Overwhelming Majority of American Voters Strongly Oppose Book Banning According to National Poll

In anticipation of Banned Books Week, happening September 18–24, and successful the aftermath of a sharp emergence successful publication bans and censorship efforts crossed the country, the nonprofit EveryLibrary Institute conducted a nationalist canvass that recovered that the overwhelming bulk of voters powerfully reason publication banning. And notably, 75 percent of voters volition see publication bans erstwhile voting successful the upcoming November elections.

The EveryLibrary Institute is simply a nationalist 501c3 non-profit with a ngo to enactment libraries and librarians successful the United States and abroad. The Institute commissioned Embold Research to survey 1,223 registered voters nationally from August 31 to September 3, 2022. The canvass was commissioned to recognize governmental enactment and absorption to publication banning and to recognize the interaction of these bans connected nationalist enactment for libraries. The implicit study Voter Perceptions of Book Bans and Censorship is disposable online.

In today’s governmental climate, it’s not astonishing that the bulk of American voters (92%) person heard astatine slightest thing astir publication banning. Polling results authorities that women, college-educated voters, and Democrats are astir apt to person heard a large woody astir this with immoderate flimsy determination differences.

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But the canvass recovered that this contented crossed enactment lines. Preventing publication banning is besides “very important” to 21 percent of Republicans and if you adhd successful responses of “somewhat important,” the full is much than 50 percent. And 42 percent of Independents besides deemed it “very important.” When asked “How important is preventing publication banning to however you determine to vote?” 3 successful 4 voters said that it was an important voting contented successful the upcoming elections.

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Executive manager of the EveryLibrary Institute, John Chrastka, remarked connected the poll’s results, “Voters judge successful the close to work and the close to beryllium near unsocial to marque their ain choices astir what to read. . . . It is heartening to spot that this content successful the close to work — and elector enactment for schoolhouse libraries and nationalist libraries — transcend partisanship. With specified precocious numbers of voters from each parties, persuasions, and backgrounds telling america that they enactment American’s close to read, it’s clip for politicians to wage attraction and halt their attacks connected libraries.”

Poll results besides dug deeper into however the benignant of publication influences however publication bans are received. Voters are astir offended by the thought that children and classical books are being banned. Eighteen percent of voters enactment banning books that absorption connected contention and Critical Race Theory and one-third enactment banning books that sermon sexuality.

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Other cardinal findings from the study include:

• Half of voters judge determination is “absolutely nary clip erstwhile a publication should beryllium banned,” 41% deliberation “there are uncommon times erstwhile it’s due to prohibition books,” and conscionable 8% deliberation “there are galore books that are inappropriate and should beryllium banned.” 
• 31% of Republicans deliberation determination is perfectly nary clip erstwhile a publication should beryllium banned. 
• 50% of voters find the authorities created to modulate entree to books astir concerning.
• Voters person favorable feelings astir their libraries (69%) and librarians (66%) and their schools (53%) and schoolhouse librarians (62%).

These results travel a nationalist canvass commissioned by the American Library Association earlier this twelvemonth which besides recovered that a bulk of voters, crossed enactment lines, reason efforts to region books from nationalist libraries.

If you’d similar to larn much astir Banned Books Week and the existent emergence successful censorship, we urge the following:

A Banned Books Week Action List

Celebrating Banned Books Week 2022

Book Bans Impact Over 4 Million Students: PEN America’s Sobering New Report

American Library Association’s New Book Censorship Data Released successful Advance of Banned Books Week