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Pliny's Point on April 6, 2017
April 6, 2017: An average of recent polls indicates that 36 percent think the U.S. is on the right track, while 56 percent believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. New polling data shows a two point drop from last week in the percentage of those who think the U.S. is moving in a positive direction. However, this is still an increase from the end of January, when the positive average ranged from 29 to 32 percent.
The data for today's average comes from The Economist/YouGov, Reuters/Ipsos, Rasmussen Reports, and Politico/Morning Consult. These polls, individually, range from 32 to 42 percent positive in their direction of country ratings.
| Source | Date range | Sample size | % who think the U.S. is headed in the right direction | Margin of error (+/-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economist/YouGov[1] | 4/2 - 4/4 | 1,331 registered voters | 32% | 3.2% |
| Reuters/Ipsos[2] | 3/31 - 4/4 | 2,149 adults | 34% | 2.4% |
| Rasmussen Reports[3] | 3/26 - 3/30 | 2,500 likely voters | 35% | 2% |
| Politico/Morning Consult[4] | 3/24 - 3/25 | 1,991 registered voters | 42% | 2% |
Methodology
For Ballotpedia's presidential approval, congressional approval, and direction of the country polling results, we take an average of the most recent polls on one or more of these topics conducted by 12 sources. Polls may be included in the average for up to 30 days, though this timeline may be adjusted to account for major news events as we attempt to balance the need for a larger sample of results with the need to remove outdated information. For a full description of our methodology and polling explanations, see: Ballotpedia's Polling Indexes.
What's in a name?
Pliny the Elder, a scholar from the Roman Empire, is most well known for writing the encyclopedic work Naturalis Historia, or “Natural History.” His extremely thorough work covered everything from botany to technology. Naturalis Historia, one of the largest Roman works that still exists from the first century A.D., became an example for future encyclopedic works through its formatting, references, and comprehensiveness.
Today, Ballotpedia works to preserve and expand knowledge, just like Pliny did hundreds of years ago. One of the features of Ballotpedia, the encyclopedia of American politics, was a daily statistic called Pliny’s Point. Each day, between January 20, 2017 and September 1, 2017, readers learned where Americans stood on the direction of the country, or their approval of elected officials.
Click here for more Pliny's Point articles.
See also
Ballotpedia daily polling averages:
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Footnotes
