BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The Louisiana Survey shows residents’ trust in the local and national news is on the decline.
The fourth of six reports from the 2022 Louisiana Survey showed that 88% of residents are confident in the state’s voting access.
According to the survey, 53% of residents said voting is a fundamental right for all U.S. adult citizens and that right should not be restricted, while 46% said voting is a privilege subject to limitations. That data broken down showed 81% of Democrats and 60% of independents said voting is a fundamental right while 76% of Republicans said voting is a privilege that can be limited if a citizen fails to meet requirements.
When it comes to faith in elected officials in Louisiana, 69%, or two-thirds, said most elected officials don’t care what people like them think, according to Louisiana Survey results. Meanwhile, 55% of residents said citizens can influence the Louisiana government — if they’re willing to try.
A previous report showed residents’ confidence in state government dropping to its lowest point in 18 years — with only 25% saying they were “very confident” or “somewhat confident.”
The survey noted a drop in trust in local news organizations compared to four years ago, with 51% of residents saying they trust local news. Researchers said this marks a 27-percentage point drop from four years ago.
Researchers outlined a breakdown of these results and said Republicans’ trust fell by 31 percentage points from 76% to 45% and Democrats’ trust fell 23 percentage points from 89 percent to 66 percent.
According to a news release, the survey polled 508 adult residents through telephone-based surveys from Feb. 21 to March 14, 2022. A survey was also conducted online, polling 623 adult residents from March 1 to March 21, 2022.
To view the full fourth report from the survey, click here.
