Issue Guide

Questions here weigh progressive taxation and public investment against lower taxes, lighter regulation, and market-driven growth. Most Americans hold a blend: they want opportunity and a safety net at the same time.

• Higher-income individuals should pay a larger share of their income in taxes.
• Reducing regulation on small businesses does more for working families than new government programs.
• The federal government should guarantee affordable health coverage for every American.
• Balancing the federal budget should take priority over expanding public spending.

Liberty questions cut across the traditional left-right line. Free expression, privacy from surveillance, and personal autonomy attract support from every part of the spectrum.

• Free speech should be protected even when the speech is deeply offensive to many people.
• Government agencies should need a warrant before collecting data about an American's communications.
• Adults should be free to make personal health and lifestyle decisions without government interference.
• Public safety sometimes justifies limiting individual freedoms.

This area covers how much government should do and who should do it. Voting reform and independent ballot access often unite people who disagree about everything else.

• Decisions are usually better when made by state and local governments than by Washington.
• Independent and third-party candidates should have the same ballot access as the two major parties.
• Government has a responsibility to solve problems that markets and communities leave unaddressed.
• Term limits and redistricting reform would improve how Congress works.

Social questions carry the loudest rhetoric and the widest private disagreement with one's own party. Nuance here is the clearest sign of independent thinking.

• Parents should have significant choice in where and how their children are educated.
• Immigration strengthens the country and legal pathways should be expanded.
• Traditional institutions like family, faith, and local community are essential to a healthy country.
• Government should actively work to reduce inequality between groups of Americans.

From restraint to engagement, Americans rarely sort neatly. Support for allies, skepticism of long wars, and strong borders frequently coexist in the same person.

• The United States should maintain the world's strongest military, even at significant cost.
• America should avoid long-term military commitments abroad unless vital interests are at stake.
• Securing the southern border should be a top national priority.
• Diplomacy and alliances protect America better than unilateral action.