The ANES Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior
[August 16, 2021 version – Updated with the 2020 Time Series data]
The Guide provides immediate access to tables and graphs that display the ebb and flow of public opinion, electoral behavior, and choice in American politics over time. It serves as a resource for political observers, policy makers, and journalists, teachers, students, and social scientists.
Note: The Guide is produced from data in the ANES Cumulative Data File.
- Table 1A.1. Age Cohort1948-2020
- Table 1A.2. Gender1948-2020
- Table 1A.3. Race1948-2020
- Table 1A.4. Education1948-2020
- Table 1A.5. Occupation1952-2004
- Table 1A.6. Household Union Membership1948-2020
- Table 1A.7. Region1952-2020
- Table 1A.8. Social Class (Self-Identification)1956-2016
- Table 1A.9. Income1948-2020
- Table 1B.1a. Religion (1), 4 categories1948-2020
- Table 1B.1b. Religion (2), 7 categories1960-1988
- Table 1B.1c. Religion (3), 8 categories1990-1996
- Table 1B.2a. Attitudes about the Origin of the Bible (1), 4 categories1964-1990
- Table 1B.2b. Attitudes about the Origin of the Bible (2), 3 categories1990-2020
- Table 1B.3. Religion an Important Part of Life1980-2016
- Table 1B.4. Religious Guidance in Day-to-Day Living1980-2016
- Table 1B.5a. Church Attendance (1), 4 categories1950-1968
- Table 1B.5b. Church Attendance (2), 5 categories1970-2020
- Table 2B.1. Average Feelings Toward Parties1952-2004
- Table 2B.2. Average Feeling Thermometer Rating Toward Parties1978-2020
- Table 2B.3. Which Party Best Able to Handle Most Important Problem1972-2000
- Table 2B.4. Important Differences Between 2 Parties1952-2020
- Table 2B.5. Is One Party More Conservative1960-2020
- Table 2B.6. Which Party Better Able to Keep U.S. Out of War1956-2008
- Table 2B.7. Which Party More Likely to Favor a Strong Government1964-2000
- Table 4A.1. Power of the Federal Government1964-2000
- Table 4A.2. Government Support for Health Care1956-1968
- Table 4A.3. Support for Government versus Private Health Insurance1970-2020
- Table 4A.4a. Government Guaranteed Job and Standard of Living (1), yes/no1956-2002
- Table 4A.4b. Government Guaranteed Job and Standard of Living (2), 7 point scale1972-2020
- Table 4A.5. Government Services and Spending1982-2020
- Table 4B.1. Change in Situation of Blacks1964-1994
- Table 4B.2. Pace of Civil Rights Leaders' Actions1964-1992
- Table 4B.3. Favor Desegregation or Segregation1964-1978
- Table 4B.4. Aid to Blacks/Minorities1970-2020
- Table 4B.5. Federal Government Ensure School Integration1962-2000
- Table 4B.6. Busing to Achieve School Integration1972-1984
- Table 4B.7. Open Housing1964-1976
- Table 4B.8. Government See to Fair Treatment in Jobs1964-2012
- Table 4E.1. Condition of Nation's Economy Over the Last Year1980-2020
- Table 4E.2. Condition of Nation's Economy Over the Next Year1980-2020
- Table 4E.3. Respondent's Financial Situation Over the Last Year1962-2020
- Table 4E.4. Respondent's Financial Situation Over the Next Year1956-2020
- Table 4E.5. Have Economic Policies of Federal Government Made Things Better/Worse1984-1996
- Table 6D.1. Watched Campaign on TV1952-2012
- Table 6D.2. Listened to Campaign Radio Programs1952-2004
- Table 6D.3. Read Magazine Articles on the Campaign1952-2004
- Table 6D.4. Read about Campaign in Newspapers1952-2008
- Table 6D.5. General Interest in Public Affairs1960-2008
- Table 6D.6. Interest in Current Campaign1952-2020
- Table 6D.7. Care Who Wins Presidential Election1952-2012
- Table 6D.8. Care Who Wins Congressional Election1966-2008
- Table 6D.9. Expected Closeness of Presidential Race1952-2020
- Table 7B.1. Has Democratic Presidential Candidate Made Respondent Feel Angry1980-2016
- Table 7B.2. Has Democratic Presidential Candidate Made Respondent Feel Afraid1980-2016
- Table 7B.3. Has Democratic Presidential Candidate Made Respondent Feel Hopeful1980-2016
- Table 7B.4. Has Democratic Presidential Candidate Made Respondent Feel Proud1980-2016
- Table 7B.5. Has Republican Presidential Candidate Made Respondent Feel Angry1980-2016
- Table 7B.6. Has Republican Presidential Candidate Made Respondent Feel Afraid1980-2016
- Table 7B.7. Has Republican Presidential Candidate Made Respondent Feel Hopeful1980-2016
- Table 7B.8. Has Republican Presidential Candidate Made Respondent Feel Proud1980-2016
- Table 7C.1. Democratic Presidential Candidate Inspiring1980-1996
- Table 7C.2. Democratic Presidential Candidate Knowledgeable1980-2008
- Table 7C.3. Democratic Presidential Candidate Moral1980-2008
- Table 7C.4. Democratic Presidential Candidate Strong Leader1980-2008
- Table 7C.5. Republican Presidential Candidate Inspiring1980-1996
- Table 7C.6. Republican Presidential Candidate Knowledgeable1980-2008
- Table 7C.7. Republican Presidential Candidate Moral1980-2008
- Table 7C.8. Republican Presidential Candidate Strong Leader1980-2008
HOW TO CITE & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
How to cite
American National Election Studies. THE ANES GUIDE TO PUBLIC OPINION AND ELECTORAL BEHAVIOR. August 16, 2021 version. https://electionstudies.org/resources/anes-guide/
Acknowledgements
The ANES Guide to Public Opinion is based on the work of many ANES staff and investigators over many decades. This most recent update was supported by the National Science Foundation (www.nsf.gov) under grant number SES-1835721 to the University of Michigan and grant number SES-1835022 to Stanford University. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Notes
** A double asterisk indicates the question was not asked in that year’s study or that there are no respondents available in that year who answered the question.
– A dash indicates the particular response option was not available in that year.
__ An underline indicates that 50 or fewer total respondents for that subgroup answered the question.
Most of the time, the numbers in the display table are percentages — the percentage of respondents in each Election Study that had given each of the responses listed. When this is the case, Percentage Within Study Year appears under the table.
In some instances, the average response is displayed for each year, rather than percentages by response category. If averages rather than percentages are being displayed, AVERAGE WITHIN STUDY YEAR will appear under the table.
