70% Of NY Voters Think Nation Is On Wrong Track, New Poll Finds

NEW YORK CITY — More New Yorkers think the nation is heading in a wrong direction than almost any other time in recent memory, according to a new poll.

A Siena College poll released Tuesday found 71 percent of New Yorkers surveyed said the United States is on the wrong track.

"Only 19% of voters think the U.S. is headed on the right track – tied for the worst it’s ever been, matching October 2013 and October 2008," the poll states.

The overwhelmingly pessimistic mood stands in sharp contrast to 48 percent of Empire State voters who said in September 2021 that the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to the poll.

The results hint that recent Supreme Court decisions rolling back abortion rights and long-standing gun control laws caused concerns among New Yorkers.

Voters opposed the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade by a 68 percent to 25 percent margin, the poll found.

"By a larger 74-21% margin, voters say abortion should be always or mostly legal, as opposed to always or mostly illegal," the poll states.

And New York voters even more supportive — by an 82 percent to 15 percent margin — of new measures to expand eligibility requirements to carry a concealed weapon that include background checks and safety training, according to the poll.

New York officials have positioned the state, and New York City, as a bulwark against reactionary political trends across the country.

Voters appear to be more slightly more hopeful about New York's direction compared to the nation's, though not by much, according to the poll.

The poll found 36 percent of New Yorkers surveyed believe the state is on the right track, compared to 50 percent who think it's headed in the wrong direction.