Reports from the field
Compass Polls, our national public polling research series, make timely opinion research accessible. Browse our analyses, articles, and press releases.
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Voters Share K-12 Concern; Disagree About Causes
79% of voters are extremely or very concerned about K-12 schools and students underperforming in the US, with the level of worry steady across party lines. The agreement stops there: Democrats point to underfunding and teacher shortages as the primary causes, while Republicans cite curriculum drift and lowered standards.
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What Voter Motivation Reveals About 2026
Democrats lead in the latest Change Research Compass Poll, but by how much depends entirely on who shows up to vote. Voters who say they are certain to cast a ballot lean heavily Democratic; voters who are less committed lean Republican, and many haven't made up their minds. Stephen Clermont examines what the motivation gap reveals about the November electorate.
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Voters Back Ethics Reforms for Congress and Courts
The August 2026 Compass Poll finds majority, cross-party support for maximum age limits for Congress (83%) and the presidency (78%), banning congressional stock trading (88%), a Supreme Court ethics code (90%), and a post-service lobbying restriction (88%). One proposed measure partially shifts the pattern: requiring presidential tax return disclosure draws 58% support among Republicans, against 95% of Democrats and 87% of independents.
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Who Draws the Map? Voters Weigh In
A majority of voters oppose states redrawing congressional maps specifically to gain partisan seats, and 55% support independent redistricting commissions over state legislatures. But when the August 2026 Compass Poll asked voters to describe a fair congressional map in their own words, many could not.
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Corruption Is Rising as A Top Voter Issue
Government corruption tops voters' list of most important political issues in August 2026, cited by 40% of registered voters nationally, up six points from 34% in February. The finding draws cross-partisan agreement, with 43% of Democrats, 46% of independents, and 36% of Republicans all ranking it near the top of their lists, even as open-ended responses show they mean very different things by the word.
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Support for U.S.-Israel Defense Goals Varies
A Change Research national poll finds that support for expanded U.S.-Israel defense cooperation varies considerably by goal, with broad agreement on counterterrorism intelligence sharing and nuclear non-proliferation but division on removing Iran's leadership and on protecting Israel.
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Voter Views on September 11, 25 Years Later
Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, a new Change Research survey explores how Americans remember the attacks, what they believe happened, and how they assess the policies and wars that followed. The findings reveal some partisan and generational divides on questions of accountability, legacy, and choices of the post-9/11 era.
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Most Americans Say the Iran War Is Not Worth Fighting
A new Change Research survey finds that 57% of Americans say the Iran war is "not worth fighting," and nearly half say the conflict could go on "indefinitely." Democrats and independents mostly feel the war is not worth fighting; Republicans disagree.
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The Gender Gap in Political Ambition Persists in 2026
Women just set a new candidacy record for governor. But a new Change Research survey of 2,006 voters finds one gap hasn't moved: men are still far more likely than women to say they've thought about running for office, 36% to 20%. The qualification gap is even wider. Here's why it hasn't closed in two decades.
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