What Do Americans Think About Seceding From the Union?

The survey discovered that 22% believe that a state "has the right to peaceably secede and become an independent republic" while 73% disagreed with the statement and 5% were unsure. Geographically, individuals in the South were more likely to agree to the statement with 26% of respondents from that area doing so. Agreement with the statement was also higher among younger adults as 40% of those in the 18-24 and 24% of those in the 25-34 age brackets said that a state should be allowed to peaceable secede. 18% of respondents also stated that they would "support a secessionist movement in their state, with 72% disagreeing and 10% unsure. The percentages for those in the south and the younger age bracket were also higher for this question. 35% of those under the age of 30 agreed with the statement while only 17% of those over 65 agreed. According to Zogby, "politically liberal" thinkers were also more likely to respond favorably. The more educated a respondent was, the less likely they were to support a secessionist movement in their state with only 10% of those with a college degree doing so while 38% of those with less than a high school diploma supported it. The poll was also interested in discovering if the support of secession was based in an underlying dissatisfaction with the current political system. In order to gauge this, respondents were asked whether or not they agreed with the statement that "I believe the United States' system is broken and cannot be fixed by traditional two-party politics and elections." An astonishing 44% agreed, 53% disagreed, and 3% were unsure. With so many people dissatisfied with the current political system it seems understandable why millions of eligible voters stay home on election day instead of heading to the polls. They are sick and tired of choosing the lesser of two evils. The study was sponsored by the Middlebury Institute.