Report · Politics

Most Americans at least sometimes read a voter guide before voting

Reading

About two-thirds of Americans (66%) say they read about candidates in a voter guide at least some of the time when they vote, including 18% who do so all the time and another 20% most all of the time, according to a September 2023 Verasight survey.

For the rest, voter guides go unread: 26% say they have never received or seen one, and 9% say they never read one.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Most Americans at least sometimes read a voter guide before voting.

Thinking about the last few times that you've voted, how often did you read about candidates in a voter guide, if at all?

  • I have never received or seen a voter guide 25.8%
  • Most all of the time 19.6%
  • All the time 18.5%
  • About half of the time 14.5%
  • Some of the time 13.0%
  • Never 8.7%

2023 · base n 2,000 · +/- 2.3%

APSA Omnibus Survey #2023-071

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
2023-09-07 → 2023-09-13
Base (unweighted)
2,000
Margin of error
+/- 2.3%
Module
2023 APSA Omnibus Survey #2023-071

Source

Citation

2023 APSA Omnibus Survey #2023-071, fielded September 7-13, 2023, N=2,000 United States adults, +/- 2.3%.

https://verasight-apsa-2023.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.