Unite NY’s Voter Empowerment Index Finds Strong Voter Dissatisfaction with the Status Quo and Strong Demand for Reforms Such as Term Limits

Albany, NY – Nearly 80 percent of unaffiliated voters in New York think the state is moving in the wrong direction, and the desire for reforms, especially in New York City suburbs, is sky high according to the latest research from the independent organization Unite NY. For the past 18 months, Unite has been measuring voter sentiment towards reform via the organization’s Voter Empowerment Index (VEI).

The latest VEI surveyed 800 New Yorkers this summer and found 78% of independent and nonpartisan voters think the state is headed in the wrong direction, which is 25 points higher than the overall electorate, which found 53% of all voters think the state is headed in the wrong direction. Overall, 40% of voters say they are considering leaving the state, which is consistent with previous findings and backs up the fact that New York continues to be a national leader in the outmigration of residents.

The poll found New Yorkers have consistently supported key reforms that will give more power to voters. Support for these reforms includes term limits for Governor (80% support), term limits for the State Legislature (80% support), citizen ballot initiatives (72% support), open primaries (58% support), and ranked-choice voting (48% support).

Of note, support for term limits for Governor was highest in the New York City suburbs, the strongest support for opening the primary process was Upstate New York, and the area of the state with the highest percentage of people considering leaving is the Bronx, where 71% of people polled said they are planning to leave.

Unite NY Executive Director Tim Dunn said, “Independent and unaffiliated New Yorkers, the second largest group of voters in this state, are clearly frustrated with the state of democracy in New York and the latest Voter Empowerment Index makes this fact clear. The path to winning back these voters lies in enacting reforms that have overwhelming, bipartisan support. I would encourage elected leaders from both parties to take this into account during the policymaking process, as this group is growing in both numbers and extreme dissatisfaction with their state government.”

Other key findings in the VEI included bad news for Governor Hochul, whose approval rating is underwater, with 40% holding a favorable opinion versus 46% who do not. Meanwhile, the New York State legislature’s approval rating is abysmal, with just 27% of voters holding a positive opinion of the state’s lawmakers, contrasted with 49% who disapprove of the job that is being done.

Only 10% of voters feel the state is ahead of the curve when compared to other states that have implemented election reforms, while nearly 40% believe the state has fallen behind.

While the findings are tough, the good news is that 37% of respondents believe that politics in New York are fixable, and 54% of participants said they would attend a cross-partisan event to talk about issues with those who have different opinions.

The survey, done in June in conjunction with Citizen Data, polled 800 likely New York State voters on their attitudes towards present-day politics and political reforms. The margin of error is 3.5 percent.

Below, please find trend lines related to the top issues facing New Yorkers as well as voter attitudes towards reform. The entire survey is available on the Unite NY website at https://uniteny.org/voter-index/.

About Unite NY

Unite NY is a movement focused on engaging and empowering voters on important issues of reform that will allow for more voices and more choices and ultimately, more democracy. The membership organization seeks a more fair, open, and representative democracy that results in the voice of voters being heard by evolving the electoral system so that officials put what more voters want ahead of party interests. Learn more at www.uniteny.org.