Americans hold mixed views on the expulsion of two Tennessee lawmakers

Washington DC, April 11, 2023 -- Just days after the expulsion of Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the Tennessee House of Representatives, a new USA Today/Ipsos poll finds that Americans hold mixed views on this event. However, despite these mixed views, fewer than half are aware of the events that led to the lawmakers’ dismissal.

While half of Americans believe that the expulsion was an anti-democratic abuse of power, half also believe that any legislator that disrupts a hearing or protests on the floor should be expelled. A notable partisan divide exists, as most Republicans are in favor of the expulsion, while Democrats overwhelmingly say it was an abuse of power. The poll also finds that, despite split views on the expulsion of the lawmakers, three in four believe that all Americans, including lawmakers, have a right to peacefully protest in state houses and legislatures.

1. Less than half of Americans are familiar with the expulsion of the Tennessee lawmakers.

• Forty-six percent are at least somewhat familiar with the Tennessee House of Representatives voting to expel two of their representatives for joining a gun control protest inside the state capitol.
• Democrats (57%) are more likely than both Republicans (39%) and independents (46%) to be familiar with this event.
• A similar percentage (44%) are familiar with the state legislators joining a gun control protest inside the Tennessee state capitol. Similar partisan divides exist here, with Democrats more likely to be familiar with this event.
• Significantly more Americans are familiar with the school shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville in March (70%). Majorities across all demographics are familiar.

2. Americans hold mixed views on the expulsion of the lawmakers, with half agreeing that it was an abuse of power and that disruptive legislators should be expelled.

• Fifty-one percent believe that expelling the lawmakers from the Tennessee House was an anti-democratic abuse of powers. Around two in five (42%) say that it was an appropriate way to discipline the legislators.
• Significant partisan divides exist, as Democrats (73%) are significantly more likely than Republicans (29%) to believe that this event was an abuse of power. Sentiment among independents (52%) is in line with the general population.
• Despite half of Americans believing that the expulsion was an abuse of power, nearly half (49%) also agree that legislators who disrupt hearings or protests on the floor should be expelled from that chamber.
• Partisan positions on this topic continue to hold, as Republicans (64%) are more likely than Democrats (31%) to agree that disruptive legislators should be expelled. However, among independents, 53% agree despite a similar percentage saying that this was an abuse of power.

3. A strong majority of Americans believe that everyone, including lawmakers, has the right to peacefully protest.

• Three in four (75%) agree that Americans, including lawmakers, have a right to peacefully protest in state houses and legislatures.
• While majorities across all demographics agree, Democrats (88%) and independents (75%) are more likely than Republicans (62%) to share this sentiment.
• Lastly, just one in three Americans (35%) agree that the protest lead by the Tennessee legislators in the state house was the equivalent of the insurrection on January 6.

About the Study

This USA Today/Ipsos poll was conducted by Ipsos from April 7 to April 9, 2023, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,016 adults age 18 or older. The sample includes 331 Democrats, 270 Republicans, and 324 independents.

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult U.S. population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the U.S. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.   

The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, and household income. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2022 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS). Party ID benchmarks are from recent ABC News/Washington Post telephone polls. The weighting categories were as follows:

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45–59, and 60+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other or 2+ Races Non-Hispanic, Hispanic)
• Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
• Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
• Party ID (Democrat, Republican, Independent, Something else)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.16. By party ID, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5.9 percentage points for Democrats at the 95% confidence level, plus or minus 6.3 percentage points for Republicans at the 95% confidence level, and plus or minus 5.9 percentage points for independents at the 95% confidence level. The design effect was 1.18 for Democrats, 1.12 for Republicans, and 1.19 for independents. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. Sampling error is only one potential source of error. There may be other unmeasured non-sampling error in this or any poll. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Mallory Newall
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2014
[email protected]

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