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September 14, 2020

Federal Forces in our Cities

ActiVote asked our users about deploying federal forces to US Cities, in response to some protests turning violent and subsequent looting and destruction of property. The answers that our users could choose from can be summarized as:

  • Federal forces should take charge
  • Federal forces should support local law enforcement
  • Federal forces should protect federal property
  • Federal forces should only deploy on request from local government
  • Federal forces should stay away
The headline result
Take charge
10%
Support locals
14%
Protect federal property
13%
On request only
38%
Stay away
25%
 See the details below →

We found that a majority of 63% want federal forces to either stay away entirely or only be deployed if requested by local government. On the flip side, a sizable minority of 37% would like to see some sort of proactive action from the federal government.

There are some clear differences based on gender, age, and party affiliation.

The crosstabs
Men
16%
20%
31%
26%
Women
14%
11%
49%
24%
Take chargeSupport localsProtect federal propertyOn request onlyStay away
 See the details below →

Women believe that the initiative should be with local leaders, even for protection of federal property, if federal forces are to be deployed, while 20% of men believe that federal forces can proactively be deployed for that purpose.

The crosstabs
18-29
26%
31%
27%
30-49
16%
23%
31%
25%
50-64
13%
52%
23%
65+
9%
13%
46%
26%
Take chargeSupport localsProtect federal propertyOn request onlyStay away
 See the details below →

Voters age 50+ feel more strongly (over 70%) than younger voters (about 57%) that the federal government should ask for permission, or stay away at all.

The crosstabs
Dem
9%
54%
33%
Rep
29%
25%
28%
13%
Ind
12%
39%
41%
Take chargeSupport localsProtect federal propertyOn request onlyStay away
 See the details below →

There is a split among party lines on this topic. 87% of Democrats favor the federal troops staying away or waiting until they are asked to assist, while 82% of Republicans expect proactive action from the Federal government in this case.

Overall, there is not a single group that wishes in majority that the Federal government should just proactively come and restore order.

The Details

The answers as asked

Charts and tables use the short label at the start of each line.

  1. Take charge: Federal forces should be deployed to take charge for policing our cities until protests have died down.
  2. Support locals: Federal forces should be deployed to support policing our cities until violent protests have died down.
  3. Protect federal property: Federal forces should be deployed to cities only to protect federal property.
  4. On request only: Federal forces should only be deployed to cities if the local government has explicitly requested their presence.
  5. Stay away: Federal forces should not be deployed to our cities.

The full crosstab table

ActiVote · Federal Forces in US Cities · September 14, 2020
ActiVote 324 RV Take charge Support locals Protect federal property On request only Stay away
National ±5.4% MoE 10% 14% 13% 38% 25%
Gender Men 8% 16% 20% 31% 26%
Women 14% 11% 2% 49% 24%
Age 18-29 9% 8% 26% 31% 27%
30-49 16% 23% 5% 31% 25%
50-64 4% 13% 8% 52% 23%
65+ 9% 6% 13% 46% 26%
Ethnicity White 8% 14% 15% 46% 17%
Black 0% 13% 11% 51% 25%
Latino 13% 23% 5% 22% 39%
Education High school 14% 6% 13% 40% 27%
Some college 10% 16% 8% 42% 24%
Bachelor's 6% 21% 17% 33% 23%
Income <50k 13% 13% 18% 42% 14%
50k-100k 8% 19% 14% 35% 24%
>100k 10% 10% 8% 38% 34%
Affiliation Dem 3% 9% 1% 54% 33%
Rep 29% 25% 28% 13% 5%
Ind 0% 12% 7% 39% 41%
Region Dark Red 23% 7% 15% 38% 17%
Light Red 0% 1% 16% 42% 41%
Swing 13% 12% 6% 42% 28%
Light Blue 4% 22% 28% 37% 10%
Dark Blue 13% 22% 5% 33% 27%
Methodology. Fielded September 2020 among 324 registered voters nationwide. Responses weighted by Demographics and Spectrum. Average expected error ±5.4%. See Why trust our polls? for the methodology, disclosures and accuracy record.