SOUTH KINGSTOWN – While most Rhode Islanders feel satisfied about the overall quality of life in the state, they are quite split on how they view the Ocean State’s economy. A majority of local residents also worry about the idea that artificial intelligence could hurt the election process in some way, according to results released Tuesday from a new University of Rhode Island poll.
URI said Tuesday is the second annual poll done from the university’s Rhode Island Survey Initiative. Once again, URI partnered with national polling firm YouGov LLC to conduct the online poll from Aug. 18 through Sept. 8, asking residents about public education, trust in government and elections, and political media consumption, among other topics.
The poll surveyed 500 Rhode Islanders ages 18 and older, with a margin of error of around 6%. About 54% of those polled identify as Democrats or independents who lean Democrat; 23% being Republicans or independents who lean Republican; and 18% being independents.
The poll results
can be viewed here.
According to the poll, about 52% of those surveyed said they were either very or somewhat satisfied with Rhode Island’s overall quality of life, while 30% felt the opposite. But, only 22% felt the state’s economy was either very or somewhat strong, compared with 48% saying it was either very or somewhat weak – 29% felt Rhode Island’s economy was neither strong nor weak.
Regarding the upcoming election, more than three-quarter of those polled say they are either very or somewhat concerned about the use of AI-generated political media that includes fake images, video or audio recordings shared publicly, while only 6% weren’t concerned. Also, 59% of those polled feel the use of AI will hurt the election process either greatly or somewhat, whereas just 12% felt AI will help with the process.
Housing, health care, building and repairing roads and bridges and education were the top priorities that both Gov. Daniel J. McKee and the R.I. General Assembly need to address this upcoming year, according to the poll. They felt similarly when asked where spending increases need to be directed toward.
McKee also saw dramatic improvement in his approval rating in this year’s poll. Survey results show that 55% of those polled approve how McKee is handling his job as the state’s governor, compared with the 27% approval rating he received last year.
But, McKee’s public approval is somewhat lukewarm. According to the poll, when those who approved McKee’s job performance were asked how strong they felt in their opinion, 58% said “not strongly.” When those who disapproved McKee’s job performance were asked in the survey how strong they felt about their opinion, 56% said “strongly.”
Eighty-one percent of those polled also felt political violence in the U.S. today is a problem, on the heels of two assassination attempts on former president Donald Trump in recent months. Polled residents also expressed varying levels of concern about voter intimidation, election interference from observers, local officials experiencing safety issues, interference from foreign entities and civil unrest after election day next month.
“The last few months have been a whirlwind in American politics and we were able to include specific hot topics at the national and state level in this year’s survey,” said Julie Keller, an associate professor of sociology and director of URI’s Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy, in a statement.
(UPDATED: Added 8th and 9th paragraphs to note results of Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s approval rating in the survey.)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
