Toplines 2 - NUSA Idaho August 2023 Toplines

Poll of 1,017 Idaho Likely Voters

Conducted August 18-26, 2023

By Rasmussen Reports and NumbersUSA

How would you rate the job Joe Biden has been doing as President?

 

17% strongly approve

16% somewhat approve

10% somewhat disapprove

56% strongly disapprove

2% not sure

 

Idaho’s population has nearly doubled since 1990, and if recent migration and fertility trends continue, demographers project the state's 2023 population of 1.9 million to reach about 2.7 million by 2060 and still be increasing.  Do you find the prospect of adding another 800,000 residents in the coming decades to be more positive or more negative?

 

21% more positive

67% more negative

12% not sure

 

Has Idaho developed its open lands into cities, housing, and highways too much, too little, for about as much as it should?

 

48% too much

11% too little

36% about right

5% not sure

 

Government data show that the United States now has about one-third less cropland for each American than it did 30 years ago.  How important is it to protect U.S. farmland from development so the United States is able to produce enough food to feed Americans in the future?

 

81% very important

14% somewhat important

3% not very important

0% not at all important

2% not sure

 

In Idaho, approximately 3.3 million acres of farmland are irrigated, and irrigation is crucial to food production in the state. Cities and towns compete for scarce water with agriculture. Should water used to irrigate farmland be diverted to support additional human population growth in Idaho?

 

12% water should be diverted from agriculture to support more residents

73% water should not be diverted from agriculture to support more residents

14% not sure

 

Three of Idaho's aquifers are classified as sole source aquifers.  These aquifers are the only or principal source of drinking water for residents in those regions.  How important is it to protect Idaho’s sole-source aquifers from over-pumping and depletion?

 

79% very important

16% somewhat important

2% not very important

1% not at all important

2% not sure

 

From an environmental standpoint, how important is it to preserve Idaho’s forests, rivers, lakes, natural grasslands, mountains, and wilderness areas?

 

77% very important

16% somewhat important

4% not very important

1% not at all important

2% not sure

 

How important is it to you that you can easily get to Natural Areas and Open Space?

 

65% very important

26% somewhat important

6% not very important

1% not at all important

2% not sure

 

A study of government data found that three-quarters (77%) of the loss of Idaho’s open space, natural habitat, and farmland to development in recent decades was related to the state's rapid population growth. Would continuing this level of population growth into the future make Idaho better, worse or not much different?

 

7% better

77% worse

12% not much different

4% not sure

 

In recent years, have you sensed that Idaho’s parks and natural areas have become much more crowded, somewhat more crowded, somewhat less crowded, or much less crowded?

 

52% much more crowded
35% somewhat more crowded
4% somewhat less crowded

1% much less crowded
8% not sure

 

The population of Idaho has nearly doubled since 1990. Would you prefer that the Idaho population continue to grow rapidly, that it grow more slowly, that it stay about the same size, or that it become smaller? 

 

5% continue to grow rapidly

47% grow more slowly

23% stay about the same

23% become smaller

2% not sure

 

A major source of Idaho’s population growth is people moving in from other states, especially places like California. Should local and state governments in Idaho make it more difficult for people to move to Idaho from other states by restricting development?

 

56% yes
27% no
18% not sure

 

Another major source of Idaho population growth is immigration from other countries.  Should the federal government reduce annual immigration to slow down Idaho’s population growth, keep immigration and population growth at the current level, or increase annual immigration and population growth?

 

54% reduce annual immigration

31% keep immigration at its current level

8% increase immigration

7% not sure

 

Currently the federal government adds about one million legal permanent immigrants to the country each year.  What annual level would you prefer:

 

8% two million or more

8% one and a half million

21% one million

19% half a million

28% one hundred thousand or less

17% not sure

 

One way for Idaho communities to handle continued population growth without losing as much open space, natural habitat, and farmland is to change zoning and other regulations to funnel more current and future residents into apartments and condo buildings instead of single-family houses with yards. Do you strongly favor that change, somewhat favor it, somewhat oppose it or strongly oppose it?

 

15% strongly favor

27% somewhat favor

24% somewhat oppose

23% strongly oppose

12% not sure

 

Residential development (building subdivisions) to perpetually accommodate new population growth imposes economic costs on the existing residents of municipalities.  Do you favor paying higher property taxes to perpetually accommodate new residents in your community?

 

10% yes
79% no
11% not sure

 

One potential way of controlling new growth is by limiting the number of new hook-ups to sewage lines and wastewater treatment plants.  Do you favor using this as a tool to manage or control growth?

 

52% yes
26% no
22% not sure

 

In trying to control illegal immigration, should the government mandate that all employers use the federal electronic E-Verify system to help ensure that they hire only legal workers for U.S. jobs?

69% yes
16% no
14% not sure

 

Do you live in a major city, the suburbs, a small city, a town or a rural area?

 

15% a major city

16% the suburbs

27% a small city

14% a town

26% a rural area

2% not sure

 

Where would you prefer to live – in a major city, the suburbs, a small city, a town or a rural area?

 

7% a major city

14% the suburbs

23% a small city

16% a town

39% a rural area

2% not sure

 

Have you lived in Idaho since childhood or did you move to Idaho as an adult?

 

57% since childhood

43% you moved in as an adult

 

About how long have you lived in Idaho, less than 10 years, 10 to 20 years, 20 to 30 years, or more than 30 years? 

 

12% less than 10 years

18% 10 to 20 years

21% 20 to 30 years

49% more than 30 years

 

Were you born in Idaho, in another state, or another country? 

 

40% Idaho

57% another state

3% another country