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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for July 31, 2024
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
July 31, 2024: By a margin of 49% to 45%, RMG-defined elites— those who live in the most densely populated urban areas, have postgraduate degrees, and make more than $150,000 a year— believe it is more important for the power of the federal government to be limited to protect the rights and freedoms of individual Americans than for the government to have the power to do whatever most voters want. Among all voters, 57% believe it is more important for the federal government’s power to be limited to protect individuals, while 33% say it is more important for the government to be able to do whatever voters want.
The survey also found that America’s elites would prefer the federal government set uniform rules that apply to the whole country (49%) rather than state and local governments establishing rules that best reflect the circumstances in their own areas (45%). Among all voters, 61% believe rules should be left to state and local governments, while just 32% think it is more important for the federal government to set uniform rules.
Methodology
The survey of 500 elites was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on July 18-21, 2024. Fieldwork for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Elites were defined as having a postgraduate degree, having a household income of more than $150,000 annually, and living in a zip code with more than 10,000 people per square mile. Approximately 1% of the total U.S. population meets these criteria. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 4.4 percentage points.
The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on July 17-18, 2024. Fieldwork for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points.
Note: Scott Rasmussen is the president of RMG Research, Inc. He hosts "The Scott Rasmussen Show" on Merit Street Media Sunday mornings at 10 Eastern.
Survey Questions
(Among Elites) Is it more important for the federal government to have the power to do whatever most voters want or for the power of the federal government to be limited to protect the rights and freedoms of individual Americans?
- 45%-For the federal government to have the power to do what voters want
- 49%-For the power of the federal government to be limited
- 6%-Not sure
(Among All Voters ) Is it more important for the federal government to have the power to do whatever most voters want or for the power of the federal government to be limited to protect the rights and freedoms of individual Americans?
- 33%-For the federal government to have the power to do what voters want
- 57%-For the power of the federal government to be limited
- 10%-Not sure
(Among Elites) Is it more important for the federal government to set uniform rules that apply to the entire nation or for state and local governments to establish rules that best reflect the circumstances in their own areas?
- 45%-For the federal government to set uniform rules
- 49%-For state and local governments to establish rules
- 6%-Not sure
(Among All Voters ) Is it more important for the federal government to set uniform rules that apply to the entire nation or for state and local governments to establish rules that best reflect the circumstances in their own areas?
- 32%-For the federal government to have the power to do what voters want
- 61%-For the power of the federal government to be limited
- 8%-Not sure
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- July 30, 2024-79% of voters rate the economy as very important in terms of how they will vote in this year’s presidential election
- July 29, 2024-70% of voters view faith or religion as either very important or somewhat important in their daily life
- July 26, 2024-76 years ago, President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981 to desegregate the U.S. military
- July 25, 2024-48% of voters prefer to live in a community where people are allowed to own guns
- July 24, 2024-1/3 of Americans live in a state that will decide ballot measures on abortion, electoral systems, wages, marijuana, or taxes
To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
The Number of the Day is broadcast on local stations across the country. An archive of these broadcasts can be found here.
Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
Ballotpedia is the nonprofit, nonpartisan Encyclopedia of American Politics.
See also
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