Posted Apr 07, 2014 at 8:38 AM by Maurice Berger
A new Gallup poll reports that Illinois tops the list for state residents with the lowest trust in their state government: “llinois’ position at the bottom of the list … is not surprising, given that its last two governors, Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan, were sentenced to jail for crimes committed while in office.” Here is Gallup's chart for the most and least trusted states.

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Tagged: voter expectations, North Dakota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Alaska, Utah, California, Rhode Island, Maine, Louisiana, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Wyoming
Posted Apr 11, 2013 at 8:58 AM by Maurice Berger
According to a survey by Gallup, "80% of those living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area say
they feel safe walking alone at night in the area where they live, the
highest percentage among the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas.
Minneapolis is followed closely by Denver, Raleigh, Boston, Salt Lake
City, and Austin." Here is Gallup's chart:

Tagged: Minnesota, Texas, North Carolina, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Utah
Posted Dec 02, 2008 at 4:22 AM by Maurice Berger
While Obama was able to count on an increase in intensity of support and turnout among African-American, Hispanic, and young voters, his victory was not built on a surge of voters (as his campaign had hoped). According to Bloomberg News: The Democrats "bet on an unprecedented surge of new voters to carry him to victory last
month . . . but [Obama] won without the record turnout . . . About 130 million
Americans voted, up from 122 million four years ago. Still, turnout fell short
of the 140 million voters many experts had forecast. With a little more than 61
percent of eligible voters casting ballots, the 2008 results also didn't match
the record 63.8 percent turnout rate that helped propel President John F.
Kennedy to victory in 1960."The reasons for this shortfall were complex and varied: "Many disaffected Republicans stayed home. Young voters, particularly those
without college degrees, didn’t turn out in the numbers that the Obama campaign
projected. In states where the presidential race wasn’t in doubt -- such as
Obama strongholds in California and New York, or reliably Republican outposts
such as Oklahoma and Utah -- turnout was lower than in 2004."
Tagged: PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama, Voter Enthusiasm, California, New York, Oklahoma, Utah