Methodology

Learn about the American Local Elections Study's survey design, data collection methods, and variable documentation.

Overview

The American Local Elections Study (ALES) is a regular post-election survey of residents in medium- and large-sized cities and counties across the United States. Our survey captures hundreds of local races and provides comprehensive data on voter preferences, political attitudes, and local governance.

34,106

Total Respondents

130+

Cities & Counties

585

Survey Variables

6

Survey Waves

Survey Administration & Sampling

All ALES surveys were fielded online through quota samples provided by PureSpectrum. Respondents were recruited from opt-in online panels and compensated for their participation. Respondents were targeted by ZIP code and county to ensure accurate geographic representation within each sample frame. This targeting strategy allowed us to survey residents in specific cities and counties where local elections were held. Surveys from 2020 through 2025 were quota sampled on key demographic characteristics (age, gender, race and ethnicity, and education) to ensure representative samples within each location. For surveys fielded 2020-2023, quota targets were derived from the 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates. For surveys fielded in 2025 and 2026, quota targets were derived from the 2023 ACS 5-year estimates.

Sampled Elections

ALES has conducted surveys following major election cycles from 2020 through 2025:

For each survey wave, the table below shows which elections respondents were asked about. P indicates a partisan election and NP indicates a nonpartisan election.

November 2020 — 28 sample frames, N = 4,643
City / County State N Senate Gov. Mayor Sheriff Prosecutor County Exec.
Baltimore MD 160 P
Baton Rouge LA 140 P P
Cobb County GA 164 P P
Cook County IL 138 P P
El Paso NM 159 P NP
Gilbert AZ 4 P NP P P
Hamilton County OH 166 P P
Harris County TX 140 P P P
Honolulu HI 153 NP
Irvine CA 112 NP
Lake County IL 154 P P
Los Angeles County CA 170 NP
Maricopa County AZ 94 P P P
Miami-Dade County FL 171 P
National — 1,119 P P
Oakland County MI 134 P P P
Phoenix AZ 62 P NP P P
Pinellas County FL 147 P
Portland OR 140 P NP
Riverside CA 147 NP
Salt Lake County UT 151 P P
San Diego CA 160 NP
Santa Ana CA 68 NP
Scottsdale AZ 9 P NP P P
Stockton CA 149 NP
Tarrant County TX 155 P P
Virginia Beach VA 129 P NP
Winston-Salem NC 148 P P P

P = Partisan    NP = Nonpartisan

April 2021 — 1 sample frame, N = 189
City / County State N Senate Gov. Mayor Sheriff Prosecutor County Exec.
St. Louis MO 189 P NP

P = Partisan    NP = Nonpartisan

November 2021 — 32 sample frames, N = 6,206
City / County State N Senate Gov. Mayor Sheriff Prosecutor County Exec.
Albuquerque NM 100 P NP
Atlanta GA 183 P NP
Bergen County NJ 170 P P P
Boston MA 121 P NP
Buffalo NY 77 P
Camden County NJ 177 P P P
Chesapeake VA 101 P P P P
Cincinnati OH 122 NP
Cleveland OH 153 NP
Detroit MI 181 P NP
Durham NC 71 P P NP
Erie County NY 168 P
Essex County NJ 120 P P P
Jersey City NJ 58 P P NP
Kansas City KS 60 P NP
Miami FL 65 NP
Minneapolis MN 101 P P
Nassau County NY 185 P P
National — 2,215 P P
New Orleans LA 68 P P P
New York City NY 194 P
New York County NY 196 P P
Norfolk VA 99 P P P P
Overland Park KS 58 P NP
Philadelphia County PA 179 P
Pittsburgh PA 178 P
Richmond VA 130 P P P P
Seattle WA 110 P NP P
St. Petersburg FL 176 NP
Suffolk County NY 155 P
Toledo OH 164 NP
Virginia Beach VA 71 P P P P

P = Partisan    NP = Nonpartisan

November 2022 — 60 sample frames, N = 11,771
City / County State N Senate Gov. Mayor Sheriff Prosecutor County Exec.
Ada County ID 133 P P P
Adams County CO 129 P P P
Alamance County NC 143 P P
Alameda County AL 207 P P NP
Allen County IN 154 P P
Anaheim CA 112 P P NP
Arapahoe County CO 155 P P P
Austin TX 333 P NP
Bernalillo County NM 162 P P
Bexar County AZ 154 P P P
Chula Vista CA 104 P P NP
Clark County NV 174 P P P
Cook County IL 168 P P P
Corpus Christi TX 127 P NP
Dallas County TX 161 P P
Dane County WI 150 P P P
Douglas County NE 153 P P P
Durham County NC 140 P P
El Paso County CO 157 P P P
Fayette County KY 155 P P
Forsyth County NC 145 P P P
Guilford County NC 165 P P
Harris County TX 164 P P
Hennepin County MN 182 P NP NP
Hudson County FL 138 P P P
Irvine CA 148 P P NP
Jacksonville FL 171 P P P
Jefferson County AL 164 P P P
King County WA 164 P NP
Lancaster County NE 132 P P P
Laredo TX 62 P NP
Lexington KY 171 P NP
Little Rock AR 139 P P NP
Long Beach CA 148 P P NP
Los Angeles CA 164 P P NP NP
Maricopa County AZ 163 P P P
Marion County IN 177 P P
Mobile County AL 150 P P P P
Multnomah County OR 154 P P NP
National — 2,529 P P
North Las Vegas NV 140 P P NP
Oakland CA 134 P P NP
Oklahoma County OK 162 P P P
Pinellas County FL 186 P P P
Polk County IA 157 P P P
Raleigh NC 181 P NP
Reno NV 139 P P NP
San Bernardino CA 124 P P NP
San Diego County AL 225 P P NP
San Francisco AL 230 P P NP
San Jose CA 161 P P NP
Santa Ana CA 98 P P NP
Spokane County WA 162 P P P
St. Louis County MO 165 P P
Tallahassee FL 152 P P NP
Tarrant County TX 159 P P P
Trenton NJ 96 NP
Wake County NC 157 P P P
Washington DC 179 P
Wayne County MI 163 P P

P = Partisan    NP = Nonpartisan

November 2023 — 10 sample frames, N = 1,963
City / County State N Senate Gov. Mayor Sheriff Prosecutor County Exec.
Aurora CO 188 NP
Baton Rouge LA 185 P
Charlotte NC 203 P
Chicago IL 204 NP
Dallas TX 187 NP
Denver CO 212 NP
Houston TX 169 NP
Memphis TN 221 NP
Tucson AZ 212 P
Wichita KS 182 NP

P = Partisan    NP = Nonpartisan

November 2025 — 34 sample frames, N = 7,863
City / County State N Senate Gov. Mayor Sheriff Prosecutor County Exec.
Albuquerque NM 161 NP
Atlanta GA 190 NP
Boston MA 164 P
Bucks County PA 153 P P
Buffalo NY 197 P
Charlotte NC 209 P
Chesapeake VA 96 P P NP
Cincinnati OH 192 NP
Cleveland OH 214 NP
Delaware County PA 162 P
Detroit MI 235 NP
Durham NC 115 NP
Erie County PA 148 P
Greensboro NC 220 NP
Hialeah FL 68 NP
Hudson County NJ 159 P P
Jersey City NJ 169 P NP
Kansas City KS 92 NP
King County WA 186 NP
Lehigh County PA 161 P
Miami FL 93 NP
Minneapolis MN 188 P
Monmouth County NJ 146 P P
Nassau County NY 185 P P
National — 2,346 P
New Orleans LA 173 P P
New York City NY 223 P
New York County NY 171 P
Newport News VA 129 P NP
Philadelphia County PA 212 P
Pittsburgh PA 220 P
Seattle WA 182 NP
St. Paul MN 149 NP
Virginia Beach VA 155 P NP NP

P = Partisan    NP = Nonpartisan

Variable Categories

Our comprehensive dataset includes variables organized into the following thematic categories:

Demographics

Age, sex, race, education, income, household composition, religion

Political Identity

Party identification, ideology, strength of partisanship

Policy Preferences

Federal and local policy positions, spending preferences, revenue preferences

Local Conditions

Grades for local services, crime perceptions, satisfaction ratings

Official Approval

Approval ratings for federal, state, and local officials

Vote Choice

Presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, and local election vote choice

Political Participation

Voter turnout, campaign activities, civic engagement

Candidate Knowledge

Perceived partisanship and ideology of candidates and officials

Election Coverage

ALES respondents were surveyed about elections at multiple levels of government:

  • Presidential elections
  • U.S. Senate races
  • U.S. House races
  • Gubernatorial elections
  • Mayoral elections (both partisan and nonpartisan)
  • County executive races
  • Sheriff elections
  • Prosecutor/District Attorney elections

Full Codebook

For complete documentation including all variable descriptions, question wording, response options, and data collection details, download the full ALES codebook.

Download Full Codebook (PDF)