The Leadership Conference September Poll Confirmed by Election Results: The Majority of the Country Rejects Anti-Democratic Extremism

Leadership Conference Resources 11.17,22

To: Interested Parties
From: Maya Wiley, President of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights 
Date: November 2022
Subject: The Leadership Conference September Poll Confirmed by Election Results: The Majority of the Country Rejects Anti-Democratic Extremism

Introduction: Voters Fought To Save Democracy – Because They Are the Majority 

This fall, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights teamed up with brilliant corners Research and Strategy to conduct a poll on civil and human rights. The Leadership Conference conducted the national poll in order to gain a better understanding of voters’ moods as they headed into the home stretch of the 2022 election season. Results are from a national survey by brilliant corners Research & Strategies of 1,003 likely voters. Interviews were conducted September 1-6, 2022 via live callers to both landline and cell phones. The margin of error for this poll is +/- 3.1 percent.

Indeed, what the polling found, and what the election confirmed by rejecting election deniers and extremists, is that a majority of voters don’t want to be pitted against each other and believe in the foundations of our democracy. 

While many extremist politicians tried, time and again, and in region after region and state after state, the voters showed that the majority don’t want elected officials who peddle in conspiracies or would push to corrode or eliminate democratic guardrails. Instead, voters chose leaders who want to protect abortion rights, ensure free and fair elections, and fight for our democracy. 

This is the real majority.

In the below memo, you will find insights from The Leadership Conference’s September poll that show just how this majority formed to protect and defend our democracy.

Leadership Conference Poll Showed What Drove Millennial and Gen Z Voters to the Polls

Numerous reports based on initial data show that younger overs were very key to the 2022 election and may have prevented the “red wave” from forming nationally. According to initial exit polls, younger voters broke hard for Democrats (63 percent of under 30, 54 percent of 30-39).

 Our polling showed these Millennial and Gen Z voters to be focused on civil and humans rights issues:

  • 84% think the government must do more to protect civil and human rights of minorities
  • 78% say gay marriage should be a legal right
  • 73% believe immigrants contribute more than they take
  • 66% agree abortion access should be a legally protected right
  • 68% see racism against Black people as a big problem in our country
  • 66% feel our approach to crime doesn’t require more funding for police but instead opt for funding prevention and violence interruption efforts

These ideals are in stark relief to the concerns of older voters and Republicans in the exit polls, and their turnout is the bulwark for democratic values that prevented a red wave from materializing.

Leadership Conference Poll Found Black and Latino Voters Want Better Policing and Criminal Justice Reforms – But White Voters Did Too

The Leadership Conference poll found that Black and Latino voters — in defiance of pre-election media narratives — want better policing and improved criminal justice systems.

On improvements to our criminal justice system, The Leadership Conference poll found:

  • 78% of Black voters strongly agree 
  • 70% of Latinos strongly agree 
  • 57% of White voters strongly or somewhat agree

On the need for improved policing, The Leadership Conference poll found:

  • 67% of Black voters strongly agree
  • 72% of Latino voters strongly agree
  • 51% of White voters strongly agree

The Leadership Conference Polling Results on Key Issues That Swayed the Election 

In addition, The Leadership Conference polling took a close look at several vital issues that drove the election, such as democracy, abortion, and whether voters thought we were on the right or wrong track.

  • Voters Think Democracy Is Under Threat: The Leadership Conference finding: The Leadership Conference poll found that 67 percent of likely voters were worried that democracy was under threat.
  • Abortion Should Be Legal: The Leadership Conference finding: 62 percent of voters believe access should be a legally protected right in this country.
  • Voters Think the Nation Is on the Wrong Track: The Leadership Conference finding: 69 percent of voters were dissatisfied.

Moving Forward

The Leadership Conference’s polling proved prescient on the national mood as the election drew closer and, with strong accuracy, was able to gauge the national mood on some of the most vital issues facing the electorate. Issues like democracy and abortion were front-of-mind for voters, and The Leadership Conference poll nailed an electorate that was concerned about the direction of the country.

The polling confirmed something else too: The majority of this country disagrees with the extremists who want to end abortion, stifle our democracy, and push outlandish conspiracy theories. This is where the majority of the country is.

The Leadership Conference will be conducting this polling annually and will be sharing the results every fall.

About the Poll 

These findings are from a proprietary survey conducted by brilliant corners Research & Strategies for The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. This is a national survey of 1,003 likely voters. The survey was conducted by phone, using professional interviewers, starting on September 1 and ending on September 6, 2022. The survey’s sample was drawn randomly from the voter file and geographically stratified for proportional representation. The data was weighted slightly to adhere to population demographics of voters in the voter file. The margin of error overall is +/- 3.1 percent, with a 95 percent confidence interval. The margin of error for sub-groups will be higher depending on the size of the sub-group sample and the size of the actual response to any given question.