Federal Approval of Election Laws for Some States (February 2013)

Federal Approval of Election Laws for Some States (February 2013)

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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" 
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categorycolumn-1
These states should still be under federal supervision44%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval39%
Not sure/Don't know17%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" Measurement of Party ID for this figure is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents . Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this figure.
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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
These states should still be under federal supervision75%40%17%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval8%39%69%
Not sure/Don't know18%21%14%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean RepublicanNot very strong RepublicanStrong Republican
These states should still be under federal supervision15%21%16%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval71%61%71%
Not sure/Don't know14%19%13%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean DemocratNot very strong DemocratStrong Democrat
These states should still be under federal supervision66%70%80%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval11%6%7%
Not sure/Don't know24%23%13%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
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categoryLiberalsModeratesConservatives
These states should still be under federal supervision83%56%20%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval7%23%62%
Not sure/Don't know10%21%18%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
These states should still be under federal supervision33%19%15%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval38%67%72%
Not sure/Don't know29%15%13%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning liberalSomewhat liberalExtremely liberal
These states should still be under federal supervision82%90%77%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval3%8%10%
Not sure/Don't know15%2%12%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" Tea Party identification is based on the following question, also asked in the survey: "Suppose the Tea Party movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?" Those who responded "Republican candidate" are considered Republicans (non-Tea Party movement) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.
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categoryDemocratRepublicanTea Party
These states should still be under federal supervision81%26%10%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval8%56%81%
Not sure/Don't know11%18%9%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" Race is calculated according to the RACE1 variable.
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categoryWhiteBlackHispanic
These states should still be under federal supervision33%73%58%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval51%6%22%
Not sure/Don't know15%21%20%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
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categoryMaleFemale
These states should still be under federal supervision45%43%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval45%34%
Not sure/Don't know10%23%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" Community is based on the following question, " Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
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categoryUrbanSuburbanRural
These states should still be under federal supervision49%44%35%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval30%40%52%
Not sure/Don't know21%16%13%
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    Respondents were told, "As you may know, some states have a history of discrimination in their election laws. Because of this, they are required to request federal approval before implementing any changes to their voting procedures or election practices.
    Do you think these states should still be subject to federal supervision, or do you think they should be able to change their voting and election practices without the approval of the federal government?" Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
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categoryNo high schoolHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
These states should still be under federal supervision42%39%48%53%37%58%
These states should be able to change their voting and election practices without federal approval33%36%40%40%47%39%
Not sure/Don't know25%25%12%7%17%3%

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