2011 Jewish Voter Survey to Measure the Changing Jewish Vote

“Is the Jewish vote changing and are Jewish political interests shifting?” These and other questions have prompted Dr. Steven Windmueller to launch a major new national Jewish political study.

Dr. Windmueller, who is trained in the field of political science and international relations, has written a series of articles on the nature of the Jewish vote, and his work on Jewish communal trends and political affairs is often cited by both the general media and Jewish press. For ten years (1985-1995), prior to joining the administration of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Windmueller directed the nation’s second largest JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council), which was a part of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation.

“I am particularly interested in seeing if we are in the midst of a political sea-change within the American Jewish community,” noted Windmueller.

This study will explore a number of variables, including income, geographical region, age, religous affiliation, and education. It will examine the political priorities of Jews and, in turn, where they allocate their financial resources with regard to their support of political causes, both Jewishly and within the mainstream. Windmueller is interested in finding out how and where Jews acquire their political ideas and knowledge and wants to analyze how they self-define themselves with regard to specific political labels. An important feature of this research will focus on understanding the level and depth of engagement that Jews have with the State of Israel and other core social and policy issues.

Coming a year before the next Presidential election campaign, Dr. Windmueller has elected to explore the interest that Jews may have in the various candidates who are either considering a run for the White House or who have been identified by the media as potential challengers.

The study is designed to capture a large cross section of the Jewish public, allowing for the “diverse voices” of American Jewry to be heard. Individuals can take the ten-fifteen minute survey on-line prior to April 1st.

The study will look at these core questions:

• Are Jewish voting patterns changing?
• What motivates political engagement on the part of Jews?
• What issues are of particular interest to Jews?
• How do Jews see the political landscape in 2011?

Unlike many surveys conducted with Jewish voters, this is designed to measure grassroots involvement, drawing upon large and diverse segments of the Jewish electorate. So by generating a large sample, it may be possible to confirm or reject existing perceptions about how Jews vote and the levels and forms of their political engagement.

Each participant will only be able to complete the survey once. The survey can be taken on-line. It will take approximately ten to fifteen minutes to complete. Participation is limited to those over 18 and may be taken annonymously.

To take the survey, click on this link.