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Pliny's Point on May 8, 2017
May 8, 2017: An average of 17 percent approve of how the 115th Congress is handling its job, down slightly with result of a new Economist/YouGov Poll released last week. This poll dipped from a 13 percent approval (4/23 - 4/25) to 11 percent (4/29 - 5/2), though it does come with a 3.2 percent margin of error.[1]
In the coming days, Ballotpedia will be watching to see how the passage of the American Health Care Act in the House might influence public opinion about Congress.
| Source | Date range | Sample size | Job approval rating | Margin of error (+/-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economist/YouGov[2] | 4/29 - 5/2 | 1,255 registered voters | 11% | 3.2% |
| Wall Street Journal/NBC[3] | 4/17 - 4/20 | 900 adults | 20% | 3.3% |
| Public Policy Polling[4] | 4/17 - 4/18 | 648 registered voters | 18% | 3.9% |
| Gallup[5] | 4/5 - 4/9 | 1,019 adults | 20% | 4% |
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account for major news events as we attempt to balance the need for a larger sample of results with the need to remove outdated information.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:
Stay in the know:
- The Weekly Brew
- The Daily Brew
- You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition, 2016-2017
- Policy issues under the Trump administration, 2017-2021
- 115th United States Congress
- Special elections to the 115th United States Congress (2017-2018)
Footnotes
- ↑ Real Clear Politics, "Congressional Job Approval," accessed May 8, 2017
- ↑ YouGov, "The Economist/YouGov Poll," April 29 - May 2, 2017
- ↑ [http://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/17119NBCWSJAprilPollFullRelease.pdf The Wall Street Journal, "April Poll Full Release," April 24, 2017
- ↑ Public Policy Polling, "Democrats Have Big Enthusiasm Edge for 2018," April 20, 2017
- ↑ Gallup, "Congress Approval Drops to 20% After February High," April 11, 2017
