MADISON – The La Follette Policy Poll will be released by UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs at 6 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, January 11. Funded by the Kohl Initiative, the poll results will expand the public discussion during the upcoming election season, looking beyond residents’ candidate preferences to the issues that will ultimately inform and explain their choices in the voting booth.
According to Professor Susan Webb Yackee, the school’s director, the poll “is not a political survey, but instead an investigation of public perceptions about policy issues in the state and national arena.”
With Wisconsin poised to be a battleground state in the 2022 elections, residents’ opinions on vital policy issues could have national implications.
The polling questions cover a range of topics, including:
• The most pressing issues facing the U.S. and Wisconsin
• Confidence in government
• Personal finances and the economy
• Water quality, climate and the environment
• Government regulation
• Racial equity
“We gathered opinions from across the entire state, including in rural Wisconsin,” says Yackee. “Because the poll focuses on persistent Wisconsin attitudes rather than attempting to capture a political snapshot, the results provide a revealing portrait of public opinion in a state that could affect the national balance of power this November.”
All the poll data will be available online in an interactive format, allowing the public to create their own analyses of public opinion in the Badger State. In a state known for sharp political divisions, it points the way to consensus on problems that Wisconsinites agree need solving.
