A large majority of Virginians said they did not have enough information to approve or disapprove of the state budget that was passed during the most recent General Assembly special session. (Getty Images)

Jan. 12, 2021

Large majority of Virginians lacked information about the state budget process but wanted it, Wilder School poll finds

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By Robyn McDougle and L. Douglas Wilder

More than 8 in 10 Virginians (81%) said they did not have enough information to approve or disapprove of the state budget that was passed during the most recent General Assembly special session, according to the new statewide Commonwealth Poll conducted by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. 

“The poll reflects an overwhelming majority of Virginians feel that the government has not provided information on how their taxpayer dollars are being spent,” said former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder.

Additionally, 49% of Virginians approve of the level of transparency with which Northam has spent federal resources for the pandemic while 36% disapprove. Democrats and minorities are more likely to approve with 80% and 61% respectively. Those in Tidewater region and Northern Virginia are also more likely to approve with 62% and 60%, compared to 45% in the Northwest, 38% in the South Central and 30% of those in the West region.

The Winter 2021 Commonwealth Poll involved telephone interviews with a representative sample of 827 adults, age 18 or older, living in Virginia. Interviews were conducted by landline (413) and cellphone (414, including 254 without a landline) from Dec 11-30. The margin of error for the complete set of weighted data is 5.39 percentage points.

For the full poll results and analysis, visit https://oppo.vcu.edu/policy-poll/.