POLL: Free speech a top concern for Americans in 2024, more important than crime, immigration, and health care

• A new FIRE/NORC poll finds two out of three Americans rate free speech as very important to their vote in 2024, second only to inflation.
• Republicans are more likely than Democrats to rate free speech as a “very important” concern, but 90% of both parties rate it at least “somewhat important.”
• Democrats and Republicans both express very low confidence the opposing party will respect their free speech— and Independents don’t trust either party.

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 24, 2024 — A new poll from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression finds that free speech is a critical issue for most Americans in the 2024 presidential election, topping other hot button issues like health care, immigration, crime, and guns.

FIRE’s poll, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, asked 1,022 Americans how important a host of issues were in the context of the upcoming election. The top answer was inflation, with 68% saying increasing costs was “very important” and 91% calling it at least “somewhat important.” But the next top answer was free speech, with 63% calling it “very important” and 90% saying it was at least “somewhat important.”

“Higher prices might be the top concern for Americans, but a very close second is the increasing cost of speaking your mind,” said FIRE Research Fellow Nathan Honeycutt. “The message is clear: Americans want their free speech rights respected.”

Americans from both parties view free speech as a significant issue, with 91% of Republicans and 90% of Democrats agreeing it’s at least “somewhat important.” However, Republicans were more likely to rate it “very important” (70% vs. 60%), and they were more likely to respond that they were somewhat concerned about their ability to speak freely in the U.S. today (63% vs. 42%). Republicans were also more likely to respond that they speak less freely today than four years ago (46% vs. 21%).

Assessments of the two major political parties’ free speech bonafides were mixed, but slightly positive. A majority of Americans also expressed confidence that Republicans (51%) and Democrats (56%) will protect their free speech rights in office. A little under half (45%) said Democrats support free speech either a “great deal” or “quite a lot” while 28% answered “very little” or “not at all,” compared to 42% and 31% respectively for Republicans. 

But Americans’ assessment of the two major parties were sharply polarized by their political affiliation: 

• 77% of Democrats say they believe the Democrats support free speech “a great deal” or “quite a lot,” and 91% are at least “somewhat” confident they would protect their free speech rights.
• 75% of Republicans say they believe the Republicans support free speech “a great deal” or “quite a lot,” and 85% express high confidence they would protect their free speech rights. 
• But 53% of Republicans think Democrats support free speech “very little,” or “not at all,” and 50% of Democrats say the same of Republicans.
• 77% of Republicans and 72% of Democrats also reported they are either “not too” or “not at all” confident the opposing party will protect their free speech.

Self-described Independents gave low marks to both parties in roughly equal measure. A supermajority reported low or no confidence that Democrats (62%) and Republicans (61%) would protect their free speech. Only 23% said Democrats support free speech “a great deal” or “quite a lot,” and only 28% said the same of Republicans.

“Republicans trust Republicans to protect their speech, and Democrats trust Democrats,” said FIRE’s Chief Research Advisor Sean Stevens. “But the true test of commitment to free speech is whether politicians protect dissenting speech. No matter who’s in charge, FIRE will be there to keep them honest.”

The FIRE/NORC survey was conducted October 11-14, 2024, using NORC’s AmeriSpeak® probability-based panel, and sampled 1,022 Americans. The overall margin of error for the survey is +/- 4.18%.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, NORC has studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, NORC partners with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society. www.norc.org

CONTACT:

Alex Griswold, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org