Do people think that some policies should be handled by the states, rather than the national government? In an era characterized by stark party polarization there is reason to suspect that attitudes regarding federalism are shaped by partisan considerations. Specifically, reported support for devolution may be driven by exposure to elite partisan cues and partisan reasoning tied to which political party devolution would empower. Using data from the 2022 Cooperative Election Study, we find that partisans tend to differ—often substantially—in their support for state-level decision-making regarding concrete policy proposals. However, these differences are largely driven by those who are most likely to be exposed to elite cues. We also find that, among both Democrats and Republicans, support for policy devolution is contingent on which party controls the state legislature in an individual’s state. The findings suggest that partisanship plays a central role in shaping what the public says when asked about which level of government should determine whether to implement specific policy proposals.

The share of Americans voting by mail surged in 2020. For those casting a mail-in ballot, their voting experience was different from those who voted in-person. When voting by mail, people can make the...

Abstract. Do Americans believe that states should be allowed to secede from the union? Using survey responses to a module of the 2020 Cooperative Election

How the everyday habits and attitudes of ordinary liberals and conservatives shape the health of American democracy. In Everyday Democracy, Jeffrey M. Berry, James M. Glaser, and Deborah J. Schildkrau...

Compromise in an Age of Party Polarization [Wolak, Jennifer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Compromise in an Age of Party Polarization

New polling by the Survey Center on American Life provides context for how gender divisions might impact the results of the 2024 Presidential election.

State governments are increasingly challenging the national government and pursuing state rules in opposition to national laws. I am interested in whether the p...

A revealing new study suggests that those civics lessons about the importance of an engaged citizenry didn’t quite anticipate today’s polarized politics.