The Idaho Policy Institute’s Matthew May is passionate about providing non-partisan, factual information about Idahoans’ opinions to decision-makers in Idaho. As the Survey Research Director, he leads the charge to create, administer and analyze results of the Idaho Public Policy Survey, an annual poll that assesses Idahoans’ perspectives on the state’s current affairs and overall direction. He’s seen the survey through many iterations, from 2011 when he worked on it as a graduate student, to 2025 in his current role.
“The survey serves a vital function…very few people take the time to survey or poll Idahoans, especially about Idaho issues specifically, ” May shared, “That’s always been the niche that this survey has been able to fill.”
The survey is used by legislators and other leaders in Idaho to inform the direction of their choices. May and his team involve these stakeholders heavily as they’re building the survey. “We’ll ask them what’s going to be on the agenda, what are the bills? What are you going to be debating over? What would be helpful for you to know where Idahoans stand on an issue? It really helps ensure that when we brief them on these results, they’re going to be useful,” May said.
This year’s survey team included Matthew May, Research Scholar Lantz McGinnis-Brown, Director of Idaho Policy Institute Vanessa Fry and Anthony Bertelsen, a student intern. Prior to the survey’s public release on January 17, the team had already conducted 10 internal and external briefings for various entities, including the Idaho Legislature. Being able to analyze the potential reasoning behind each result and share the facts widely are some of Matthew May’s favorite parts of the survey release every year.
“When you get those results in, it’s a little bit like Christmas morning, ” May said, “Really digging into the ‘why’ is the fun part for me…deciding which results do we call out, which ones are the most important to communicate.”
The fact that the Idaho Public Policy Survey has existed for 30 years (in its current form for ten) makes it a fantastic resource for measuring the change in Idahoans’ attitudes over time. For example, since 1998, the survey has asked the question “Do you think things in Idaho are generally headed in the right direction, or do you feel that things are off on the wrong track?” Historically, results have always shown that Idahoans believed the state was headed in the right direction, until 2024’s survey.
“Last year’s results were significant with Idahoans saying we’re off on the wrong track for the first time ever. That was significant because we’ve been asking that question for years usually with a similar result,” May said.
The survey has also proven to be an accurate predictor of what Idahoans think about various issues year over year. The 2024 survey addressed Proposition 1, a ballot initiative that would have implemented ranked-choice voting in general elections in Idaho. Based on the findings from the survey, the proportion of Idahoans that would support the initiative was 29%. Fast-forward to the November 2024 election, the proposition was defeated with a 30% favorability. A year in advance, the Idaho Public Policy Survey accurately predicted where Idahoans stood on this issue.
As the Idaho Public Policy Survey enters its second decade of existence, Matthew May is hoping to continue to provide timely, accurate and relevant data to decision-makers in Idaho. He shared, “Our number one goal every year is to make sure that the survey is useful to all of our policy stakeholders.”