FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 22, 2024

CONTACT: Marcus Roth, marcusroth@cohhio.org,

Ohio Poll: Voters Say Housing Affordability Is a Serious Problem and Want Elected Leaders to Take Action

Voters Oppose Criminalizing Homelessness

Three-quarters of Ohio voters believe housing affordability is a serious problem in their own communities, according to a poll released Tuesday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Opportunity Starts at Home campaign.

The poll, conducted by Hart Research Associates, found 82% of Ohio voters believe the government has an important role to play in making sure there are enough affordable places for people to live, including 90% of Democrats, 73% of Republicans, and 88% of Independents.

“Voters in Ohio say the cost of living and inflation are their most pressing concerns, more than immigration, abortion, healthcare, education, taxes, and climate change,” said Amy Riegel, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. “Big majorities of Ohio voters from both parties agree that the government needs to invest more in affordable housing over the long term.”

While nine out of 10 voters in Ohio say that stable affordable housing is very important to people’s security and well-being, 76% say that finding quality, affordable rental housing in their community has become challenging, according to the poll of 401 registered voters. Four in five Ohio renters have had to make sacrifices to pay rent, including cutting back on healthy foods, borrowing money, racking up credit card debt, and not saving for retirement.

The poll also indicates that a majority of Ohio voters oppose recent policies that criminalize people experiencing homelessness, such as arresting, ticketing, and fining people who sleep in public spaces, even when there is nowhere else for them to go (84% of Democrats, 83% of Independents, and 64% of Republicans). More than 80% of Ohio voters say that these policies make it harder to find and keep housing and employment.

“Nobody wants homeless camps in their community, but Ohio voters understand that we can’t arrest our way out of this problem. Criminalizing homelessness just pushes people around from one place to another and makes taxpayers pay more for police, courts, jails, and other public services,” Riegel said. “Voters want elected officials to address the root cause of homelessness – the lack of affordable housing.”

The poll shows strong bipartisan majorities favor a variety of proposals included in the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign’s agenda to address housing affordability and stability. For example, 92% of Ohio voters support policies that protect renters from excessive rent increases, unfair evictions, harassment, and discrimination by landlords, and 89% support emergency assistance to help cover rent if low-income households face an unexpected hardship, such as losing a job or a medical emergency.

Moreover, 84% of Ohio voters support policies that expand investments to build more rental homes that are affordable for the lowest-income people, according to the poll, and 84% of voters in Ohio support policies that expand rental assistance to help households with the lowest incomes afford housing. In addition, 84% of those surveyed support policies that expand rental assistance to help the 17 million households who currently qualify for assistance but are not receiving it.

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