Print this page
Email this page
Background
Rural Voters Support Clean Water Protections
|
|
Recently conducted public opinion surveys polling voters in rural, agriculturally-dependent Congressional districts revealed some surprising facts about these voters' support for strong actions from the federal government to protect clean water. Of the 900 rural voters polled, more than half (55%) in each district agreed that government has not gone far enough with laws to protect the environment and keep our water free from pollution. Farmers were as likely as their non-farming neighbors to agree with this statement. A memorandum of the polling results is available here. The following links provide the specific data for each district: Additionally, two-thirds of voters are very concerned about pollution of drinking water, and more than half say they are concerned about pollution of lakes, rivers and streams. The rural voters polled said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who voted to have the Clean Water Act protect all bodies of water from pollution. Depending on the district, between 64 percent to 73 percent of voters said they would be either more likely or much more likely to vote for a candidate who supported such clean water legislation. Conducted for Earthjustice by Bellwether Research & Consulting, the poll surveyed 300 randomly selected rural voters in each of three congressional districts: Illinois-15th; Ohio-18th; and Tennessee-4th. The poll was conducted in mid-December, and those polled were selected in each congressional district from a universe of households defined as "rural" based on the Census Tract of that address. Each survey has a + 5.6% margin of error. "Given the consistency of these findings in these three separate districts, there is a strong likelihood that rural voters would have similar attitudes in similar districts," said Chris Matthews, President of Bellwether Research & Consulting. Earthjustice commissioned the poll to be conducted in rural, predominantly agricultural districts to counter arguments from opponents of the federal Clean Water Act that are trying to create the impression that rural and farming voters don't want Congress to legislate protection for all waters of the United States. Congress is now considering a bill called the Clean Water Restoration Act that will guarantee protections for all waters. More information about the Clean Water Restoration Act (H.R. 2421/S. 1870) is available here.
