are the biggest obstacles.
- Frustration with Congress is consistent across demographic groups.
- Voters say the bureaucracy (31%) is the second biggest obstacle to getting America back on track, followed by Congress (25%), corporations and special interests (21%) and the news media (19%).
- Republicans and New Majority voters are more likely to choose the news media as one of the two biggest obstacles while Democrats and Left Minority voters are more likely to choose corporations and special interests.
Notable Demographic Differences
- There is a sharp age divide on whether it is more important for the government to be results-focused or solutions-focused, with older voters preferring results and younger voters preferring solutions.
- There is also an age divide on whether it is more important for the government to be less partisan or less extreme, with older voters preferring less partisan and younger voters preferring less extreme.