Report · Politics

A slim majority put protecting democratic rights over fighting crime

Reading

We asked Americans what should come first for the country when protecting democratic rights and keeping the country safe pull in opposite directions. In a Verasight survey conducted July 14-24, 2025, 52% say the U.S. should focus first on protecting democratic rights, even if that means being less able to prevent crime.

The other 48% put safety first, accepting that some democratic freedoms might have to be limited.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

A slim majority put protecting democratic rights over fighting crime.

Which of the following, in your opinion, should be the highest priority for the U.S.?

  • We should focus first on protecting our democratic rights—even if that means we might be less able to prevent crime or 52.1%
  • We should focus first on keeping the country safe—even if that means we might have to limit some democratic freedoms, 47.9%

2025 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.1%

EPOVB Conference Omnibus Survey #2025-059

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-07-14 → 2025-07-24
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.1%
Module
EPOVB Conference Omnibus Survey #2025-059

Source

Citation

EPOVB Conference Omnibus Survey #2025-059, fielded July 14-24, 2025, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.1%.

https://verasight-epovb.tiiny.co

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.