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There should be a law banning conversion therapy for minors, said 59% of Democrats, 60% of Republicans, and 57% of Independents. Conversion therapy seeks to encourage gays or lesbians to identify as heterosexual, and transgender people to identify as the gender identities assigned to them at birth. It has been widely criticized by medical organizations. When this poll was conducted, the Supreme Court had just heard arguments in a case challenging Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy for minors. 27 states have such laws. (Poll result from The Economist/YouGov Poll, October 10 - 13, 2025)

Vaccinations should be required for all children attending school, except for medical reasons, said 85% of Democrats, 55% of Republicans, and 60% of Independents. This result came shortly after Florida announced plans to eliminate all vaccine mandates, including those for school enrollment. It is the first state to do so. (Poll result from The Economist/YouGov Poll, September 26 - 29, 2025)

Government health agencies should make vaccines more available to people who want them, said 90% of Democrats, 61% of Republicans, and 74% of Independents. This result came after the Trump administration made several moves to discourage or restrict vaccine availability, as well as to cut funding for vaccine research. (Poll result from CBS News/YouGov Poll, August 29 – September 2, 2025)

The president should always follow the law, said 89% of Democrats, 63% of Republicans, and 70% of Independents. This result came after courts had declared several Trump administration actions unlawful, including use of the wartime Alien Enemies Act for deportations, federal deployment of the National Guard in California, freezing $2 billion in funds to Harvard, and revoking protected legal status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Venezuelans. (Poll result from Fox News Poll, Sep. 6, 2025 to Sep. 9, 2025)

The government should increase taxes on the wealthiest individuals to strengthen the country's social and safety net programs, said 89% of Democrats, 56% of Republicans, and 78% of Independents. When this poll was conducted in September 2025, the concept of taxing the wealthy was in the news as part of the the rise of Democratic Socialist candidate for New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mandani. (Poll result from Fox News Poll, Sep. 12, 2025)

Political violence is never justified said 75% of Democrats, 89% of Republicans, and 72% of Independents. This result came shortly after the prominent conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated. (Poll result from The Economist/YouGov Poll, September 12 - 15, 2025)

Funding for research on infectious disease should not be reduced said 82% of Democrats, 60% of Republicans, and 76% of Independents. This result came after the Trump administration cut funding for research on COVID and other infectious diseases that could cause a pandemic. (Poll result from The Economist/YouGov, September 2, 2025)

There should be increased restrictions on the use of pesticides in agriculture said 64% of Democrats, 69% of Republicans, and 76% of Independents. This result came amid mixed signals from the Trump administration about whether it will pursue increased pesticide restrictions. (Poll data from The Economist/YouGov, September 2, 2025)

The federal government should not control hiring and firing of faculty at universities said 89% of Democrats, 65% of Republicans, and 77% of Independents. This result came after the Trump administration pushed to influence university hiring policies, including by threatening to withhold federal funding and to strip universities’ tax-exempt status. (Poll data from The Economist/YouGov, August 19, 2025)

The federal government should not control research topics at universities said 87% of Democrats, 62% of Republicans, and 76% of Independents. This result came after the Trump administration issued an executive order for political appointees to review federally funded university research grants. (Poll data from The Economist/YouGov, August 19, 2025)

Federal funding for scientific research done by American universities should increase or stay the same said 89% of Democrats, 56% of Republicans, and 67% of Independents. This poll result came amid the Trump administration cuts and freezes to elite universities’ scientific research funding in protest of the universities’ other activities. (Poll data from The Economist/YouGov, August 19, 2025)

People should be able to petition courts to temporarily remove guns from individuals believed to pose a danger to themselves or others said 78% of Democrats, 65% of Republicans, and 69% of Independents. Such “red flag laws” exist in 21 states and Washington, DC, but not at the federal level. (Poll data from The Economist/YouGov, August 5, 2025)

Drawing electoral districts to make it harder for a particular party should be illegal said 80% of Democrats, 57% of Republicans, and 69% of Independents. This poll result came amid President Trump’s call for Texas to redraw its congressional map early and in a way to favor Republicans for the November 2026 elections for U.S. House seats. (Poll data from YouGov, August 3, 2025)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should not be reduced said 89% of Democrats, 56% of Republicans, and 71% of Independents. This poll result came after the Trump administration had cut FEMA jobs and programs, and had suggested potentially eliminating the agency altogether. (Poll data from The Economist/YouGov, July 29, 2025)

The National Park Service should not be reduced said 88% of Democrats, 72% of Republicans, and 74% of Independents. This was after the Trump administration had made cuts and announced a smaller budget for the Park Service. (Poll data from The Economist/YouGov, Jul. 29, 2025)

Websites with explicit content should be required to verify users’ ages said 58% of Democrats, 82% of Republicans, and 59% of Independents. This result came after the Supreme Court ruled that states may legally impost such requirements. (Poll data from Yahoo! News/YouGov, July 3, 2025)

Public opinion wants age limits for elected officials, but there are constitutional constraints. How might it happen?

The Supreme Court should have an ethical code with enforcement for violations said 84% of Democrats, 70% of Republicans, and 73% of Independents. The court adopted, for the first time, an ethics code in 2023, but it lacked an enforcement mechanism. (Poll data from YouGov, July 25, 2025)

The state should allow abortion for fatal fetal anomalies said 93% of Democrats, 76% of Republicans, and 88% of Independents. A fatal fetal anomaly is a condition that will cause the fetus to die before or shortly after birth. (Associated Press-NORC poll, July, 24, 2025)

The U.S. government is spending too much said 59% of Democrats, 64% of Republicans, and 65% of Independents. The data was collected in mid-July for an Associated Press-NORC poll. This was after passage of President Trump’s tax and spending bill, which cut some spending but also extended tax cuts in a way that will cost more than the spending cuts will save.