Surveys and Reports

Election Dates and Voter Knowledge 

Consolidating local elections with federal contests substantially increases turnout and makes the electorate more representative. However, some argue that these “democratic” gains may come at a cost, bringing less informed voters into local elections and reducing the attention voters devote to local affairs. This study tests the participation–knowledge tradeoff across multiple contexts using multiple sources of evidence on local political knowledge and behavior. Combining three surveys of knowledge about city government, education policy, and local politics with detailed data on local election timing, it looks to see whether voters in on-cycle elections are less informed or attentive to local affairs than their off-cycle counterparts. It finds little evidence that on-cycle voters are less knowledgeable than voters in off-cycle races. Using changes in election timing, it also shows that incumbency advantages decline in on-cycle elections, suggesting less reliance on heuristic voting. Overall, the findings indicate that the benefits of election consolidation are unlikely to come at the expense of voter knowledge or attention to local affairs.

Are Fewer Elections Better Elections? The Impact of On-Cycle Elections on Election Administration

Over the past decade, states around the country have moved to consolidate different elections to the same date. Despite this shifting landscape, we know little about what these reforms mean for the electoral process itself. Consolidating local elections with federal and statewide contests could make life easier for both voters and election administrators. But putting contests together could also put stress on the electoral process by asking voters to process a longer ballot and administrators to run different types of contests simultaneously. Utilizing original panel data on election timing and administrative and survey data, we find that switching to on-cycle elections leads to fewer elections, saves money, reduces the burden on election officials, and has a limited but positive impact on election quality. The one downside we observe—a small increase in voter wait times—could be addressed by redirecting some of the cost savings toward making voting easier.

Election Timing and Local Political Polarization

Many cities across the country have moved their local elections to the same day as federal elections, improving voter turnout, particularly among marginalized groups. Skeptics, however, worry that election consolidation imports national polarization into local contests. This study assesses this critique using a variety of tools, finding no support for the claim and even suggestive evidence of depolarization following consolidation. Drawing on model-enhanced voter files, it finds that election consolidation primarily boosts turnout among nonpartisan and moderate voters. Additionally, analysis of local candidates and surveys of municipal officials suggests that on-cycle local elections may be associated with less ideologically extreme mayoral candidates and officeholders, but not city council candidates. By reducing the cost of voting, election consolidation likely increases turnout among less engaged voters, who are generally less partisan and more moderate. In turn, more moderate mayors may run and win, suggesting election consolidation may reduce, not increase, polarization in local politics.

How Did Trust in Elections Change After the 2024 Presidential Contest?
To answer this question, we measure levels of trust in the accuracy and integrity of American elections through two Yankelovich Center national surveys that are representative of eligible voters, one conducted just before the 2024 election and the other fielded immediately after it.  On the eve of the election, there was a wide gap over trust in elections between supporters of Donald Trump and those who backed Kamala Harris. After Trump's clear victory, that gap entirely disappeared. Confidence in elections rose overall, but trust declined among Black Americans, Latinos, and Asian-Americans, opening a new demographic divide.

Big Cities – Tiny Votes? America’s Urban Voter Turnout
This review of turnout in America’s biggest cities indicates that turnout in the 2024 presidential election, though modestly lower than 2020’s level, is quite high in comparison to local contests. The numbers for off-cycle, local elections in America’s large cities tell a different story, a story of low participation by a skewed sliver of the electorate. An examination of Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Francisco and other cities that have shifted elections from off-cycle to even-year federal elections shows that cities can successfully increase participation by changing their election dates. And an examination of New York’s voting shows that presidential participation is dramatically higher than local participation for everyone, across race, ethnicity, and age. If structural low turnout is endemic in any part of America elections, off-cycle local elections are at the heart of the problem.

The Party of the President and Well-Being by Race
This Yankelovich Center study examines Black, Latino, and White economic well-being over the last 75 years to see whether economic gains are greater under Democratic or Republican presidents. It finds that Black and Latino well-being improves more under Democratic presidents than under Republican presidents. Black and Latino incomes grow faster, their poverty rates decline more, and the ranks of their unemployed drop more under Democrats than under Republicans. This basic pattern continues under presidents Trump and Biden. Gains under Democrats are large enough that extended Democratic control over the entire time period could well have eliminated racial gaps in income, poverty, and unemployment.

Can a Public Information Campaign Restore Trust in American Elections? 
In the wake of unsubstantiated fraud claims following the 2020 presidential contest, election officials across the country have worked to explain to the public the protections that safeguard the integrity of elections in order to restore faith in democracy.  Many officials have created informational videos that take different approaches to increasing trust in elections.  Are these videos effective when the public watches them? Through a series of survey experiments, we provide rigorous evidence that informational videos from election officials are effective at increasing trust in elections, and that trust increased for Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike.

The Yankelovich Survey - After the 2022 Midterms, Do Americans Trust Elections?
Democrats and independents say they have greater confidence in the system’s accuracy and integrity than they did before the election was held, but Republican confidence did not increase. Real-world remedies hold promise for restoring trust in elections. 

The Yankelovich Survey – Looking Ahead to November How Will Reproductive Rights, Crime Rates and Top Two Dynamics Shape California’s General Election?
Reproductive rights, crime rates and concerns over a war with Russia are among the issues likely to affect voter engagement in California’s November general election, according to the latest Yankelovich Survey.

The Yankelovich Survey – Reforming The Recall? California Voters’ Perspectives On The Process
In the wake of the 2021 gubernatorial recall election, California voters say they would favor changes in the recall process, a Yankelovich Survey found. Forty percent of the state’s registered voters believe the recall process needs major reforms, compared with 34% of likely voters in 2003. The survey also found that the election was unrepresentative of the state’s electorate. Yankelovich Center Co-Director Thad Kousser was invited to present the survey findings and testify about recall reform to the California State Assembly and Senate Committees on Elections as well as to the state’s Little Hoover Commission. 

Report – How Americans work: Using in-depth interviewing to rethink data infrastructure
A study on how deep, qualitative interviewing and ethnography can be used to improve our public data infrastructure.

Report – Pathways to STEM Careers: Strategies for employment from high school degree to Ph.D.
Employment options for those pursuing STEM careers.

Report – Financing higher educational opportunity: Investments, endowments, and access
Experts convene to discuss university endowments and access to higher education.

Report – Democratic Investments: Tax initiatives, public goods, and democratic participation
A study growing out of a conference on California’s public finance policies.

Report – Immigrant integration and gateways for growth: Comparative perspectives
Experts examine the nature of many immigrant populations and discuss strategies for successful integration.

Report — The educational value of alumni for public high schools 
A multi-site study of efforts to increase alumni engagement in San Diego County high schools.