These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
44% Nationwide Have Unfavorable View of Franken
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Forty-four percent (44%) of U.S. voters have an unfavorable opinion of former "Saturday Night Live" comedy writer Al Franken as he prepares to join the U.S. Senate as its newest Democratic member.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 34% have a favorable opinion of Franken, who will be sworn in next week as a senator from Minnesota . Twenty-two percent (22%) are not sure what they think of him.
It is fairly typical for individual legislators to have negative favorability ratings on a national basis.
There's clearly more intense feeling among those who don't like Franken. Twelve percent (12%) of voters have a very favorable view of the new senator, compared to 29% who have a very unfavorable opinion.
Similarly, 19% of Democrats have a very favorable view of Franken, while 51% of Republicans and 32% of voters not affiliated with either party regard him very unfavorably.
Franken fills the seat held for the last six years by Republican Norm Coleman , who unsuccessfully sought reelection and has been challenging the accuracy of the vote count in last November's election in court. But the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled this week in Franken's favor.
Sixty-five percent (65%) of voters nationwide are at least somewhat confident that their votes are accurately counted in elections, including 22% who are very confident. Twenty-four percent (24%) are not very confident that their ballots are correctly counted, and another seven percent (7%) are not at all confident.
Democrats and unaffiliated voters are more confident than Republicans about the accuracy of the vote count.
These finding have been consistent for several years. After the November 2006 election , for example, 66% of voters said they were confident that their ballots were properly counted and the proper candidates were declared the winners.
Two-thirds of American adults (66%) believe their vote really matters on Election Day.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters say they have been following news stories about the contested Minnesota election between Franken and Coleman at least somewhat closely, with 24% who say they have been following very closely. Fourteen percent (14%) are not following news about the Minnesota Senate battle at all.
In early December of last year, as the legal challenges to the election results were just heating up, 67% of Minnesota voters expected Coleman to beat Franken. Just 16% thought Franken would win.
But by mid-May after Coleman suffered repeated losses in the courts, a majority of Minnesota voters (54%) said the GOP incumbent should concede the race and let Franken be seated in the Senate , while 41% disagreed. At that time, 44% of voters in the state had a favorable opinion of both Coleman and Franken, while 55% regarded the two men unfavorably.
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To view the original report, please use this link: He's No Stuart Smalley!