New Report from EL Institute on Voter Attitudes about Book Bans

A new poll from the EveryLibrary Institute has found that the overwhelming majority of voters strongly oppose book banning and, most significantly, that 75 percent of voters will consider book bans when voting for legislators in November.

Some of the key findings of the September 2022 Book Ban Poll were: 

• Voters love librarians and rank librarians as twice as favorable as their governors, the Democratic Party, the GOP, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. (click to tweet)
  
  
• 95% of Democrats, 80% of independents, and 53% of Republicans are against book bans and will consider book bans when voting. (click to tweet)
  
  
• MINORITY RULE: Just 8% of voters believe “there are many books that are inappropriate and should be banned.” (click to tweet)
  
  
• 31% of Republicans think there is absolutely no time when a book should be banned. (click to tweet)
  
  
• MINORITY RULE: Only 18% of voters support book banning on issues of race and CRT. (click to tweet)
  
  
• More than 90% of voters are against banning the hundreds of classic novels and children's books that extremist groups have targeted for banning. (click to tweet)
  
  
• MINORITY RULE: Only one-third of voters support bans on books that discuss sexuality. (click to tweet)
  
  
• 75% of voters will consider book banning when voting in November. (click to tweet)
  
  
• More than 50% of voters are concerned about legislation being created to regulate Americans’ access to books. (click to tweet)

The poll was conducted by Embold Research, a nonpartisan research firm. Embold surveyed 1,123 registered voters from August 31st-September 3rd with a margin of error of 3.4%. The survey looked at the differences in beliefs among voters segmented by age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, and 2020 presidential vote. 

It appears that voters want to make their own choices about what to read. The survey shows that they oppose banning books on the grounds of race, sexuality, and other concerns. They are also opposed to legislators who create legislation that bans books, a clear violation of the First Amendment. They are willing to take that opposition to the polls this November.