Voters Back Ban On Fracking, New Poll Finds

Alexander C. Kaufman
Updated

A plurality of registered voters support banning fracking, a new poll has found.

Nearly 46% of respondents said they’d back restrictions to prohibit the controversial oil and gas drilling technique, according to a survey by the progressive pollster YouGov Blue. Of that figure, 32% said they “strongly” favored a ban.

Meanwhile, just over 33% of voters polled opposed banning fracking, with slightly more than 22% saying they were “strongly” against the idea. Nearly 12% neither supported nor opposed a ban, and just over 9% said they were “not sure.”

The partisan divide was more pronounced. Democrats supported the ban most, with 63% in favor, 19% against and another 19% unsure. Among independents, 44% supported a ban, 36% opposed it and 21% were undecided. Just 26% of Republicans backed a ban, while 24% were unsure and 50% opposed it.

Support for a fracking ban, according to the poll. (Photo: Data For Progress)
Support for a fracking ban, according to the poll. (Photo: Data For Progress)

The poll ― which Data for Progress shared with HuffPost on Wednesday ― was conducted last month among 1,380 voters, and findings for the entire sample group have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

The survey prompted participants by listing the pros and cons of fracking. Noting that fracking fuels “one quarter of America’s energy production,” the question said fracking supporters “say it decreases electricity costs and reduces our dependence on foreign oil” while opponents “say that fracking pollutes local soil and water with known carcinogens and that we should invest in renewable energy instead.” The poll then asked: “Would you support or oppose banning the practice of fracking in the United States?”

The findings come just before 10 Democratic presidential candidates are slated to take part in a seven-hour CNN marathon of televised town halls on the climate crisis.

Support for a fracking ban, broken down by voters' party identification. (Photo: Data For Progress)
Support for a fracking ban, broken down by voters' party identification. (Photo: Data For Progress)

In a bid to set himself apart ahead of the forum, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a leading contender for the Democratic nomination, put out a statement reiterating his longstanding opposition to fracking.

Eight other Democratic contenders support fracking bans. That includes two whose polling made them eligible to participate in the forum ― Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), whose plan calls for “phasing out” fracking, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who embraced a full fracking ban this week after initially limiting her position to federally owned lands.

“Even with strong counter-arguments, a fracking ban is popular with the American public,” Data for Progress co-founder Sean McElwee, whose left-leaning think tank commissioned the poll, said by email. “Every Democrat should support it.”

The results differ from past polls on fracking. In February 2018, the conservative-leaning pollster Rasmussen found 46% of likely U.S. voters favored fracking, while 39% opposed it and 15% were unsure. People living closer to fracking sites tended to favor the practice more, according to an Oregon State University study published last year.

A study published earlier this year by researchers at more than a dozen environmental groups found that new U.S. oil and gas drilling, 90% of which involves fracking, is set to unleash 1,000 coal plants’ worth of climate pollution by 2050.

Related Coverage

Bernie Sanders Unveils $16 Trillion Green New Deal To Combat Climate Crisis

Voters Back Liability For Companies That Mislead About Climate Change: Poll

Here's Your Cheat Sheet For The 2020 Democratic Candidates' Climate Plans

Also on HuffPost

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

1st Prize Winner: Fog in Germany by SkyPro

This windmill pair was shot in the early morning hours. The shallow fog had been around for days because of no wind, high humidity and cold temperatures.
This windmill pair was shot in the early morning hours. The shallow fog had been around for days because of no wind, high humidity and cold temperatures.

2nd Prize Winner: Church of Paracatu by Alexandre Salem

The city of Paracatu was vanished by a river of mud, after a mining dam burst at Mariana, Minas Gerais. It was the biggest environmental accident in Brazil’s history.
The city of Paracatu was vanished by a river of mud, after a mining dam burst at Mariana, Minas Gerais. It was the biggest environmental accident in Brazil’s history.

3rd Prize winner: Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia by Yuyusera

Palangkaraya – The most polluted place on earth! This photo was taken on October 4th, 2015 when my friends and I did a campaign called “Kalteng with Love” where we gave free masks, milk and vitamin for the people in the city of Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Thick smoke was hovering over where we live. The particulate meter that day showed that the air was so poluted and reached over 2000 psi. The smoke was caused by the fires in Borneo peatlands that was started from the end of July. For almost three months the people in Borneo had to breathe such toxicating air. There are lots of people who suffered from respiratory problems. Schools off. Flights could not operate. Economic system became paralyzed. Borneo is known as the lungs of the world and the fifth largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, and these fires are not helping. We were even labelled as the most polluted place on earth. Through this photo, I would like to raise the world’s awareness that this matter is a huge problem for all of us. This challenge is addressed not only to people in Borneo and Indonesia, but also to the entire world. Could you imagine if all of the forests in Borneo disappear and there is limitied source of oxygen left for over 7 billion people?

4th Prize Winner: Wind Power near Berlin by King-Fisher

Wind power from approx. 120m height.
Wind power from approx. 120m height.

5th Prize Winner: Energy Active Office Building, Genk, Belgium by Drone-Partner

Energy ACTIVE office building, about 1100m² floorspace : produce yearly more energy then it consumes ( better then passive house results !). Heating & cooling by deep geothermal heatpump with electric compensation of full integrated PV-solarpanels (BIPV) in 45°-roof. Owner : www.stebo.be Building designed by www.burob.be & www.geertdebruyn.be , construction : www.i3.be BIPV solar roof : http://solar.golden-glass.com/c465.html Drone : Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K

6th Prize Winner: Holbury, New Forest, UK by Mark Baker

Taken in between two banks of fog in a 2 minute window. Showing the tanks and stacks of Fawley Refinery.
Taken in between two banks of fog in a 2 minute window. Showing the tanks and stacks of Fawley Refinery.

7th Prize Winner: Tiny island in the lake of Galvė by Karolis Janulis

The tiny island in the lake of Galvė looks like a continent and shows us how small our world really is. One tree cut on this island, one nest pulled apart or another kind of intervention will change it beyond our recognition. It is up to us all to make our planet clean and green
The tiny island in the lake of Galvė looks like a continent and shows us how small our world really is. One tree cut on this island, one nest pulled apart or another kind of intervention will change it beyond our recognition. It is up to us all to make our planet clean and green

8th Prize Winner: High Tide in La Jolla, California by Kevin Dilliard

This is a picture of the king high tide crashing against this restaurant on the sand in la jolla shores. the king tide was at the peak in this photo at +7feet . is this a result of higher tides due to global warning.Today many coastal communities are seeing more frequent flooding during high tides. As sea level rises higher over the next 15 to 30 years, tidal flooding is expected to occur more often, cause more disruption, and even render some areas unusable .

9th Prize Winner: Dhaka, Bangladesh by Zayedh

A playing field I grew up playing football on… It\’s now acquired by the real estate company and they are killed the green of the field, trees providing shadow and building the grey houses on it. It\’s a typical depiction of the impact of growing real estate companies in Bangladesh.
A playing field I grew up playing football on… It\’s now acquired by the real estate company and they are killed the green of the field, trees providing shadow and building the grey houses on it. It\’s a typical depiction of the impact of growing real estate companies in Bangladesh.

10th Prize Winner: Paracatu Cemiterio by Alexandre Salem

After a mining dam bursts, it took almost 3 hours for the mud to reach Paracatu. Fortunately, it gave time for people to abandon their houses and run. The cemitery of Paracatu stays on a small hill, and it was there where many people rushed to protect themselves. And it was from there, that they saw their city being destroyed. There were no fatal victims in the city but the city itself.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.