West Virginia E-Verify legislation receives a robust endorsement, with 78% of the state’s likely voters backing the bipartisan bill, a recent Rasmussen Reports / NumbersUSA poll highlights. This sweeping support comes as the bill progresses through the Senate after passing the House of Delegates.
The survey was created from responses by 892 West Virginia Likely Voters.
NumbersUSA CEO James Massa said that E-Verify would prevent the state from becoming a hub for illegal immigrants and ensure that jobs go to legal residents. The majority of West Virginians believe companies should raise pay and recruit non-working locals instead of hiring foreign workers.
HB 4759, the immigration bill currently scrutinized by West Virginia’s Senate, mandates companies employing 15 or more individuals adopt E-Verify. Notably, 58% of likely voters, comprising 66% of Republicans, 50% of Democrats, and 55% of independents, expressed that a state senator’s opposition to the bill could significantly diminish their chances of future support.
West Virginia voting turnout is consistently around 50%. They currently have three Republican House members and one Democrat in the Senate.
Business lobbyists argue that construction, manufacturing, and hospitality companies have worker shortages so they need migrants. They also say that E-Verify creates significant burdens on companies.
The NumbersUSA CEO disagrees, arguing “E-Verify creates no significant burden on companies or their recent hires. Employers simply upload information from the new employee’s I-9 form, which the federal government already requires them to collect. The E-Verify system is highly accurate – and clears more than 98% of hires to work either instantly or within 24 hours.”
West Virginians have their own opinion about worker shortages. They overwhelmingly support hiring West Virginians rather than illegal immigrants. The Rasmussen survey showed 70% of West Virginians – 75% of Republicans, 71% of Democrats, and 62% of independents – want to see companies raising pay and trying harder to recruit non-working West Virginians rather than allowing in new foreign workers.
Rasmussen did an excellent job on representing the state’s demographics in the poll.
2021 YouGov Poll
In May 2021 YouGov polled West Virginia voters and reported that they overwhelmingly supported a pathway to citizenship for immigrants. The number of people polled, which wasn’t disclosed until the final paragraph of the report, was 406. The poll took place on the internet, which may mean rural voters may not have taken part.
The Dreamer survey was based on 406 interviews conducted by YouGov on the internet, polling registered voters in West Virginia. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race/ethnicity,education, US Census region, and 2016 Presidential vote choice based on the American Community Study and the Current Population Survey Voting and Registration Supplement.
Respondents were selected from YouGov to be representative of West Virginia registered voters. The weights range from 0.07 to 5.5 with a mean of 1 and a standard deviation of 0.71. The margin of error was approximately 6%.
