The majority of Americans believe that the fundamental design of the government needs “significant changes” in order to properly serve the public in current times, a new Pew Research poll found.
62% of respondents said that “significant changes are needed” to the “fundamental design and structure of American government,” according to the poll. 37% said that no significant changes are needed.
Since 2018, Americans’ views have remained relatively consistent; however, the partisan divide has widened. The majority of Republicans – 57% – believed that no significant changes are needed to the fundamental design of government, while 41% said that significant changes are needed. Democrats overwhelmingly believed that the government should be fundamentally changed – 79% said that significant changes are needed, while 20% said no significant changes are needed, the poll found.
The survey polled 11,0001 American adults between July 27 and August 2 with a margin of error of +/- 1.5%.
The partisan gap has widened on views about peaceful protests. In 2018, 80% of Republicans and 68% of Democrats said that people are free to protest peacefully. Now, 79% of Republicans believe people are free to protest peacefully, while just 43% of Democrats agree. Overall, the total percentage of respondents who believe people are free to protest has declined from 73% in 2018 to 60% in 2020. (RELATED: Poll: Americans Across Racial Lines Solidly Against Violent Protest, Support Peaceful Protests)
The results come at a time of nationwide unrest that began following the May 25 death of George Floyd. Protests and riots have been ongoing since Floyd’s death, many of which turned violent. Republicans and some Democrats have denounced the violence, including President Donald Trump, who has offered federal assistance to aid local law enforcement in quelling the unrest. Democrats, however, have criticized the use of federal officials and claimed that police tactics used to control the demonstrations made the situation worse.
Another bad night of Rioting in Portland, Oregon. A small number of Federal troops there to protect courthouse and other Federal property only (great job!). Wanting to be asked by City & State to STOP THE RIOTS. Would bring in National Guard, end problem immediately. ASK!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2020
A declining percentage of both Republicans and Democrats say that the rights and freedoms of all people are respected. In 2018, 47% of respondents said that the country respects all people’s rights, and in 2020, 41% said that all people’s rights are respected. Among Republicans, that percentage declined from 60% in 2018 to 52% in 2020, and among Democrats, the percentage who believed the rights and freedoms of all are respected declined from 38% in 2018 to 30% in 2020.