FEBRUARY 3, 2025 — Crime, homelessness and affordable housing are the most pressing concerns on the minds of Bexar County voters, according to the UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research’s (CPOR) inaugural Bexar County Voter Panel Study. This pilot study will provide a foundation for UTSA researchers to observe Bexar County voters over time and to assess their priorities, perspectives and engagement in Bexar County issues.
When UTSA’s researchers asked panelists to identify the most important problem facing Bexar County today, these voters cited a diverse set of concerns spanning safety, economic hardship and systemic governance issues. In addition to the aforementioned issues, immigration, the government/poor leadership, the economy, infrastructure, gun violence, inflation, and women’s rights filled out Bexar County voters’ top 10 concerns.
CPOR’s panel consisted of 1,571 Bexar County voters, of which 829 completed the survey.
Although the data suggests broad voting activity among the panelists, the patterns of engagement differed across race, age, and party affiliation.
“Having a panel of voters at the ready is an incredibly beneficial tool for researchers. Once we form a panel, we can put a survey in the field quickly and offer up a timely and scientifically sound assessment on any number of topics,” said Bryan Gervais, UTSA associate professor of political science and CPOR director. “Now that we have our Bexar County Panel in place and the results of our pilot study, we’ll be able to assess how the attitudes, perceptions and beliefs of Bexar County voters change over time.”
CPOR launched in the fall of 2023 and began surveying Bexar County voters in early 2024. Its surveys queried voters about their support for government, candidates on the ballot and local charter amendments.
CPOR relies on a multi-modal approach to recruit residents into its panel. Voters who complete its election polls are asked to join the panel. Additionally, panelists are recruited by phone, via a process known as random digit dialing.
The inaugural Bexar County Voter Panel Study was conducted in Fall 2024. In addition to asking panelists about the top concerns facing Bexar County, UTSA researchers asked the panelists questions about their political perceptions.
When the results were evaluated, CPOR found that its Fall 2024 survey polling accurately predicted the margin of victory for each of the ballot propositions. Support for two of the propositions (Props C and E) were significantly lower when voters were presented with descriptions of the propositions versus the actual wording on the ballot. This suggests that the successful passage of both propositions was likely due to voter misunderstanding of the actual ballot language.
A longitudinal study is used to survey a group of individuals repeatedly over time to assess change. With the November 2024 pilot panel study completed and its results evaluated, CPOR plans to conduct additional panel studies in 2025.
Established in Fall 2023, CPOR is a nationally accredited, academic public opinion research center that produces and facilitates basic and applied opinion research to broaden the shared understanding of important political and governance issues. The center is certified by the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR)’s Transparency Initiative. AAPOR is an organization comprised of public opinion and survey research professionals in the U.S., with members from academia, media, government, the non-profit sector and private industry. As a member of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, CPOR practices transparency in reporting its survey-based research findings.
Participants in this study, which was conducted between October 28 and November 4, 2024, are members of the Center for Public Opinion Research’s (CPOR) Bexar County Panel and who are registered to vote in Bexar County. Most participants were recruited into the panel through prior voter surveys conducted by CPOR between March and October 2024. The prior voter survey samples were generated via stratified registration-based sampling that weights voters’ propensity to vote based on analysis of vote history in the voter file. Additionally, some panelists were recruited via CPOR’s random digit dialing operations.
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