Three in Ten Americans Are Not Knowledgeable About U.S. Political Issues

As the presidential primary seasons continues to heat up, the candidates may have their work cut out for them as they work to get people interested in the election. Just one third (32%) of U.S. adults say they are extremely or very knowledge about political issues in the U.S., while 38 percent say they are fairly knowledgeable and three in ten are somewhat or not at all knowledgeable about political issues.

These are some of the results of a Harris Poll of 2,225 adults surveyed online between July 6 and 13, 2007 by Harris Interactive^®.

Certain groups say they are more knowledgeable than others. For example, over two in five men (44%) say they are very or somewhat knowledgeable compared to only one in five women (20%) who say the same thing. Politically, Republicans are more knowledgeable than Democrats (35% versus 29% who say they are extremely or very knowledgeable), but Liberals are more knowledgeable than Conservatives (42% versus 35%).

One reason Americans may not be knowledgeable about U.S. political issues is that they do not really like learning about these issues. Four in ten adults say they strongly like learning about political issues in the U.S. compared to just over one-quarter (28%) who like learning about these issues and one-third (32%) who do not like learning about them. Again, men are more likely to say they strongly like learning about these issues than women are (50% versus 30%). Also, over half (53%) of Liberals say they strongly like learning about U.S. political issues compared to two in five (41%) of Conservatives and just one-third (34%) of Moderates.

While large numbers may say they do not know much about U.S. political issues and do not like learning about them, the numbers are even worse when it comes to political issues outside of the United States. Two-thirds of U.S. adults (68%) say they are only somewhat or not at all knowledgeable about political issues in nations other than the U.S. while one-quarter (24%) are fairly knowledgeable and just eight percent are extremely or very knowledgeable. Again, this is mostly likely due to a dislike about learning about these issues. Well over half (57%) say they do not like learning about political issues in other countries, while one-quarter (26%) say they like learning about political issues in other countries and 17 percent strongly like learning about these issues.

Again, men are slightly more likely than women to say they are knowledgeable about political issues in other countries as well as like learning about these issues. While three-quarters (78%) of women say they are only somewhat or not at all knowledgeable about political issues in other countries, over half (57%) of men say the same. Also, half of men (48%) and two-thirds of women (65%) do not like learning about political issues in other countries.

"How knowledgeable do you feel that you are about political issues in the U.S.?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

"How knowledgeable do you feel that you are about political issues in the U.S.?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

"How much do you like learning about political issues in the U.S.?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

Strongly like (NET) = Very Strongly Like and Strongly Like

Do Not Like (NET) = Somewhat Like and Do Not Like At All

"How much do you like learning about political issues in the U.S.?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

"How knowledgeable do you feel that you are about political issues in nations other than the U.S.?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

"How much do you like learning about political issues in other countries?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

Strongly like (NET) = Very Strongly Like and Strongly Like

Do Not Like (NET) = Somewhat Like and Do Not Like At All

This Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between July 6 and 13, 2007 among 2,225 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

J30279 (July)

Q640, 645, 650, 655