Publications

A new analysis of 2020 validated voters examines change and continuity in the electorate, both of which contributed to Joe Biden’s victory. It looks at how new voters and voters who turned out in either 2016, 2018 or both voted in the 2020 presidential election, and offers a detailed portrait of the demographic composition of the 2020 electorate.

As the debate over abortion continues, here are key facts about Americans’ views on the topic, based on Pew Research Center polls.

A new study of posts on popular public Facebook pages about the early days of the Biden administration finds that the focus of these posts, as well as the assessments of the new president, differed widely by the ideological orientation of the pages.

The difference in support for the death penalty by survey mode has important consequences for understanding trends on the issue.

Nearly eight-in-ten U.S. adults (78%) say there is some risk an innocent person will be put to death, and 63% say the death penalty does not deter people from committing serious crimes.

The share of adults who are “basically content” with the federal government has risen to the highest point since 2004, driven by Democrats.

Public trust in government remains low. Only about one-quarter of Americans say they can trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (2%) or “most of the time” (22%).

While public support for legal abortion has fluctuated some in two decades of polling, it has remained relatively stable over the past five years. Currently, 59% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 39% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.

Republican support for allowing undocumented immigrants to remain legally in the United States has declined.

Americans’ views on some aspects of the U.S. tax system vary widely by political party affiliation.