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Bright Line Watch survey questions, Wave 25

Bright Line Watch survey questions, Wave 25

Democratic performance questions

How well do the following state­ments describe the United States as of today?

  • The U.S. does not meet this standard
  • The U.S. partly meets this standard
  • The U.S. mostly meets this standard
  • The U.S fully meets this standard
  1. Government officials are legally sanc­tioned for misconduct
  2. Government officials do not use public office for private gain
  3. Government agencies are not used to monitor, attack, or punish political opponents
  4. All adult citizens enjoy the same legal and political rights
  5. Government does not interfere with jour­nal­ists or news organizations
  6. Government effec­tive­ly prevents private actors from engaging in polit­i­cal­ly-motivated violence or intimidation
  7. Government protects indi­vid­u­als’ right to engage in unpopular speech or expression
  8. Political com­pe­ti­tion occurs without criticism of opponents’ loyalty or patriotism
  9. Elections are free from foreign influence
  10. Parties and can­di­dates are not barred due to their political beliefs and ideologies
  11. All adult citizens have equal oppor­tu­ni­ty to vote
  12. All votes have equal impact on election outcomes
  13. Elections are conducted, ballots counted, and winners deter­mined without pervasive fraud or manipulation
  14. Executive authority cannot be expanded beyond con­sti­tu­tion­al limits
  15. The leg­is­la­ture is able to effec­tive­ly limit executive power
  16. The judiciary is able to effec­tive­ly limit executive power
  17. The elected branches respect judicial independence
  18. Voter par­tic­i­pa­tion in elections is generally high
  19. Information about the sources of campaign funding is available to the public
  20. Public policy is not deter­mined by large campaign contributions
  21. Citizens can make their opinions heard in open debate about policies that are under consideration
  22. The geo­graph­ic bound­aries of electoral districts do not sys­tem­at­i­cal­ly advantage any par­tic­u­lar political party
  23. Even when there are dis­agree­ments about ideology or policy, political leaders generally share a common under­stand­ing of relevant facts
  24. Elected officials seek com­pro­mise with political opponents
  25. Citizens have access to infor­ma­tion about can­di­dates that is relevant to how they would govern
  26. Government protects indi­vid­u­als’ right to engage in peaceful protest
  27. Law enforce­ment inves­ti­ga­tions of public officials or their asso­ciates are free from political influence or interference
  28. Government sta­tis­tics and data are produced by experts who are not influ­enced by political considerations
  29. The law is enforced equally for all persons
  30. Politicians who lose free and fair elections publicly concede defeat
  31. Universities, busi­ness­es, and pro­fes­sion­al orga­ni­za­tions operate inde­pen­dent­ly of gov­ern­ment pressure

 

Ratings of democratic performance

Ratings of U.S. today

We ask respon­dents to rate the political system of the United States today on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is least demo­c­ra­t­ic and 100 is most democratic.

Ratings of the U.S. under different scenarios

Using the 0–100 scale, we ask respon­dents to indicate what rating they expect to give the political of the United States in 2027.

International ratings

We ask respon­dents to rate the political system of Hungary, Turkey,  Poland, Canada, Mexico, Israel,  Russia, and Great Britain today on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is least demo­c­ra­t­ic and 100 is most democratic.

Current threats and benefits

We ask respon­dents to assess whether and to what extent five recent events are a threat or benefit to American democracy. The items are:

  • The Trump admin­is­tra­tion refusing to make efforts to return Kilmar Abrego García from detention in El Salvador after a Supreme Court decision requiring the White House to “facil­i­tate” his release.
  • The Trump admin­is­tra­tion pres­sur­ing Columbia University and Harvard University to change their policies in order to retain federal funding.
  • Columbia University’s response to pressure from the Trump Administration to change policies in order to retain federal funding.
  • The Trump admin­is­tra­tion seeking to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status after it refused to change its policies in order to retain federal funding.
  • Harvard University’s response to pressure from the Trump Administration to change policies in order to retain federal funding.

Future scenarios

We ask respon­dents to assess the prob­a­bil­i­ty of four political scenarios that could occur during a second Trump admin­is­tra­tion. The items are:

  • Will a federal judge be impeached by Republican Representatives in a partisan vote before January 3, 2027?
  • Will the US Senate weaken or eliminate the fil­i­buster before January 3, 2029?
  • Will the US establish a gov­ern­ment program rewarding infor­ma­tion leading to depor­ta­tions before January 3, 2027?
  • How many jour­nal­ists in the US will face criminal charges related to their work before 2027?

Future threats and benefits

We ask respon­dents to assess whether and to what extent two potential future events would be a threat or benefit to American democracy. The items are:

  • The federal gov­ern­ment revoking cit­i­zen­ship from nat­u­ral­ized citizens at sig­nif­i­cant­ly higher rates than his­tor­i­cal norms.
  • The United States gov­ern­ment arranging for American citizens convicted of violent crimes to serve sentences in foreign prisons (e.g., in El Salvador).

DEI & antisemitism at academic institution

We ask respon­dents to report the extent of problem that anti­semitism and the state of racial and ethnic diversity and inclusion was at their insti­tu­tions as of January 2025, as well as how effective the related uni­ver­si­ty policies were.

  • How much of a problem, if at all, do you think anti­semitism, that is hostility or prejudice toward Jewish people, was at your insti­tu­tion as of January 2025?
  • How effective were the policies in place at your insti­tu­tion as of January 2025 at pro­tect­ing members of the campus community from antisemitism?
  • How much of a problem, if at all, do you think the state of racial and ethnic diversity and inclusion was at your insti­tu­tion as of January 2025?
  • How effective were the policies in place at your insti­tu­tion as of January 2025 at promoting racial and ethnic diversity and inclusion on campus?

Academic freedom

We ask respon­dents to about their views related to academic freedom, which we define as:

Academic freedom is the freedom of teachers or researchers in higher education to inves­ti­gate and discuss the issues in their academic field, and to teach or publish findings without inter­fer­ence from political figures, boards of trustees, donors, or other entities. Academic freedom also protects the right of faculty members to speak freely when par­tic­i­pat­ing in insti­tu­tion­al gov­er­nance, as well as to speak freely as a citizen. 

  • How much academic freedom do you have in {extra­mur­al speech/research/teaching}?
  • Suppose you had not expe­ri­enced the events that have taken place in the United States since January 20, 2025. How would you have answered the following question: How much academic freedom do you have in {extra­mur­al speech/research/teaching}?
  • Which, if any, of the following issues do you feel {less/more} free to discuss now than you did in January 2025? (select all that apply) 
    • Middle East conflict (Israel/Palestine)
    • Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
    • Politics (federal)
    • Gender identity
    • Politics (state/local)
    • Immigration
    • Sexual ori­en­ta­tion
    • Abortion
    • Gun control/gun rights
    • Vaccines
    • Contraception
    • Climate change
    • Other _____
    • None of the above
  • Due to the situation on my campus and/or the broader political envi­ron­ment, I am refrain­ing from… 
    • making extra­mur­al utter­ances (e.g., on social media).
    • com­mu­ni­cat­ing with students about certain topics.
    • teaching certain things in class.
    • research­ing and pub­lish­ing on certain topics.
  • Which is more important in causing you to refrain from these actions? 
    • The situation on my campus
    • The broader political environment
    • Both equally
  • Which, if any, of the following concerns are causing you to refrain from these actions? (select all that apply) 
    • Social con­se­quences (e.g., exclusion from social events)
    • Harassment (online or in-person)
    • Professional con­se­quences (e.g., losing job or promotion)
    • Legal sanction (e.g., pros­e­cu­tion or fine)
    • Change in immigration/residency/citizenship status
    • Violence (e.g., assault) 
  • On which of the following topics are you refrain­ing from these actions? (select all that apply) 
    • Middle East conflict (Israel/Palestine)
    • Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
    • Politics (federal)
    • Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
    • Gender identity
    • Politics (state/local)
    • Immigration
    • Sexual ori­en­ta­tion
    • Abortion
    • Gun control/gun rights
    • Vaccines
    • Contraception
    • Climate change
    • Other _____
    • None of the above

    University leadership

    We ask respon­dents about lead­er­ship support at their insti­tu­tion. For each of the following, respon­dents indicated to what degree the statement is true.

    • The admin­is­tra­tion of the uni­ver­si­ty where I teach supports academic freedom.
    • The admin­is­tra­tion of the uni­ver­si­ty where I teach supports academic freedom in research, teaching, and public dis­cus­sion of {Middle East conflict (Israel/Palestine), diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gender identity, immi­gra­tion, sexual orientation}.