NAES08-Online - Subject R detail

Variable catalog Subject R detail

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R — Voting behavior and attitudes

RA — Voter registration

RB — Primary election

RC — General election

RD — Prior elections

RE — Opinions of electoral system

RA — Voter registration

RA01

Currently registered to vote

Schedule

Wave 4

All dates

Are you currently registered to vote?

Yes, I am registered to vote at my present address.

Yes, I am registered to vote at a different address.

No, I am not registered to vote.

Not sure

999

Skipped

RA02

Previously registered to vote

Schedule

Filter

If not currently registered to vote

RA01 = 3, 4, 999

Have you ever been registered to vote?

Yes

Not sure

999

Skipped

RB — Primary election

RBa — Intended primary vote

RBa01

Candidate would vote for this week in Republican primary

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

All dates

1/1/08 – 3/5/08

Filter

If think of self as Republican or lean Republican

MA01 = 1 – 3

If you had to choose this week to vote for one of the primary candidates to be the presidential nominee for the Republican party, which candidate would you vote for?

{Wave 1 10/2/07 – 10/21/07 : Sam Brownback}

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/29/08 : Rudy Giuliani}

Mike Huckabee

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/21/08 : Duncan Hunter}

John McCain

Ron Paul

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 2/7/08 : Mitt Romney}

{Wave 1 : Tom Tancredo}

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/21/08 : Fred Thompson}

999

Skipped

RBa02

Second candidate would vote for this week in Republican primary

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

All dates

1/1/08 – 3/5/08

Filter

If would vote this week for Republican candidate (and think of self as Republican or lean Republican)

Wave 1 :

RBa01 = 1 – 9

Wave 2 :

RBa01 = 2 – 7, 9

Suppose, for one reason or another, [candidate would vote for in RBa01] is not chosen as the Republican candidate. Who would be your second choice for the Republican nominee for president?

{Wave 1 10/2/07 – 10/21/07 : Sam Brownback}

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/29/08 : Rudy Giuliani}

Mike Huckabee

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/21/08 : Duncan Hunter}

John McCain

Ron Paul

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 2/7/08 : Mitt Romney}

{Wave 1 : Tom Tancredo}

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/21/08 : Fred Thompson}

999

Skipped

RBa03

Candidate would vote for this week in Democratic primary

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 3

All dates

4/2/08 – 6/10/08

Filter

If think of self as Democrat or lean Democrat

MA01 = 5 – 7

If you had to choose this week to vote for one of the primary candidates to be the presidential nominee for the Democratic party, which candidate would you vote for?

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/3/08 : Joe Biden}

Hillary Clinton

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/3/08 : Chris Dodd}

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/29/08 : John Edwards}

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 3/4/08 : Mike Gravel}

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/24/08 : Dennis Kucinich}

Barack Obama

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/9/08 : Bill Richardson}

999

Skipped

Due to a data collection error, this variable was not measured for respondents in Waves 1 and 3 who were asked political orientation in the current interview (MA08) and who have a value of not-strong Democrat in MA01.

RBa04

Second candidate would vote for this week in Democratic primary

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

All dates

1/1/08 – 3/7/08

Filter

If would vote this week for Democratic candidate (and think of self as Democrat or lean Democrat)

RBa03 = 1 – 8

Suppose, for one reason or another, [candidate would vote for in RBa03] is not chosen as the Democratic candidate. Who would be your second choice for the Democratic nominee for president?

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/3/08 : Joe Biden}

Hillary Clinton

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/3/08 : Chris Dodd}

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/29/08 : John Edwards}

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 3/4/08 : Mike Gravel}

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/24/08 : Dennis Kucinich}

Barack Obama

{Wave 1; Wave 2 1/1/08 – 1/9/08 : Bill Richardson}

{Wave 2 : Other, specify} (verbatim answer in RBa04r9v)

999

Skipped

See note for RBa03.

RC — General election

RCa — Intended general election vote

RCb — Actual general election vote

RCc — Congressional and state elections

RCa — Intended general election vote

RCa01

Would vote this week for Republican or Democrat

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

All dates

If you had to choose this week to vote for either the Republican or Democratic party's candidate for president, do you think you would probably vote for the Republican candidate, the Democratic candidate, or a third party candidate?

Republican candidate

Democratic candidate

Third party candidate

Not sure yet

Depends on the candidates

999

Skipped

RCa02

Would vote today for McCain, Obama, or other candidate

Schedule

Wave 2

Wave 3

Wave 4

3/8/08 – 3/31/08

All dates

Filter

If {Wave 4 9/25/08 – 11/4/08 : did not early vote in presidential election or did not indicate early vote}

Wave 4 9/25/08 – 11/4/08 :

RCb01 = 2, 999 or RCb02 = 999

If the presidential election was held today and {Wave 2; Wave 3 : John McCain, the Republican, was running against Barack Obama, the Democrat | Wave 4 : John McCain and Sarah Palin, the Republicans, were running against Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the Democrats}, who would you vote for?

{Wave 2; Wave 3 : John McCain, the Republican | Wave 4 : John McCain and Sarah Palin, the Republicans}

{Wave 2; Wave 3 : Barack Obama, the Democrat | Wave 4 : Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the Democrats}

{Wave 2; Wave 3 : Ralph Nader | Wave 4 : Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez, the Independents}

{Wave 4 : Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root, the Libertarians}

{Wave 4 9/26/08 – 11/4/08 : Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente, the Green Party candidates}

Other, specify (verbatim answer in RCa02r6v)

Don't know

999

Skipped

RCa03

Would vote today for McCain or Clinton

Schedule

Wave 2

Wave 3

3/8/08 – 3/31/08

4/2/08 – 6/10/08

If the presidential election was held today and John McCain, the Republican, was running against Hillary Clinton, the Democrat, who would you vote for?

John McCain, the Republican

Hillary Clinton, the Democrat

Ralph Nader

Other, specify (verbatim answer in RCa03r4v)

Don't know

999

Skipped

RCa04

Definitely will vote for McCain

Schedule

Wave 3

Wave 4

6/11/08 – 8/29/08

All dates

Filter

If would vote today for McCain

RCa02 = 1

Will you definitely vote for John McCain for president in 2008, or is there a chance you could change your mind?

If you think there is a chance you might change your mind, would you say there is a good chance you'll change your mind, or would you say it's pretty unlikely?

Definitely vote for McCain

Good chance I will change my mind

Pretty unlikely I will change my mind

999

Skipped

RCa05

Definitely will vote for Obama

Schedule

Wave 3

Wave 4

6/11/08 – 8/29/08

All dates

Filter

If would vote today for Obama

RCa02 = 2

Will you definitely vote for Barack Obama for president in 2008, or is there a chance you could change your mind?

If you think there is a chance you might change your mind, would you say there is a good chance you'll change your mind, or would you say it's pretty unlikely?

Definitely vote for Obama

Good chance I will change my mind

Pretty unlikely I will change my mind

999

Skipped

RCa06

Definitely will vote for Nader

Schedule

Wave 3

Wave 4

6/11/08 – 8/29/08

All dates

Filter

If would vote today for Nader

RCa02 = 3

Will you definitely vote for Ralph Nader for president in 2008, or is there a chance you could change your mind?

If you think there is a chance you might change your mind, would you say there is a good chance you'll change your mind, or would you say it's pretty unlikely?

Definitely vote for Nader

Good chance I will change my mind

Pretty unlikely I will change my mind

999

Skipped

RCa07

Definitely will vote for Barr

Schedule

Wave 4

All dates

Filter

If would vote today for Barr

RCa02 = 4

Will you definitely vote for Bob Barr for president in 2008, or is there a chance you could change your mind?

If you think there is a chance you might change your mind, would you say there is a good chance you'll change your mind, or would you say it's pretty unlikely?

Definitely vote for Barr

Good chance I will change my mind

Pretty unlikely I will change my mind

999

Skipped

RCb — Actual general election vote

RCb01

Early voted (asked pre-election)

Schedule

Wave 4

9/25/08 – 11/4/08

Some states allow individuals to vote before Election Day, that is vote early at a polling station or by filling out an absentee ballot. How about you? Have you already voted in this year's presidential election, or not?

Yes

999

Skipped

See also RCb03.

RCb08

Method of early voting

Schedule

Wave 5

All dates

Filter

If early voted in presidential election

RCb06 = 1

How did you cast your ballot?

By voting at an early polling station

By sending in a ballot by mail

By sending in a ballot by fax

By personally dropping off a ballot at an election office

By having someone else drop off a ballot at an election office for you

By voting over the telephone

Some other way, please specify (verbatim answer in RCb08r7v)

999

Skipped

RCb09

Would change early vote

Schedule

Wave 5

All dates

Filter

If early voted in presidential election

RCb06 = 1

If you voted at the polls on Election Day, would your vote for president have been different than it was on your early ballot?

Yes

999

Skipped

RCb10

When decided on candidate to vote for

Schedule

Wave 5

All dates

Filter

If voted in presidential election

RCb04 = 4

When did you finally decide for whom to vote in the presidential election?

On Election Day

In the last three days before the election

Sometime in the last week before the election

Earlier in October

Sometime in September

Before that

999

Skipped

RCb11

Reason why Obama won

Schedule

Wave 5

All dates

As you've probably heard, Barack Obama won the recent presidential election. Why do you think more people voted for Barack Obama than John McCain?

Answer (verbatim answer in RCb11r1v)

999

Skipped

RCc — Congressional and state elections

RCc01

US House candidate voted for

Schedule

Wave 5

All dates

In the November election you were able to vote for a member of Congress, that is the US House of Representatives in Washington. Did you vote for ...

[Name of Republican candidate in respondent's district], the Republican

[Name of Democratic candidate], the Democrat

Someone else / another party, specify (verbatim answer in RCc01r3v)

Did not vote for member of Congress

999

Skipped

9999

Not asked — do not live in competitive congressional district

The respondent's congressional district was computed based on the most up-to-date KnowledgePanel data available as of the start of Wave 5.

In a minority of cases, this computation may deviate from the geographic data recorded in Wave A variables (e.g., state of residency, variable WFc01). Any deviation is because Wave A reflects the most recent core profile data collected within one year before the respondent's first NAES interview, and does not account for changes between Wave A and Wave 5 (e.g., cases in which a respondent moved residences).

RCc02

US Senate candidate voted for

Schedule

Wave 5

All dates

In the election you were able to vote for a US senator. Did you vote for ...

[Name of Republican candidate in respondent's state], the Republican

[Name of Democratic candidate], the Democrat

Someone else / another party, specify (verbatim answer in RCc02r3v)

Did not vote for US senator

999

Skipped

9999

Not asked — do not live in state with Senate election

To determine Senate race status, the respondent's state of residency was computed based on the most up-to-date KnowledgePanel data available as of the start of Wave 5.

In a minority of cases, this computation may deviate from the geographic data recorded in Wave A variables (e.g., variable WFc01). Any deviation is because Wave A reflects the most recent core profile data collected within one year before the respondent's first NAES interview, and does not account for changes between Wave A and Wave 5 (e.g., cases in which a respondent moved residences).

RCc03

US Senate candidate voted for (special election)

Schedule

Wave 5

All dates

There was also a special election for US senator in your state. In that election, did you vote for ...

[Name of Republican candidate in respondent's state], the Republican

[Name of Democratic candidate], the Democrat

Someone else / another party, specify (verbatim answer in RCc03r3v)

Did not vote for US senator

999

Skipped

9999

Not asked — do not live in state with special Senate election

To determine Senate race status, the respondent's state of residency was computed based on the most up-to-date KnowledgePanel data available as of the start of Wave 5.

RCc04

Gubernatorial candidate voted for

Schedule

Wave 5

All dates

In the election you were able to vote for governor. Did you vote for ...

[Name of Republican candidate in respondent's state], the Republican

[Name of Democratic candidate], the Democrat

Someone else / another party, specify (verbatim answer in RCc04r3v)

Did not vote for governor

999

Skipped

9999

Not asked — do not live in state with gubernatorial election

To determine gubernatorial race status, the respondent's state of residency was computed based on the most up-to-date KnowledgePanel data available as of the start of Wave 5.

RD — Prior elections

RD01

Voted in 2004 presidential election

Schedule

Wave 2

All dates

Filter

If {Wave B : currently or previously registered to vote}

Wave B :

RA01 = 1, 2 or RA02 = 1

In talking to people about elections, we often find that a lot of people were not able to vote because they weren't registered, they were sick, or they just didn't have time. Did you happen to vote in the 2004 presidential election?

Yes

999

Skipped

RD02

Candidate voted for in 2004 presidential election

Schedule

Wave 2

All dates

Filter

If voted in 2004 presidential election

RD01 = 1

Which candidate did you vote for in the 2004 presidential election?

John Kerry (Democrat)

George W. Bush (Republican)

Ralph Nader (Green)

Another candidate, please specify (verbatim answer in RD02r4v)

999

Skipped

RD03

Voted in 2006 congressional election

Schedule

Filter

If currently or previously registered to vote

RA01 = 1, 2 or RA02 = 1

Did you happen to vote in the 2006 congressional election?

Yes

999

Skipped

9999

No data

This variable was not measured for all respondents in Wave B, as indicated by code 9999.

RD04

Candidate voted for in 2006 congressional election

Schedule

Filter

If voted in 2006 congressional election

RD03 = 1

Which candidate did you vote for in your congressional district in 2006?

The Democratic candidate

The Republican candidate

A candidate from another party

999

Skipped

This variable was not measured for all respondents in Wave B; see RD03.

RE — Opinions of electoral system

REa — Confidence in vote counting

REb — Opinions of nominating system

REa — Confidence in vote counting

REa01

Confident votes accurately counted

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 5

All dates

{Wave 1 : When Election Day comes, how confident are you that the votes across the country will be accurately counted? | Wave 5 : How confident are you that the votes across the country were accurately counted on Election Day?}

Very confident

Somewhat confident

Not too confident

Not at all confident

999

Skipped

REb — Opinions of nominating system

REb01

Primaries good or bad way of picking candidates

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 3

All dates

Thinking about the presidential primaries generally, do you think they are a good way of picking the best candidates, or a bad way of picking the best qualified candidates?

A good way of picking the best candidates

A bad way of picking the best candidates

999

Skipped

REb02

Primaries very or somewhat good way of picking candidates

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 3

All dates

Filter

If think presidential primaries are a good way of picking candidates

REb01 = 1

Is it (from REb01, the primary system) a very good way to pick the best qualified candidates, or just a somewhat good way to pick the best candidates?

A very good way of picking the best candidates

A somewhat good way of picking the best candidates

999

Skipped

REb03

Primaries very or somewhat bad way of picking candidates

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

Wave 3

All dates

Filter

If think presidential primaries are a bad way of picking candidates

REb01 = 2

Is it (from REb01, the primary system) a very bad way to pick the best qualified candidates, or just a somewhat bad way to pick the best candidates?

A very bad way of picking the best candidates

A somewhat bad way of picking the best candidates

999

Skipped

REb04

Early primaries have too much or too little influence on primary outcomes

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

All dates

How much influence do you think the following has on the outcome of primary elections: the outcome of the early primaries?

Too much

About the right amount

Too little

999

Skipped

REb05

News media have too much or too little influence on primary outcomes

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

All dates

How much influence do you think the following has on the outcome of primary elections: the news media?

Too much

About the right amount

Too little

999

Skipped

REb06

Advertising has too much or too little influence on primary outcomes

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

All dates

How much influence do you think the following has on the outcome of primary elections: political advertising?

Too much

About the right amount

Too little

999

Skipped

REb07

Voters have too much or too little influence on primary outcomes

Schedule

Wave 1

Wave 2

All dates

How much influence do you think the following has on the outcome of primary elections: voters?

Too much

About the right amount

Too little

999

Skipped

REb08

Nominating system works or needs changes

Schedule

Wave 2

All dates

The Republicans and Democrats use state primaries or caucuses and nominating conventions to select their presidential candidates. Do you think the system works well enough as it is now, or does it need some changes?

Works well enough as is

Needs changes

999

Skipped

REb09

Single national primary would improve nominating system

Schedule

Wave 2

All dates

Filter

If think presidential nominating system needs changes

REb08 = 2

Following is a proposed change in the way the parties' presidential nominees are chosen. Please tell us if you think this change would improve the system for selecting presidential candidates a lot, a little, or not at all: a single national primary in which everyone in the country votes on the same day.

A lot

A little

Not at all

999

Skipped

REb10

Regional primaries in changing order would improve nominating system

Schedule

Wave 2

All dates

Filter

If think presidential nominating system needs changes

REb08 = 2

Following is a proposed change in the way the parties' presidential nominees are chosen. Please tell us if you think this change would improve the system for selecting presidential candidates a lot, a little, or not at all: a series of regional primaries in which groups of states all vote on the same day, but the order the regions vote in changes with each election.

A lot

A little

Not at all

999

Skipped

REb11

Individual state primaries in changing order would improve nominating system

Schedule

Wave 2

All dates

Filter

If think presidential nominating system needs changes

REb08 = 2

Following is a proposed change in the way the parties' presidential nominees are chosen. Please tell us if you think this change would improve the system for selecting presidential candidates a lot, a little, or not at all: the current system of individual state primaries and caucuses, but in an order that changes with each election.

A lot

A little

Not at all

999

Skipped

REb12

Heard about superdelegates

Schedule

Wave 2

Wave 3

2/24/08 – 3/31/08

4/2/08 – 6/10/08

Recently, there has been some discussion about the role of "superdelegates" in selecting the presidential candidates for each party. Have you heard anything about superdelegates?

Yes

Maybe

Don't know

999

Skipped

REb13

How superdelegates should vote

Schedule

Wave 2

Wave 3

2/24/08 – 3/31/08

4/2/08 – 6/10/08

Filter

If have heard or might have heard about superdelegates

REb12 = 1, 3

In your opinion, how should the superdelegates cast their votes at the party convention? Should they ...

Use their own judgment in deciding who to vote for

Vote for the candidate who received the most votes

Something else, please explain (verbatim answer in REb13r3v)

999

Skipped