The POPVOX Blog

Articles Tagged Presidential-elections

What Congress Heard from Florida

by marci on January 28, 2012
As we enter the week of the Florida Primary, we decided to take a look at what people in Florida have been telling Congress through the POPVOX system. Many of the bills that make the Florida list are similar the Top 50 bills overall, though some interesting things stand out:
1. Greater support in Florida for H.R. 2 "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Reform Law," with 69% support in Florida and 59% support overall.
2. A similar division on H.R. 3, the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion" bill at 68% support in Florida compared to 56% support nationwide.
3. An even split on opinion in Florida for H.R. 1116 the Respect for Marriage Act, which has 62% support nationwide but only 50% in Florida.
What Congress Heard from New Hampshire

by marci on January 8, 2012
As we head into the New Hampshire primary week, here's a look at what New Hampshire constituents shared with their Representatives and Senators in 2011 (and the first week of 2012.)

Notably, the bills that most divided the nation produced a similar split in New Hampshire:
2. 58% of those weighing in from New Hampshire supported the bill to repeal health reform: "H.R. 2: Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law", compared to 59% of those weighing in nationally.
3. 58% of input from New Hampshire supported the President's American Jobs Act (S. 1549), compared to 67% nationally.
New Hampshire closely with tracked the nation on bills that have either been in the news or saw intense grassroots outreach:
1. Just as in the first caucus state of Iowa, New Hampshire were overwhelmingly against allowing robocalls to cell phone, with 100% of those weighing in on POPVOX opposing H.R. 3035, the Mobile Informational Call Act. (99% opposed nationally.) Due to the outpouring of constituent protests, the bill was pronounced dead by its sponsor on December 17.
2. The "Live free or die"" state is 100% opposed to H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), based on input provided to Congress using POPVOX. (98% oppose nationally.)
3. All weighing in from New Hampshire on H.R. 2306 supported ending the federal prohibition of marijuana. The bill would remove marijuana from the Schedule 1 list of federal controlled substances. (91% support the bill nationally).
4. The fourth most popular bill in New Hampshire is S. 1176, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which ranked #13 on the POPVOX list of top bills of 2011. Ninety-six percent of those weighing in from New Hampshire support the bill, compared to 76% nationally.
5. Ninety-two percent of those weighing in from New Hampshire oppose H.R. 835, the "PUPS" Act, which introduces new regulations on puppy breeders, compared to 76% nationally.
6. The National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 822), which passed the House on November 16, 2011, received 87.5% support from those weighing in from New Hampshire, compared to 77% nationally.
7. New Hampshire strongly supported ensuring that the military is paid even in case of a government shutdown, with 100% in favor of S. 724 the Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act. (95% support nationally.)
The 10 Million Solar Roofs Act, S. 1108, ranked 16th nationally and #10 in New Hampshire. The bill was supported by 93% of constituents weighing in from New Hampshire, with 76% support nationally.
Does Iowa Represent the Nation? On POPVOX, the answer seems to be Yes

by marci on January 1, 2012
Every four years, as Iowa readies to be the first state in the nation to vote in the presidential primary, discussions arise: How well does Iowa represent the nation? In honor of the upcoming Iowa Caucuses, POPVOX gives you a peek of the bills that moved Iowans to contact Congress in 2011. At least comparing responses from Iowans on POPVOX to nation-wide totals, it appears that throughout 2011, the messages going into Congress from Iowa were very similar to those of the nation as a whole.

Most on the Iowa list mirror the Top Ten for all of POPVOXNation:
1. Iowans overwhelmingly opposed allowing robocalls to cell phones, which ranked # 1 in top bills of 2011 that caused people to contact Congress. As the first caucus state, they likely have unique insight on what it means to be the target of political campaigns trying every tactic to catch voters' attention. 100% of Iowans weighing in on POPVOX opposed H.R. 3035, the Mobile Informational Call Act (which was dropped by it's sponsor on December 17.) Ninety-nine percent nation-wide opposed the bill.
2. In Iowa, as across the nation, those in favor of eliminating the prohibition of marijuana made a strong showing in support of H.R. 2306, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act. (90% support in Iowa, 91% nationwide.)
3. Similarly, Iowans rallied to support preserving military pay in case of a government shutdown with S. 724, the Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act (93% support, compared with 95% support nationally)
4. Iowans have also shown strong opposition to SOPA, H.R. 3261: the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261), with 97% opposing, compared to 98% nationally.
5. Sixty-six percent of Iowans on POPVOX supported H.R. 2, the Repeal the Job-Killing Health Care Act, slightly more than the 60% nationwide that support the bill.
6. "Fair Tax" proposals got a lot of attention in Iowa: The House version, H.R. 25 has 77% support in Iowa and 80% nationwide; while the Senate version, S. 13, has 63% support in Iowa and 80% nationwide.
7. The National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act, H.R. 822, has 71% support in Iowa and 78% nationwide.
The bills that got attention in Iowa but did not register in the nationwide top 50 all included some variation on the theme of regulating ammunition or fishing tackle for lead content.
1. S. 838, the Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Shooting Protection Act.
2. H.R. 1445, prohibiting EPA regulation of ammunition and fishing tackle based on lead content.
3. H.R. 1443, the Outdoor Sports Protection Act.
Check out the Top 10 Bills in Iowa for 2011:
Bills Discussed in First Republican Presidential Debate

by marci on June 13, 2011

Whew! Just finished first experiment tweeting out bills mentioned in tonight's CNN Debate at St. Anselm's in New Hampshire. Can't figure out the best way to preserve the tweets, so for now, it's copy and paste. Any suggestions of better way? (BTW - anyone got a better Twitter handle for Cain?)

@RonPaul_2012 mentioned #FederalReserve Transparency Act bit.ly/k44Tf8 #CNNDebate

#HConRes58 bit.ly/m3OTQ4 Expressing disapproval of United States intervention in Libya . #CNNDebate

#HR780 Responsible End to the War in #Afghanistan Act bit.ly/gCsR7P #CNNDebate

Repeal #Ethanol Subsidies Today #HR1188 bit.ly/lGNFYZ #HR426 Remove Incentives 4 Producing Ethanol bit.ly/iZBNml #CNNDebate

To repeal the Volumetric #Ethanol Excise #Tax Credit #S1057 bit.ly/lqJVSb #HR1075 bit.ly/gwitSE #CNNDebate

RE: eminent domain #HR1433 Private Property Rights Protection Act bit.ly/lvXzW4 #CNNDebate

#HConRes29 Sense of Congress that state & local govs should be supported in illegal immigration prevention bit.ly/jvNfKb #CNNDebate

@JohnKingCNN asks about Birthright Citizenship #HR140 bit.ly/jo8lxY #S723 bit.ly/jZpR23 #CNNDebate

#CNNDebate No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act #S906 bit.ly/m3PJRV #HR3 bit.ly/hF5Tn1

#HJRes45 Constitutional Amendment marriage "only of the union of a man and a woman" bit.ly/meMVAK #CNNDebate

#HR1116 Respect for Marriage Act ensuring state regulation of marriage bit.ly/glX7XZ #CNNDebate

See #HConRes13 Reaffirming "In God We Trust" as motto of US & encouraging public display bit.ly/hhVD4H #CNNDebate

@newtgingrich mentions @RepTomPrice bill #HR1700 Medicare Patient Empowerment Act bit.ly/kEwIcP #CNNDebate

#HConRes34 The #RyanBudget is mentioned: bit.ly/khSP9W #CNNDebate

#S216 Food Safety Accountability Act bit.ly/dOuLwG #CNNDebate

#HR1641 REAL Space Act : to return to the moon & develop human presence there bit.ly/kMDOrw #CNNDebate

#HR189 To repeal TARP & prevent future bailouts bit.ly/mQkGOK #CNNDebate

Currently there is no bill pending that relates to the Leno/Conan question. #CNNDebate.

We're trying to keep up with bills mentioned by candidates in the #CNNDebate, with links to POPVOX action pages. DM us if we miss any!

National Right to Work Act #S504 bit.ly/kTdu3s #HR2040 bit.ly/j8T1Fd #CNNDebate

Unemployment mentioned. See #HR589: Emergency Unemployment Compensation Expansion bit.ly/f2lCq5 #CNNDebate

@NewtGingrich mentions repeal of individual mandate . See #HR21: bit.ly/kU3agQ #CNNDebate

@MittRomney mentions state waivers for health reform . See #HR1184 bit.ly/mGEmBd #CNNDebate

Questioner asks about repeal of health reform | See #HR2 bit.ly/mFVxn9 #CNNDebate

@newtgingrich mentions repealing Dodd-Frank See #HR87 | Weigh in: bit.ly/iR9444 #CNNDebate

@CainPress mentioned repatriation of foreign income . See #HR516 bit.ly/me7BH7 #CNNDebate