New theGrio/KFF Survey Project Examines Diverse Views of Black Voters Heading into 2022 Midterm Election

Half of Black Voters are More Motivated to Vote This Year, with Older Voters and Those Who Approve of President Biden among the Most Eager

7 in 10 Worry About Voter Suppression Interfering with a Fair and Accurate Count

Allen Media Group’s African American-focused news, lifestyle, and entertainment platform theGrio and KFF today released a joint national survey examining the mood and views of Black voters, the only in-depth public survey this election cycle focused exclusively on this group, which has historically been a solid Democratic voting bloc but holds diverse views that often get overlooked in national polling. Coverage of the survey’s findings also begins today at theGrio.com and will run throughout the week on their website and cable television channel.

Unlike a typical national voter poll, the survey reaches a large enough sample of Black voters to examine variations by factors such as age, gender, education, and political affiliation.

The survey finds that about half (51%) of Black voters say they are more motivated to vote this year compared to previous elections, largely due to a desire to elect Democrats or keep Republicans out of power, as well as a general desire for change.

While large shares across groups express increased motivation this year, they are higher among older Black voters (58% of those ages 50 and older say they are more motivated to vote) and those who approve of President Biden (58%). Similar shares of those who identify as or lean Democrat (55%) and who identify as or lean Republican (54%) say they are more motivated this year.

The project finds that Black voters are greatly concerned about the economy, inflation, and the affordability of health care and housing. At the same time, these voters also rank some non-economic issues as important to their vote, including voter rights, gun violence, and criminal justice and policing.

Other key findings include:

TheGrio will begin rolling out its release of theGrio/KFF survey of Black voters on Oct. 18 through a series of original stories reported by the brand’s political team, including White House Correspondent April Ryan and senior correspondent Natasha S. Alford. The reporting will include insights from experts and stakeholders to contextualize some of the standout findings, from Black voters’ approval ratings of President Joe Biden (69%) and Vice President Kamala Harris (65%) to Black voters’ feelings about funding for police, and inflation and other economic issues (73%) as the biggest concern for Black voters and their families right now when asked to state this in their own words.

Additionally, theGrio will explore the survey’s findings on Black voters’ opinions of the Supreme Court since overturning Roe v. Wade and concerns over voter suppression through opinion columns from writers Touré and Michael Harriot. TheGrio’s reporters and columnists will also dissect the findings on the brand new television series “TheGrio with Eboni K. Williams” and “TheGrio with Marc Lamont Hill,” scheduled to debut Monday, October 24 on the platform’s cable channel.

The poll was jointly developed and analyzed by theGrio and KFF’s polling and survey research group and was conducted August 24-September 5 among a national probability-based sample of 1,000 adults ages 18 and older who identify as Black or African American and are registered to vote. Interviews were conducted in English online and by live telephone interviewers. The results from the full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Each partner bears responsibility for its editorial content about the poll.

About theGrio

In 2016, Allen Media Group purchased theGrio, a highly rated digital video-centric news community platform devoted to providing African-Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national news outlets. TheGrio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles, and opinion pieces on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business, and entertainment. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has more than 100 million annual visitors. TheGrio is available everywhere people consume information—on a mobile app, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, AppleTV, and now as an over-the-air television network.

About KFF

Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, that produces non-partisan analysis, polling, journalism and social impact media campaigns for policymakers, the media, and the public. KFF develops and runs its own policy analysis, journalism. and communications programs. It has no association with Kaiser Permanente.

Contact

Craig Palosky
cpalosky@kff.org
Martine Charles
|martine@marcglobalcommunications.com
Mitchell Messinger
mitchell@marcglobalcommunications.com
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