New survey shows partisanship is a big problem in Florida politics.org
…or the new Android app, for more information on the November election
A survey released today shows that Floridians find partisanship the biggest issue facing elected officials when solving problems in the state.
The Sunshine Sate Survey conducted by USF and Nielsen surveyed 1,800 residents statewide and found that 28% noted problems with partisanship. Another 17% thought the divide between elected officials and constituents was the biggest detractor to problem solving.
“It’s interesting that they think partisanship prevents action,” Dr. T. Wayne Bailey said.
Bailey is a professor of political science at Stetson University College of Law. He points out that, unlike national politics, Florida legislators are overwhelmingly Republican and are able to easily push conservative legislation to the governor’s desk.
“Much of the time they have a veto-proof legislative climate,” Bailey said.
This is the first time that question has been asked in a statewide issue survey. Results from respondents show that 45% believe that politics is a bigger issue in state government than race, religion, gender, age or sexual orientation.
Bailey, who analyzed the 34-page polling results, is surprised race was not more heavily weighted by respondents.
“Florida is one of only a few states that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to restore voter rights,” Bailey said.
The survey also shows that Floridians have the highest approval for local governments than state government. Respondent’s approval of the federal government was the lowest of the three categories with 41% reporting poor performance.
State government had a 78% approval rating with 44% ranking performance fair and 34% either good or excellent. 20% said state government’s performance is poor.
County governments only had a 13% poor rating while city governments did slightly better at 9% of respondents ranking performance poor.
The responses aren’t uncommon. Local and state politics tend to be underreported in the mainstream media leaving most people left with focus only on national politics.
Performance responses for the federal government have gotten worse since 2012 when only 37% thought the feds were doing poorly. Perceptions of job performances at the state level have gotten better since 2012. The number of poor ratings dropped from 29% to 20%.
The survey also looked at trust among business, government and non-profits. Mirroring findings in job performance ratings, respondents had the least amount of trust in federal government. Distrust in the federal government rose sharply in the past two years, up to 24% from 18% in the 2012 Leadership Florida Survey.
Respondents had the most trust in the non-profit sector.
Bailey hopes the information could be used to encourage voter turnout in elections. He also hopes that elected officials, especially those in Florida, will look at the results and make voting more enticing and accessible.
“Hopefully we could really profit from making the system more transparent,” Bailey said.
(From the: Saint Peters Blog)
