48% Say Voters Do Not Actually Choose Their Representatives

Publication Date: 10/23/2025 5:00 AM CST

48% Say Voters Do Not Actually Choose Their Representatives

Publication: 10/23/2025 5:00 AM CST

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Almost half (48%) of voters believe that the voters do not choose representatives in Congress but they are chosen by the people who design the Congressional district maps.
- Twenty-seven percent (27%) disagree.
- Democrats and Republicans have similar opinions with 47% (Ds) and 50% (Rs) agreeing that voters do not actually choose their representatives.
- On the flip side, 31% of Democrats and 25% do not agree with the statement that voters do not choose their representatives.
- Variations in voter opinions differed little among recorded demographics.
A majority (54%) of voters favor a proposal that would require the share of Republicans and Democrats elected in a state to closely match the share of votes cast for each party in the election.
- One quarter (24%) Strongly Favor that proposal.
- Nineteen percent (19%) oppose the proposal with 7% Strongly opposing.
- A similar percentage of Democrats (56%) and Republicans (55%) favor the proposal requiring the share of votes to match the share of elected officials.
- Of those who closely follow the news about redistricting, 70% favor the proposal.
- In August, more voters (64%) favored the proposal, but more voters in August (23%) opposed it.
If we had a perfectly fair system of elections and the number of party representatives in Congress matched the share of votes for each party in the last election, 35% say there would be more Republicans in Congress than there are today.
- Thirty percent (30%) say there would be more Democrats in Congress than there are today.
- Only 12% are optimistic about the current representation and say the numbers would be the same as they are today.
- As you might expect, 58% of Republicans say more Republicans would be in Congress, and 54% of Democrats say there would be more Democrats.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, October 15-16, 2025. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.