Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

Millions of registered voters¹ would sign a pledge to vote for, would work for, or would give money to candidates who share their views on global warming – if asked to by a person they like and respect. This suggests that global warming could become a more prominent electoral issue if campaigns engage and mobilize this potential “issue public.”

Willingness to Pledge

One in four registered voters (27%) thinks global warming is happening, is worried about it², and would “definitely” (7%) or “probably” (20%) sign a pledge to vote only for candidates who share his or her views on global warming. This translates to more than 10 million³ registered voters who would definitely sign a pledge and more than 30 million who would probably sign one, for a total of about 41 million. Democrats are the most likely to say they would do so (10% definitely; 41% in total). Some Independents would also sign such a pledge (10% definitely; 18% in total), and some Republicans say they would as well (2% definitely; 11% in total).

Willingness to Volunteer

About one in six (17%) registered voters thinks global warming is happening, is worried about it, and would “definitely” (2%) or “probably” (15%) volunteer time to elect a candidate because the candidate shares his or her views on global warming. This translates to an estimated 3 million registered voters who would definitely volunteer their time and about 23 million who would probably volunteer. Democrats are the most likely to say they would volunteer (4% definitely; 31% in total). Some Independents would also volunteer their time to elect such a candidate (3% definitely; 11% in total), and some Republicans say they would as well (4% probably would).

Willingness to Donate

Further, about one in six registered voters (16%) thinks global warming is happening, is worried about it, and would “definitely” (2%) or “probably” (14%) donate money to a candidate because the candidate shares his or her views on global warming. This translates to approximately 3 million registered voters who would definitely donate money and about 21.5 million who would probably give to a political candidate. Again, Democrats are the most likely to donate money (5% definitely; 29% in total). Some Independents would also donate money to a candidate who shares their views on global warming (1% definitely; 5% in total), and some Republicans say they probably would do so as well (5%).

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Taken together, these results indicate that there are millions of registered American voters willing to pledge their vote and support pro-climate action candidates with their time and money.

1. According to the 2012 Current Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 153 million registered voters in the U.S. https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/
2. In the current survey, 51% of registered voters think global warming is happening and are “very” or “somewhat” worried about it.
3. Projected results are rounded to the nearest half million registered voters.