New Yorkers more likely to vote for gubernatorial candidate who supports term limits
Most New Yorkers feel the issue of term limits is important enough that the majority said they would be more likely to support a gubernatorial candidate that backs term limits for elected officials in the state.
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)- There are arguments on both sides of the issue regarding term limits. Already existing term limits aren't enough for some who say more restrictive limits are needed and others say there is a downside to more restrictive term limits.
Most New Yorkers feel the issue of term limits is important enough that the majority said they would be more likely to support a gubernatorial candidate that backs term limits for elected officials in the state. The finding was part of a survey done through the collaborative efforts of John Zogby Strategies and Unite N.Y.
A combined 60.3% of survey respondents said they were much more likely (23.2%) or more likely (37.1%) to vote for a gubernatorial candidate who supported term limits. Approximately 11.9% of the 1,001 New Yorkers polled said they were somewhat less likely (8.8%) or much less likely (3.1%) to vote for a candidate that supported term limits. Approximately 15.6% said it made no difference and 12.1% weren't sure.
New Yorkers aged 70+ were the most likely of all age groups to vote for someone who backs term limits (65.9%), followed by New Yorkers between 25 and 34 (64.3%). Check out the percentage for the other age groups below:
| Age group | Much more likely | More likely | Total |
| 18-24 | 18.4% | 36.1% | 54.5% |
| 25-34 | 23.7% | 40.6% | 64.3% |
| 35-54 | 21.3% | 38% | 59.3% |
| 55-69 | 24.9% | 34.1% | 59% |
| 70+ | 27.5% | 38.4% | 65.9% |
New Yorkers between the age of 18 and 24 were either somewhat (20.1%) or much less likely (4.7%) to vote for a candidate that supports term limits, the highest percentage (24.8%) of all the age groups. The group with the highest percentage who said it made no difference was 70+ (23.5%) and those between 35 and 54 had the highest percentage of those who said they were unsure (14.9%).
| Age group | Somewhat less likely | Much less likely | No Difference | Unsure |
| 18-24 | 20.1% | 4.7% | 7.6% | 13% |
| 25-34 | 10.8% | 6.8% | 5.9% | 12.2% |
| 35-54 | 8.4% | 3% | 14.5% | 14.9% |
| 55-69 | 6.8% | 1.2% | 21.8% | 11.2% |
| 70+ | 3.6% | 1.6% | 23.5% | 5.3% |
Survey participants said term limits would make them feel more empowered which can help bring people to the polls during elections. Voter turnout was one of the factors used to determine New York's ranking for "Voter Voice" by FairVote.
The state ranked 44, with FairVote saying increased voter turnout is one of the ways New York could improve its ranking. New York ranked the most poorly for voter turnout and voter consensus, last out of all 50 states. Voter turnout was 44.93%, while voter consensus was 26.23%.
Overall, 58.2% of New Yorkers said they would feel more empowered with term limits in place. Those between the ages of 25 and 34 said they feel the most empowered, 60.3%. See what percentage of the age groups said they would feel more empowered by term limits below:
Would feel empowered by term limits
| Age group | Yes | No | Not sure |
| All ages | 58.2% | 21.1% | 20.7% |
| 18-24 | 55.3% | 27.5% | 17.3% |
| 25-34 | 60.3% | 22.9% | 16.8% |
| 35-54 | 58.1% | 17.4% | 24.5% |
| 55-69 | 57.4% | 23% | 19.6% |
| 70+ | 59.6% | 21.1% | 20.7% |
The survey also asked New Yorkers if they would feel more empowered by open primaries which would allow them to vote in any primary election, regardless of their political affiliation. Like the percentage of New Yorkers who said they would be empowered by term limits, 52.6% said open primaries would be empowering.
Full survey results were published on UniteNY.org at the beginning of April and are available in two parts: Issues Index Part I and Issues Index Part II.