TO: GOVERNMENT, MILITARY & VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
FROM: Heather Nelson, Founder & CEO of Ideologix Insights powering PollTheVote.com
DATE: March 9, 2025
RE: LB3 / LR24CA Focus Group Results
On January 30th, I testified as the only neutral party at the public hearing for LB3 and LR24CA reading into record the results of the statewide focus group collecting Nebraska resident sentiment thru January 28, 2025 conducted by Ideologix Insights, a data analytics laboratory located in Omaha, Nebraska.
Today, I write to provide updated results as the poll has remained open (and will remain open as long as either bill is still in process) to aid the Government Committee with its meeting Monday morning, March 10th.
Overall Results as of 3/9/25:
- Participants: 449
- Keep The Same Electoral College Process: 94.12% (91.83% reported on 1/28/25)
- Change to “Winner Take All” Process: 5.88% (8.17% reported on 1/28/25)
Consistent Findings:
- Of the 8 Senators that comprise this committee, 7 of the 8 had constituents participating representing 24.27% of the total. Your constituents reported: 95% to “Keep” the same and 5% stated they would like to see a change to “Winner-Take-All”.
- Republican participants decreased from 12% to 10.46%; 42% (4.38% of the total) stated they would like the system to stay the same.
- In October 2024, a similar focus group was conducted where the participants where 50% Registered Republicans of which 60% stated they would like to “Keep” the system the same. The majority of these Republicans were in Congressional District #2 (Bacon) and then in District #1 (Flood).
Demographic Summary:
- Participants: came from all 3 Congressional Districts and represented 42 of the 49 state senator districts.
- Gender: 67% Female, 23% Male, 9% other
- Age: Ranged from 18-71+; majority are 41-50 (20%), 51-60 (18%), 61-70 (23%)
- Party: Democrat (63.18%), Independent (22.88%), Republican (10.46%)
- Congressional District: Flood #1 (31.22%), Bacon #2 (59.17%), Smith #3 (9.60%)
Conclusion:
Participation rate increased by 95% yet the overall results had little change since the original testimony provided in January. Ideologix Insights will continue to keep the online focus group poll open thru PollTheVote.com thru the duration of Senator discussion.
Regards,
Heather Nelson
TO: GOVERNMENT, MILITARY & VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
FROM: Heather Nelson, Founder & CEO of Ideologix Insights powering PollTheVote.com
DATE: January 30, 2025
RE: LB3 / LR24CA Focus Group Results
I am Heather Nelson, Founder & CEO of Ideologix Insights, a new data analytics laboratory located in Omaha, Nebraska powering PollTheVote.com to facilitate Nonpartisan Civic + Community Engagement. The platform connects citizens to their elected officials, candidates for office and their community leaders. The laboratory measures public sentiment in real time from verified participants.
The lab conducted a focus group on the legislative proposals: LB3 and LR24CA, over a period of 4 days concluding Tuesday, January 28th. Every Nebraskan age 15+ with a verified account was eligible to participate. Participants came from all 3 Congressional Districts and represented 42 of the 49 state senator districts. 30% were from Omaha or Lincoln.
The overall results were:
- 91.83% – Keep The Electoral College Voting System The Same (as it’s been since 1991)
- 8.17% – Change Electoral College Voting System to a “Winner-Take-All” process
Interesting Findings:
- Of the 8 Senators that comprise this committee, 7 of the 8 had constituents participating representing 23.56% of the total. Your constituents reported: 98% to “Keep” the same and 2% stated they would like to see a change to “Winner-Take-All” .
- 85% of the total participants are registered as either Democrat or Independent; and 99% voted to “Keep” the same system.
- 12% of the total participants are registered as Republican of which almost half (5% of the total) stated they would like the system to stay the same.
- Of the 5% Registered Republicans that stated they wanted to “Keep” the system the same, the majority live in either District 4 (Von Gillern) or District 31 (Kauth). Both of these Senators are Registered Republicans yet had the largest representation of Republican constituents that participated stating to “Keep” the system the same (they do not want the system changed to a Winner-Take-All” method).
- In October 2024, a similar focus group was conducted where the participants where 50% Registered Republicans of which 60% stated they would like to “Keep” the system the same. The majority of these Republicans were in Congressional District #2 (Bacon) and then in District #1 (Flood).
Demographic Summary:
- Gender: 65% Female, 27% Male
- Age: Ranged from 22-71+; bell curve peaks at 41-50 year olds representing 24.52%.
- Party: Democrat (62.02%), Independent (22.60%), Republican (12.02%)
- Congressional District: Flood #1 (29.47%), Bacon #2 (52.17%), Smith #3 (10.14%)
Conclusion:
Due to the interest of these proposals, Ideologix Insights will continue to keep the online focus group poll open thru PollTheVote.com thru the duration of Senator discussion. This will allow for more Nebraskans to render their opinions to best represent the voices of Nebraskans. If any Senator would like additional data, please reach out.
Regards,
Heather Nelson
About Ideologix Insights People’s Polls:
Ideologix Insights is a data analytics laboratory located in Omaha, Nebraska. The team of Nebraskans will conduct People’s Polls inviting all of the citizens of Nebraska to render their sentiment opinion regarding chosen bills or topics. The data team will share publicly the poll results thru insight reports to help the people of Nebraska understand the present sentiment of its citizens by Senator district. Senators will also receive the insight reports to learn of their constituent’s aggregated poll answers. In some cases, the Ideologix Insights team may attend a public hearing and read the aggregated anonymous results into public record.
Ideologix has chosen LB3 and LR24CA as topics to poll. The poll will stay open as long as either proposal is an active bill or resolution for consideration. Poll participants must be Nebraska citizens 15+ years of age with a verified account thru PollTheVote.com. Ideologix Insights does not sell identifiable data; rather the poll results are anonymized and aggregated together. Neither your state senator nor the public at large will see your personal poll answer. For further information, please see the Privacy Statement and the Terms of Service viewable at PollTheVote.com.
