The margin of error on the poll was plus or minus 4.8 percentage points. The poll was conducted online by YouGov.
The organization is holding a press conference at the State House at 3:15 p.m. to publicly release the poll results, but you can have a sneak peek by clicking here.
I also discussed the poll results on “12 News this Morning.” You can watch the segment here.
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The bigger picture: It’s not a new concept for an advocacy organization to release poll results that are favorable to its cause – in this case, the construction of lots of new housing across the state – but the numbers are overwhelming.
⚓ 95 percent of voters said they believe the cost of renting or buying a home is a major problem or somewhat of a problem.
⚓ 78 percent of voters said there are not enough homes to rent or buy in their community that average people can afford.
⚓ 88 percent of voters think state lawmakers should take action to address the housing shortage and the cost of housing.
Voters also strongly supported some of the solutions offered by Neighbors Welcome! RI, including making it easier for homeowners with oversized lots to divide up their property (75 percent); allowing town homes to be built on all residentially zoned lots (70 percent); allowing more homes to be built near businesses and shopping districts (87 percent); allowing single-family homes on smaller lots (81 percent); and creating a central online system for state and local permits (76 percent).
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House Speaker Joe Shekarchi has not heeded calls from more progressives to crack down on cities and towns that are resistant to building more affordable housing, but the poll shows 53 percent of voters said lawmakers should building more homes and bringing down housing costs even if it means reducing the power the cities and towns have over decision-making, compared to 24 percent who support preserver the power of cities and towns.
The political angle: Yes, the poll did include a few political questions.
Only 36 percent of voters said they approve of the job Governor Dan McKee is doing as governor, and 51 percent said they disapprove of the job he’s doing. On the bright side for McKee, 48 percent said they approve of the governor partnering with stakeholders to address the housing crisis.There wasn’t a direct approval rating question for Shekarchi, but 65 percent said they support the speaker partnering with stakeholders to address the housing crisis.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.