Environmental Polling Roundup – October 13, 2023
HEADLINES
Navigator – Amid rising awareness of a possible government shutdown, voters continue to say that it’s never right to shut down the federal government [Release, Report]
Public Affairs Council – Most Americans say that major companies should be involved in environmental advocacy [Article, Report, Topline]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The prospect of a government shutdown remains widely unpopular. Navigator finds that most voters agree that the federal government should never shut down, even if it’s for an issue or cause that they personally believe in. Additionally, their poll finds that large majorities of voters across the political spectrum support the late September deal to keep the government funded.
- Americans don’t want corporate America to stand on the sidelines on environmental issues. The Public Affairs Council finds that Americans are more likely to support companies getting involved in environmental advocacy than in any other type of issue advocacy, with majorities of Democrats and Republicans both saying that companies should be involved in advocacy about the environment and sustainability. These findings are consistent with lots of previous polling showing that Americans believe corporate America has a responsibility to do more to address climate change in particular.
FULL ROUNDUP
Navigator – Amid rising awareness of a possible government shutdown, voters continue to say that it’s never right to shut down the federal government [Release, Report]
Polling throughout the summer and early fall found that voters weren’t paying much attention to the possibility of a government shutdown, but Navigator now finds that awareness of the shutdown fight has increased after Congress’s dramatic deal to keep the government funded in the short term.
Just over seven in ten voters (72%) now say that they’ve heard “some” or “a lot” about a potential government shutdown this fall, up from 60% in late September.
Consistent with previous polling, Navigator finds that the idea of shutting down the government is unpopular with voters from both parties.
By a roughly two-to-one margin, voters agree more with a statement that “it is never right to shut down the federal government, even if it’s for an important issue or cause that I believe in” (67%) over a statement saying “I would support shutting down the federal government in the future if it meant making progress on reducing government spending and debt” (33%).
Democratic voters agree more with the anti-shutdown statement by an overwhelming margin (80%-20%), while Republican voters are narrowly more likely to agree with the anti-shutdown statement (53%) than the pro-shutdown statement (47%).
The deal to keep the government temporarily funded is also popular with voters of all political affiliations. After learning that Congress narrowly voted to keep the government open for six more weeks, rather than shut it down at the end of September, three-quarters of voters (75%) say that they support the short-term funding deal. Large majorities of Democrats (82%), independents (67%), and Republicans (70%) all express support for the deal to keep the government open.
Republican elected officials have come off worse than Democrats in the shutdown crisis so far. Majorities of voters say that President Biden (54%) and Democrats in Congress (52%) tried to keep the government open, while voters are more likely to believe that Republicans in Congress tried to shut the government down (41%) than to believe that they tried to keep it open (31%). Voters are especially likely to believe that “MAGA Republicans in Congress” tried to shut the government down (45%) rather than trying to keep it open (17%).
It’s less clear who voters would blame if the government were to shut down after this initial deal, however. Roughly one-third of voters (32%) say that they would blame President Biden and Democrats in Congress if the government were to eventually shut down this fall, while 37% say that they would blame Republicans in Congress and 26% say that they would blame both parties equally.
Public Affairs Council – Most Americans say that major companies should be involved in environmental advocacy [Article, Report, Topline]
The Public Affairs Council finds that Americans widely support companies being involved in advocacy about the environment and sustainability. In fact, Americans are more likely to support companies getting involved in environmental advocacy than in any other type of issue advocacy.
Roughly three in five Americans (61%) say that major companies should be involved in advocacy about improving environment and sustainability practices, more than any of the other eleven issues tested in the survey (such as advocacy about abortion, racial or gender discrimination, and immigration).
The environment is also one of the only issue areas that Democrats and Republicans both say that major companies should get involved in, as 75% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans say that major companies should be involved in advocacy about the environment and sustainability.
It’s also clear that Americans want companies to advocate specifically in support of the environment, as more than nine in ten Americans (93%) say that major companies should support improving environment and sustainability practices.
While the Public Affairs Council finds that Americans generally have less of an appetite for corporate issue advocacy this year compared to last year, support for corporate action on environmental issues is consistent and durable. For example, Yale and George Mason found earlier this year that 70% of voters believe that corporations and industry should be doing more to address global warming.
Related Resources
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