Saint Louis University to Conduct First Academic-Led Poll of Missouri Voters

07/01/2020

On July 13, Saint Louis University will release the first in a series of survey results focused on issues Missourians will face at the ballot box and in their daily lives. The inaugural SLU/YouGov Poll will explore issues ranging from voters’ opinions about the 2020 presidential contest to their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a survey of 900 likely Missouri voters, the July 2020 SLU/YouGov Poll will assess voters’ opinions about the national presidential ticket, the Missouri gubernatorial race, and issues recently addressed by the Missouri state government, such as Medicaid expansion and the opportunity to vote-by-mail, among many others.

“It is important for our leaders to know their constituents’ views, and we at Saint Louis University are excited to establish a survey to help inform the policy-making process,” said Steven Rogers, Ph.D., associate professor of political science and director of the new poll. “The SLU/YouGov Poll will be the first independent, state-wide, non-partisan survey produced by an academic institution in Missouri.”

Rogers leads a team of experts in survey research and policymaking. Associate directors of the SLU/YouGov Poll include Kenneth Warren, Ph.D., professor of political science with more than 30 years of professional polling experience, and Evan Rhinesmith, Ph.D., director of research and evaluation at the SLU PRiME Center and an education policy expert.

These scholars say the SLU/YouGov polls will provide unique insights into the 2020 election.

“Unlike other public polls of Missouri voters, the SLU/YouGov poll includes a set of 600 voters who will answer multiple surveys during the year,” Warren said. “Comparing voters’ opinions over the course of the 2020 election will let us better understand which voters were persuaded by the presidential and gubernatorial campaigns.”

Outside of the election, the SLU/YouGov poll will investigate important policy questions related to public health and education.

“The SLU/YouGov Poll will be a valuable tool for SLU researchers in a variety of fields,” said Rhinesmith. “In education, for example, our 2020 surveys will allow us to explore the views of voters across Missouri on the quality of our public schools, the money spent on schools and teacher salaries, and even the way that our school leaders have handled the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Anonymized individual-level survey responses will be made available online for researchers and policymakers to conduct independent analyses.

Results of the inaugural SLU/YouGov Poll will be shared beginning on Monday, July 13, and throughout the following two weeks. Saint Louis University plans to conduct a poll every year following the end of the state legislative session and an additional poll in October in election years.

More Information 

About YouGov

Saint Louis University has partnered with YouGov to conduct its annual survey of Missourians. YouGov conducts surveys for multiple academic institutions and is the primary, trusted survey firm for media organizations, including CBS News and The Economist. An independent Pew Research Center study of online survey firms in 2016 further concluded YouGov “consistently outperforms competitors.”

About Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers nearly 13,000 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University’s diverse community of scholars is SLU’s service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.