Voters and Non-voters
Election Trends

Trust Government to Do What Is Right

Source: PPIC Statewide Surveys, 1998-2013 (registered voters). Note: Dots indicate date the question was asked in a PPIC Statewide Survey.

Just three in 10 (29%) registered voters trust that state government will do what is right just about always or most of the time. An even smaller share of voters trust the federal government (22%); this percentage is slightly lower than in October 2010 (28%), before the last midterm elections. From the first PPIC Statewide Survey in April 1998 onward, trust in either level of government has never risen above 50%.

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Taxes and State Government Services

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Source: PPIC Statewide Surveys, 2003-2014 (registered voters). Note: Dots indicate date the question was asked in a PPIC Statewide Survey.

Californias registered voters have been closely divided on the question of how much state government they want, though their answers have varied over time. Today, 47% say they would rather pay higher taxes and have more services, and 48% would rather pay lower taxes and have fewer services.

There are partisan differences that have been consistent over time. Most Democratic voters prefer higher taxes and more services, most Republicans prefer lower taxes and fewer services, and independents preferences are less consistently on one side or the other.

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Government's Role on Abortion

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Source: PPIC Statewide Surveys, 2000-2014 (registered voters). Note: Dots indicate date the question was asked in a PPIC Statewide Survey.

An overwhelming majority of California voters say the government should not interfere with access to abortiona view that majorities have expressed since 2000.

Majorities across parties hold this view, although it is more prevalent among Democrats than among independents and Republicans.

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Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage

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Source: PPIC Statewide Surveys, 2000-2013 (registered voters). Note: Dots indicate date the question was asked in a PPIC Statewide Survey.

A majority of voters favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. This represents a recent shift in attitudes toward same-sex marriage. When the PPIC Statewide Survey first asked the question in 2000, 39% of voters were in favor and 55% were opposed. The margin narrowed over the next decade until 2010, when 51% favored legalizing same-sex marriage for the first time. Today, a record-high 65% of registered voters are in favor, while 31% are opposed.

For many years there was a strong partisan divide on same-sex marriage, with majorities of Democrats and independents in favor and most Republicans opposed. Although a slim majority of Republicans (53%) continue to oppose same-sex marriage, Republican support has nearly doubled (from 23% to 44%) since October 2008just before the passage of Proposition 8and has jumped 14 points since January 2013.

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