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Some people say that no matter who people vote for, it won’t make any difference to what happens. Others say that who people vote for can make a big difference to what happens. Using the scale in the booklet, (where one means that voting won’t make any difference to what happens and five means that voting can make a big difference), where would you place yourself? {INTERVIEWER: DO NOT PROBE DON’T KNOW}
Whether who people vote for makes a difference · Asked in 5 waves, 2008–2024 · 23,473 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses
Codes that include 'no Pre/Post IW' were dropped for respondents without that interview. Kept and flagged: -9 (other_missing), -8 (dk). Codebook notes: 1996,2004 wording were not comparable.
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people who gave an answer. Each column is one wave, evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
| Group | Won’t make a difference | 2 | 3 | 4 | Can make a big difference | n | MoE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents |
| Poll | Field dates | Mode | Respondents | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANES 2024 Time Series Study Source variable: V242431. | 2024-08-03 to 2025-02-17 | mixed | 5,521 | 4,764 |
| ANES 2020 Time Series Study Source variable: V202432. | 2020-08-18 to 2021-01-04 | mixed | 8,280 | 7,449 |
| ANES 2016 Time Series Study Source variable: V162282. | 2016-09-07 to 2017-01-09 | mixed | 4,270 | 3,648 |
| ANES 2012 Time Series Study Source variable: cses_diffvote. | 2012-09-09 to 2013-01-13 | mixed | 5,914 | 5,510 |
| ANES 2008 Time Series Study Source variable: V085183. | 2008-09-02 to 2008-12-30 | face to face | 2,322 | 2,102 |
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people who gave an answer. A group’s column is left blank in waves where its effective sample is under 50; hover for exact shares.
| 5% |
| 7% |
| 20% |
| 25% |
| 43% |
| 4764 |
| ±2 |
| Democrats | 5% | 6% | 17% | 21% | 51% | 1719 | ±3 |
| Independents (incl. leaners) | 7% | 10% | 26% | 27% | 30% | 1537 | ±4 |
| Republicans | 3% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 48% | 1481 | ±4 |
ANES 2024 Time Series Study · US citizens 18+ (face-to-face samples: contiguous 48 states and DC; web samples: 50 states and DC). Shares of people who gave an answer. n is unweighted; ± is the 95% margin of error at 50% from the weighted effective sample. Groups with an effective sample under 50 are grayed; under 20, hidden.