Report · Politics

How people weigh state versus federal influence on public health

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In a Verasight survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted May 1 to 4, 2026, 46% of Americans said state and federal lawmakers have about equal impact on public health outcomes.

About a third said federal lawmakers have more impact, including 11% who said much more and 23% who said somewhat more. Another 19% said state lawmakers have more impact.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

46% said state and federal lawmakers have about equal public-health impact.

Compared to federal lawmakers, how much impact do you think state lawmakers have on public health outcomes?

  • About equal impact 46.4%
  • Federal lawmakers have somewhat more impact 22.8%
  • State lawmakers have somewhat more impact 14.3%
  • Federal lawmakers have much more impact 11.1%
  • State lawmakers have much more impact 5.4%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.3%

2

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-05-01 → 2026-05-04
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.3%
Module
2

Source

Citation

SBM Omnibus Survey #2026-049, fielded May 1-4, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.3%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/sbm-2026

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.