Pew Study Finds 85% of Americans Don’t Think Elected Officials Care About What ‘People Like Them’ Think – Up 30% since 2000

Brian Beihl

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for June 19, 2024

Chart: Pew Research Center

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

A Pew Research Center report released in late April finds that Americans are frustrated with their federal government, and say that elected officials don’t care about what “people like them” think.

U.S. adults were surveyed in 2023 as part of a poll conducted since 1994.  In the early 2000s, 55% agreed with the statement that “Elected officials don’t care about what people like me think.”  In the most recent survey, that figure is 85%.  

It’s not surprising then that 70% of Americans say ordinary people have too little influence over the decisions members of Congress make, and 73% say lobbyists and special interests have too much influence. Eighty percent see campaign donors as having too much influence. 

In response to how the political system in the U.S. is working, only 4% said “Extremely well.”  Twenty-three percent said “very well,” 45% “not too well”, and 

27% not well at all.  Fifty-nine percent said they were frustrated with the federal government; 21% said they were angry.

Democracy advocates point to ranked choice voting, single ballot open primaries, and small-donor public financing of campaigns as ways of refocusing the attention of elected officials on ordinary citizens.   

RCV and open primary initiatives are on the November ballot in Nevada, Colorado & Arizona.

We’ve linked the Pew survey at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Pew Research Center – More than 80% of Americans believe elected officials don’t care what people like them think
Pew Research Center – Money, power and the influence of ordinary people in American politics
Pew Research Center – Views of the U.S. political system, the federal government and federal-state relations
Groups Taking Action:
Open Primaries, Represent.Us, FairVote, American Promise, Issue One

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#Democracy #DemocracyNews #PewResearchCenter #EndBigMoney #OpenPrimaries #RCV