Nearly 40 Percent of Americans Report Tension With Family or Friends Over Election
Nearly 40 percent of Americans have experienced tension with friends or family over the 2016 presidential election.
Together with SSRS, a survey research firm, ABC News asked voters how often they discuss the presidential election with relatives or friends and whether the subject causes any friction.
Ninety percent of Americans talk about the presidential race often with friends or family, the survey shows.
Of those, 58 percent discuss the election very often and 32 percent somewhat often. Only 4 percent never talk about the presidential election.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents said the 2016 race has caused tension with relatives or friends.
The major-party nominees, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, are two of the most disliked presidential candidates in history. An ABC News/Washington Post released today found that 63 percent of registered voters see Trump unfavorably and 57 percent have an unfavorable view of Clinton - the highest such ratings for major-party candidates in ABC/Washington Post polling dating back 32 years.
Even though the presidential contest is causing at least some friction in many voters' relationships, more than three-quarters of Americans think it is appropriate that children pay attention to the race. Seventy-one percent of respondents said it is appropriate that children pay attention to the election, and 29 percent said it is inappropriate.
The ABC News/SSRS Poll was conducted using the SSRS probability panel. Interviews were conducted online Oct. 13 and 14, 2016, among a nationally representative sample of 256 respondents age 18 or older. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-7.9 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. Design effect is 1.67. The SSRS probability panel is a probability-based online panel of adults recruited from random-digit-dialed landline and cellphone numbers. For more information, visit http://ssrs.com/research/ssrs-probability-panel/.
