On behalf of E Pluribus Unum, Embold Research conducted a poll of registered voters built of modelled personas, in order to validate the accuracy and profile of these personas. Additionally, this research sought to dive more deeply into the attitudes of these particular voters toward racial justice and community engagement.

Key Findings

Through this research we discovered that this cohort of voters show clear desire and enthusiasm for making change in their communities. At the same time, practical constraints and fears around community acceptance stifle action. Here are the major takeaways:

• Most respondents align somewhat, if not completely, to at least one of our three tested personas.
• A majority of respondents (55%) feel welcomed by their community, however, six in 10 feel that they would be treated poorly  for expressing different views.
• Respondents overwhelmingly believe that they can make a difference when it comes to racial justice (75%) and a majority (58%) are currently involved in their communities in some way.
• Messages about creating change resonate deeply with respondents, but do not significantly change the level interest in taking action to advance racial justice in their communities

Methodology

Embold Research surveyed 568 likely “Overwhelmed Olivias,” “Lost Lucilles,” and “Nervous Nessas” in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia from August 28  – September 1, 2024. We used targeted advertisements on Facebook and Instagram to recruit respondents.

They were directed to a survey hosted on SurveyMonkey’s website.

Ads placed on social media targeted a list of adult women voters in the targeted states, provided by E Pluribus Unum, whose demographic and voting data made them likely to fit the Overwhelmed Olivia,” “Lost Lucille,” or “Nervous Nessa” profile, as defined by E. Pluribus Unum. Those who indicated that they were not registered to vote were terminated. As the survey fielded, Embold Research used dynamic online sampling: adjusting ad budgets, lowering budgets for ads targeting groups that were overrepresented, and raising budgets for ads targeting groups that were underrepresented. The survey was conducted in English.

The survey was commissioned by E. Pluribus Unum and conducted online by Embold Research. No post-stratification weights were applied.

The modeled margin of error* for this survey is 4.1%, which uses effective sample sizes** that adjust for the design effect of weighting.