Press Release: Voters in 29 States Overwhelmingly Back Bipartisan Senate Immigration Bill

New State Polls Shows Public Backs Elected Officials Who Vote for Senate Gang of Eight Bill

WASHINGTON, DC— On the heels of the US Senate’s first vote on the Gang of Eight bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill, Harper Polling and Public Policy Polling jointly released the results of new polls in 29 states showing overwhelming voter support for the legislation.

The polls were sponsored by the Alliance for Citizenship, Partnership for a New American Economy and Republicans for Immigration Reform, three organizations who represent the broad support for immigration reform from across the political spectrum.

The new polling data demonstrates that voters in critical states and across the country are ready for a commonsense solution to the country’s broken immigration system that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

“Public support for the bipartisan immigration proposal is both wide and deep,” said Brock McCleary, founder of Republican oriented Harper Polling. “When presented with the attributes of the measure, voters across the political spectrum responded overwhelmingly positive. The results indicate that immigration reform is poised to be a political winner for both Republicans and Democrats. I was struck by the urgency voters have to see action in Washington this year on immigration reform,” continued McCleary.

‘Whether it’s red states like Texas and Arkansas, purple states like Florida and North Carolina, or blue states like Illinois and Maine our polling on a path to citizenship all finds the same thing: strong bipartisan support,” said Tom Jenson,

Director of Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning national polling
firm. “Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike want their leaders in Congress to support the ‘Gang of 8’ immigration proposal, and they’re more likely to vote for them in the future if they do. This is a rare issue where doing what Republican voters want will make Democrats happy too and doing what Democratic voters want will make Republicans happy too. We’ve entered into a new era of public opinion on immigration reform where voters regardless of their party have a strong will to move forward, stated Jenson.

“The majority of Americans across state lines and party lines support comprehensive immigration reform,” said Partnership for a New American Economy Co-Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “This is an issue that brings people together – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents in all fifty states know that until we fix our immigration system, we will continue hurting businesses, stifling innovation, and slowing economic growth. Americans want reform and Washington should listen. I urge Congress to move quickly to pass immigration reform so that we can grow our economy and create American jobs.”

According to the poll, voters in the 29 states support the Gang of Eight bill by large margins. Moreover, the results show that there is a genuine imperative for the Senate to support the bill as constituents said they are more likely to vote for an elected official who votes for reform.

“This is the best chance in a generation to enact immigration reform with a path to citizenship,” said Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice. “The American people strongly support the effort, it is in the best interest of both parties to deliver on the promise of reform, and our movement is getting stronger every day. The time is now for reformers in Congress to bring landmark legislation across the finish line.”

Highlights of the findings include:

• Across the 29 states, an average of 67.76% of the likely voters polled said they strongly or somewhat support bipartisan immigration reform legislation being debated in Washington.
• 72% of those polled said they strongly or somewhat support a bill that includes a tough but fair path to citizenship like that in the Gang of Eight legislation.
• 57.38% of those polled are more likely to vote for an elected official who supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship – compared to just 21.79% who would be less likely.
• An overwhelming 87.17% of those polled said it was very or
  somewhat important that the U.S. fix its immigration system this year.

“The American people understand that our current immigration system is broken. The comprehensive bill in the Senate isn’t perfect, but it is a vast improvement over our current broken system. This 29 state polling clearly demonstrates that Republican voters support reforming the current broken system. From a purely political standpoint, data overwhelmingly indicates that this is a winning issue for Republican members of Congress to embrace,” said Charles Spies, Cofounder & Treasurer of Republicans for Immigration Reform.

A summary of all poll results can be found here (PDF) and the results of the individual state polls can be found here.

The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) telephone surveys of likely voters were conducted between June 2-10, 2013. Each state poll has a minimum sample size of 500 respondents and a margin of error of less than 5%.

Harper Polling conducted the surveys in Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.

Public Policy Polling conducted the surveys in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia.

Media Contact:
Shannon Maurer, 202-604-2464