Minnesota Poll results: Attitudes about race and policing in Minneapolis
By Star Tribune
The Star Tribune, MPR News and KARE 11 interviewed 800 Minneapolis registered voters between Aug. 10 and Aug. 12. That sample included interviews with 525 self-identified white registered voters and 146 African-American registered voters. An additional 354 interviews were conducted Aug. 6 to Aug. 12 with African-American registered voters in Minneapolis, for a total of 500 interviews. This is commonly referred to as an "oversample," and allows for an apples-to-apples comparison of the responses of white voters and Black voters.
Findings from questions about attitudes about race and policing in Minneapolis are below. The margin of error for the sample of 800 Minneapolis registered voters is ± 3.5 percentage points. The margin of error for the sample of 500 African-American Minneapolis registered voters is no more than ± 4.5 percentage points. Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Scroll down the page for details about how the poll was conducted and a demographic breakdown of the respondents.
Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Black Lives Matter movement?
Favorable Unfavorable No opinion 80% 14% 6% Favorable Unfavorable No opinion TOTAL 80% 14% 6% Male 75% 17% 8% Female 83 12 5 White 80 15 5 Black 85 9 6 Other 73 15 12 18-34 88 7 5 35-49 81 15 4 50-64 77 14 9 65+ 71 21 8 No college degree 81 13 6 College graduate 78 15 7 DFL/ Democrat 92 5 3 Republican 33 56 11 Independent/ other 69 19 12 Favorable Unfavorable No opinion 85% 9% 6% Favorable Unfavorable No opinion TOTAL 85% 9% 6% Male 85% 10% 5% Female 85 8 7 Under 50 84 7 9 50+ 85 12 3 No college degree 86 8 6 College graduate 78 13 9 Do you think the death of George Floyd was an isolated incident, or a sign of broader problems in the treatment of Black people by Minneapolis police?
Isolated incident Broader problems Not sure: 3% 12% 85% Isolated incident Broader problems Not sure TOTAL 12% 85% 3% Male 18% 79% 3% Female 7 90 3 White 11 88 1 Black 12 81 7 Other 18 80 2 18-34 6 92 2 35-49 10 89 1 50-64 14 85 1 65+ 22 72 6 No college degree 13 84 3 College graduate 12 86 2 DFL/ Democrat 6 93 1 Republican 38 58 4 Independent/ other 18 76 6 Isolated incident Broader problems Not sure 12% 81% 7% Isolated incident Broader problems Not sure TOTAL 12% 81% 7% Male 17% 79% 4% Female 8 82 10 Under 50 9 86 5 50+ 15 76 9 No college degree 12 80 8 College graduate 11 84 5 Do you think the criminal justice system does or does not treat Black people and white people equally?
Does Does not Not sure: 6% 10% 84% Does Does not Not sure TOTAL 10% 84% 6% Male 12% 80% 8% Female 8 88 4 White 11 82 7 Black 4 96 0 Other 14 81 5 18-34 6 91 3 35-49 7 89 4 50-64 12 80 8 65+ 17 75 8 No college degree 10 84 6 College graduate 10 84 6 DFL/ Democrat 4 94 2 Republican 42 33 25 Independent/ other 12 80 8 Does: 4% Does not Not sure: 0% 96% Does Does not Not sure TOTAL 4% 96% 0 Male 6% 94% 0 Female 3 97 0 Under 50 2 98 0 50+ 6 94 0 No college degree 4 96 0 College graduate 6 93 1 About the poll
The findings of this Star Tribune/MPR News/KARE 11 Minnesota Poll are based on live interviews conducted Aug. 10 to Aug. 12 with 800 Minneapolis registered voters. That sample included interviews with 525 self-identified white registered voters and 146 African-American registered voters. An additional 354 interviews were conducted Aug. 6 to Aug. 12 with African-American registered voters in Minneapolis, for a total of 500 interviews. This is commonly referred to as an "oversample," and allows for an apples-to-apples comparison of the responses of white voters and Black voters. This poll was conducted for the Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio News and KARE 11 by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy Inc.Those interviewed were randomly selected by computer from a phone-matched Minneapolis voter registration list that included both land line and cellphone numbers. For the sample of 800 Minneapolis registered voters, 29% of the interviews were conducted via land line and 71% via cellphone. For the sample of 500 African-American registered voters, 26% of the interviews were conducted via land line and 74% via cellphone.The margin of sampling error for the sample of 800 Minneapolis registered voters, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than ± 3.5 percentage points. This means there is a 95 percent probability that the "true" figure would fall within that range if all voters were surveyed. The margin of sampling error for the sample of 500 African-American Minneapolis registered voters is no more than ± 4.5 percentage points. The margin of error is higher for any subgroup, such as a gender or age grouping.Sampling error does not take into account other sources of variation inherent in public opinion surveys, such as nonresponse, question wording or context effects. In addition, news events may have affected opinions during the period the poll was taken.The self-identified party affiliation of the respondents of the sample of 800 Minneapolis registered voters is 62% Democrats, 10% Republicans and 28% independents or other. The self-identified party affiliation of the respondents of the sample of 500 African-American Minneapolis registered voters is 63% Democrats, less than 1% Republicans and 37% independents or other.The demographic profile of this poll of registered voters is an accurate reflection of their respective voter populations. This determination is based on more than 100 statewide polls conducted by Mason-Dixon in Minnesota over the past 32 years – a period that spans eight presidential election cycles that began in 1988.Readers can e-mail questions to matt.delong@startribune.com.Demographics
PARTY DFL/ Democrat 495 (62%) Republican 79 (10%) Independent/ other 226 (28%) AGE 18-34 195 (24%) 35-49 232 (29%) 50-64 206 (26%) 65+ 163 (20%) Refused 4 (1%) RACE White/ Caucasian 525 (66%) Black/ African American 146 (18%) Hispanic/ Latino 58 (7%) Asian/ Pacific Islander 42 (5%) Other 22 (3%) Refused 7 (1%) GENDER ID Male 387 (48%) Female 411 (51%) Other 2 (<1%) EDUCATION High school
or less 170 (21%) Some college/
Vocational 178 (22%) College graduate 274 (34%) Graduate degree 171 (22%) Refused 7 (1%) INTERVIEW Land line 231 (29%) Cellphone 569 (71%) PARTY DFL/ Democrat 313 (63%) Republican 2 (<1%) Independent/ other 185 (37%) AGE 18-34 130 (26%) 35-49 119 (24%) 50-64 134 (27%) 65+ 116 (23%) Refused 1 (<1%) GENDER ID Male 227 (45%) Female 272 (54%) Other 1 (1%) EDUCATION High school
or less 192 (38%) Some college/
Vocational 204 (41%) College graduate 84 (17%) Graduate degree 19 (4%) Refused 1 (<1%) INTERVIEW Land line 131 (26%) Cellphone 369 (74%)
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