Knight Foundation Election Hub Partnership

● Friends and family (29%) and news media (26%) are the top sources Americans use for voting information, with younger people (18-24) leaning more on personal networks, and the older population (65+) favoring news media.

● Americans with less formal education tend to rely more on friends and family for election information, while those with higher education and income are more likely to prefer the news media.

● Democrats and Independents are more likely to rely on news media (29%), whereas Republicans more often get information from friends and family (34%).

● Local media serve as the main election information source for 8% of Americans, while national media are preferred by 17%. Three quarters of Americans identify sources other than the news media as their main way of staying informed about the 2024 election.

● Older Americans, as well as those with lower income and education, are most likely to rely primarily on local news for 2024 election information.

● Across US states, the reliance on national news for election information is highest in Connecticut (26%), Massachusetts (26%), and Nevada (25%), while the states where people are most likely to rely on local news are Hawaii (14%), Louisiana (13%), and South Carolina (12%).

● Only 25% of Americans report being very or extremely satisfied with local political news, with satisfaction levels relatively higher among Black respondents (35%), Democrats (38%), and people living in urban areas (33%).

● Americans with higher income and formal education levels are more likely to report being satisfied with local political news.

● DC (48%), New York (42%), North Carolina (33%), Pennsylvania (33%), Michigan (31%), and Illinois (30%) reported highest satisfaction with local news about politics (percent respondents saying they were “very” or “extremely” satisfied).

● Conversely, Montana (50%), Idaho (49%), Wyoming (45%), New Mexico (45%), and New Hampshire (40%) were most dissatisfied with local news (percent respondents saying they were “not too satisfied” or “not at all satisfied”).

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• In the presidential election, AAPI respondents across the country and across Southern states preferred Vice President Kamala Harris over former president Donald Trump, more so than the general population did: 48% of AAPI respondents in the South preferred Harris, compared to 35% from that region more generally, while 50% of AAPI respondents nationally chose Harris, versus 31% for Trump. Nationally, the general population was roughly split, with 40% for Harris and 38% for Trump.

• AAPI respondents in the South were roughly split over whether Trump handled the job well when he was last president, with 40% saying they approved to some degree, compared to 43% saying they disapproved.

• However, AAPI respondents nationally disapproved of Trump’s handling of the job by a greater degree (48% strongly disapprove or disapprove, compared to 34% strongly approve/approve.) In this survey, the general population was also split, with 42% saying they strongly approved or approved of Trump’s performance, versus 41% disapproving.

• Asked to rate parties and candidates by degree of favorability, AAPI respondents nationally were more favorable to Democrats (61 points average on a 1-100 scale) than Republicans (52 points.) Southern AAPI respondents rated Donald Trump (60 points) higher than Joe Biden (54 points), but lower than Kamala Harris (65 points.)

• Compared to the general population, slightly fewer AAPI respondents in the South and nationally reported feeling “very safe” in their home. Among the general population, 55% said they felt very safe in their home, versus 49% among Southern AAPI respondents and 48% among AAPI persons nationally.

• 48% of AAPI respondents in the South and 51% of AAPI respondents nationally said that the way U.S. politicians talk about China may contribute to stereotypes either a lot or a fair amount. 40% of the general population also believed this to be the case.

• A national sample of U.S. persons of MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) descent (see below for precise definition) favored Vice President Kamala Harris (56%) over former president Donald Trump (32%).

• MENA respondents nationally ranked the economy, inflation, healthcare, and crime at the top of their list of issues affecting their decision for president.

• The MENA respondents favored Harris heavily on some domestic issues such as abortion: 62% said Harris would definitely or probably handle the issue better, compared to 26% who said Trump would definitely or probably handle better. However, MENA respondents rated abortion as only the 12th most important issue out of a list of 17.

• On handling the economy, 53% of MENA respondents said Harris would definitely or probably handle it better compared to 35% for Trump.

• Regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict, 50% said Harris would definitely or probably handle the issue better compared to 33% for Trump. For MENA respondents, this was the third-least important issue among a list of 17 issues.

• Generally, the MENA sample systematically rated all policy issues as more important than the general population; the biggest gap was for race relations and racism, followed by climate change, where the MENA respondents found the issue significantly more important than the general population.

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• Among the top election issues for North Carolinians were the economy, inflation, health care, and taxes. Issues such as gun control and abortion ranked significantly lower than economic issues.

• 74.5% of North Carolina voters indicated that they intended to vote, while 21% – 1 in 5 – were not sure if they would vote or indicated they would not vote.

• 61% of North Carolinians said that it was somewhat or very difficult to afford healthcare costs.

• 43% of respondents indicated they had ever received a medical bill with an error in it.

• About one-third (32%) of survey respondents in North Carolina said they had had to resort to using a credit card in order to cover medical costs they did not have enough money to cover.

• Near three-quarters (74%) of respondents said they were somewhat or very concerned about surprise medical bills.

• The general public in the United States has limited awareness ofcurrent events in Haiti, with just 9% saying they are very familiar and31% saying they are somewhat familiar with the current crisissituation in that nation.

• More people support increasing migration from Haiti than oppose it:34% of the general U.S. public somewhat or strongly supportsallowing more people from Haiti to immigrate, while only 29% of thegeneral public said they are somewhat or strongly opposed.

• A slight majority of the general public (51%) supports increasing aidto Haiti (based on respondents who said they “somewhat” or“strongly” support aid).

• 44% of Haitian-Americans said they felt the Biden-Harrisadministration’s policies had a positive effect on Haiti. Only 16% ofHaitian Americans felt that Biden-Harris policies had a negative effect.

• Persons of Haitian descent reported more favorability for Democrats,President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris than thegeneral public did. They also indicated higher favorability forRepublicans, compared to average respondents.

• Regarding the debunked election campaign-driven story relating toimmigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets, 62% of the generalpublic said they had heard about it.

• For those respondents who indicated awareness of the false “eatingpets” story, 69% recalled that it referenced Haitian immigrants, while18% were not sure. About 9% of respondents in total – nearly 1 in 10– falsely recalled that immigrants from four entirely different, butspecific, countries had been accused of eating pets: Mexico, China,Kenya, and Russia.

• American Jews expressed acute concern over issues of antisemitism in the United States, with 54% saying it is a “very serious” problem compared to only 27% of non-Jews who held the same view.

• On the issue of Islamophobia, Jewish Americans voiced much more concern than non-Jews, with 40% saying it is a “very serious” problem compared to only 25% of non-Jews expressing such high levels of concern.

• When asked whether they would support restrictions “prohibiting speech that opposes Israel’s existence as a Jewish state” on college campuses, Jews were significantly more likely to support such speech bans, with 39% of Jews and 21% of non-Jews strongly or somewhat in support.

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• American Jews are much more likely to indicate that they will vote for Vice President Kamala Harris than for former President Donald Trump, preferring her by a margin of 2:1 (60% for Harris, and 30% for Trump.)

• On Israel-Gaza issues, 27% of Jews and 28% of non-Jews said Trump would definitely handle the situation better, while 36% of Jewish respondents said Harris would handle the situation better, compared to 25% of non-Jews in the survey.

• American Jews in the survey saw Trump as strongly pro-Israeli, more so than non-Jews did. A majority of non-Jews (56%) believed Harris offers equal support to both Israelis and Palestinians, compared to 42% of Jews who believe Harris is even-handed.