Americans want access, national poll shows

By George Erb, WashCOG Secretary

Americans overwhelmingly support access to public information, according to a national survey released during Sunshine Week by the University of Florida.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults found that 90.6% favor access to government information, although few had ever filed a public records request.

Strong support for public access to government information spanned the political spectrum, although for different reasons. Left-leaning respondents more often saw open government as essential to democracy and a check against authoritarianism. Right-leaning respondents more often saw transparency as a defense against government censorship and bias.

The survey results align with our experience in Washington state. Our board spans the political spectrum, yet we are united on open government. Occasional surveys and ballot choices in our state have repeatedly shown overwhelming support for government transparency.

Yet many state and local officials are committed to rolling back the state’s transparency laws. Nowhere is that commitment more evident than in the state Legislature, which has long resisted the Public Records Act.

State lawmakers every year pass new exemptions to the landmark public records law. It has become the Swiss cheese of the Revised Code of Washington, with more than 700 exemptions. More recently, the state Legislature won appellate court rulings that recognized a “privilege” to withhold records pertaining to internal legislative deliberations.

The state Legislature is clearly out of step with the public on matters of open government.

The University of Florida survey was conducted by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Projectand the Center for Public Interest Communications. The survey is part of a larger effort to find effective messaging on open-government issues.

Read more about the survey here.