Key Findings From a National Survey Conducted October 7-11, 2015

2 FAMM NATIONAL PRESENTATION OCTOBER 2015

Methodology

On behalf of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Public Opinion Strategies conducted a survey of 800 registered voters nationwide. Four hundred and eighty interviews were administered by landline and 320 among cell phone users. The survey was conducted October 7-11, 2015 and has a margin of error of + 3.46%.

3 FAMM NATIONAL PRESENTATION OCTOBER 2015

77%

19%

Total

As you may know, some crimes carry an automatic mandatory minimum prison sentence of a certain number of years, regardless of the circumstances of the crime. Would you favor or oppose eliminating mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent offenders so that judges have the ability to make

sentencing decisions on a casebycase basis?

Favor

50% Strongly

Oppose

Fully three-quarters of Americans favor eliminating mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent offenders so that judges can make

decisions on a case-by-case basis.

+58

4 FAMM NATIONAL PRESENTATION OCTOBER 2015

71% 76% 86%

65% 73%

80% 89%

27% 16% 13%

31% 22% 17%

10%

GOP(36%)

IND(20%)

DEM(41%)

VeryCons.(19%)

SomewhatCons.(19%)

Moderate(35%)

Liberal(24%)

By Party

Fav

40% Str

Opp

Voters across partisan and ideological lines are supportive.

+44 +79 +51 +63 +34 +73 +60

As you may know, some crimes carry an automatic mandatory minimum prison sentence of a certain number of years, regardless of the circumstances of the crime. Would you favor or oppose eliminating mandatory minimum

prison sentences for nonviolent offenders so that judges have the ability to make sentencing decisions on a casebycase basis?

By Ideology

Fav

49% Str

Opp Fav

60% Str

Opp Fav

37% Str

Opp Fav

45% Str

Opp Fav

51% Str

Opp Fav

62% Str

Opp

21% Str 16% Str

5 FAMM NATIONAL PRESENTATION OCTOBER 2015

80% 82% 79% 75% 73%

17% 16% 16% 23% 20%

18-34(29%)

35-44(11%)

45-54(16%)

55-64(25%)

65+(19%)

By Age

Fav

52% Strong

Opp

And, both younger and older Americans support this approach.

+63 +53 +63 +52 +66

As you may know, some crimes carry an automatic mandatory minimum prison sentence of a certain number of years, regardless of the circumstances of the crime. Would you favor or oppose eliminating mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent offenders so that judges have the ability to make

sentencing decisions on a casebycase basis?

Fav

56% Strong

Opp Fav

50% Strong

Opp Fav

48% Strong

Opp Fav

45% Strong

Opp

6 FAMM NATIONAL PRESENTATION OCTOBER 2015

42%

13%

Total

And, if you learned that your U.S. Congressman supported eliminating mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent offenders so that judges have the ability to make sentencing decisions on a

casebycase basis, would you be more likely or less likely to reelect them, or would it make no difference to your vote?

More Likely

18% Much

Less Likely

By a three-to-one margin, Americans would be more likely to re-elect their Congressman if they knew they

supported eliminating mandatory minimum prison sentences so judges can make decisions on

a case-by-case basis.

+29

7 FAMM NATIONAL PRESENTATION OCTOBER 2015

40% 43% 39%

11% 4%

13%

White Women(38%)

Hispanic(10%)

IND(20%)

More

15% Much

Less More

17% Much

Less More

22% Much

Less

Three target electoral audiences White Women, Hispanics and Independents would all be more

likely to re-elect their Congressman.

+29 +26 +39

And, if you learned that your U.S. Congressman supported eliminating mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent offenders so that judges have the ability to make sentencing decisions on a

casebycase basis, would you be more likely or less likely to reelect them, or would it make no difference to your vote?

By White Women/Hispanics/Independents

8 FAMM NATIONAL PRESENTATION OCTOBER 2015

79%

16%

Total

And, do you agree or disagree with the following statement... The federal government is spending too much money on locking up nonviolent offenders and should shift

that funding to other pressing public safety priorities like local law enforcement, victims services, and stricter probation and parole.

Agree

50% Strongly

Disagree

And, theres overwhelming agreement that the federal government is spending too much on

locking up nonviolent offenders and should shift that funding to other priorities.

+63

9 FAMM NATIONAL PRESENTATION OCTOBER 2015

70% 75% 89%

59%

81% 82% 91%

25% 17%

8%

35%

17% 12% 6%

GOP(36%)

IND(20%)

DEM(41%)

VeryCons.(19%)

SomewhatCons.(19%)

Moderate(35%)

Liberal(24%)

By Party

Fav

37% Str

Opp

Voters across partisan and ideological lines agree.

+45 +85 +64 +70 +24 +81 +58 By Ideology

Fav

45% Str

Opp Fav

64% Str

Opp Fav

38% Str

Opp Fav

46% Str

Opp Fav

49% Str

Opp Fav

64% Str

Opp

24% Str

And, do you agree or disagree with the following statement... The federal government is spending too much money on locking up nonviolent offenders and should shift

that funding to other pressing public safety priorities like local law enforcement, victims services, and stricter probation and parole.

214 North Fayette Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314

Phone: (703) 836-7655 Web: www.pos.org

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