Common Ground 2026 – Criminal Justice

Over a Dozen Reforms to the Criminal Justice System Favored by Both Democrats and Republicans

New Surveys in 39 Battleground States and Districts on Policing, Sentencing, Solitary Confinement and Criminal Records

Oct. 13, 2026 – New surveys of nearly 20,000 Americans in 11 states and 28 congressional districts, all with competitive races, reveal majorities of both Democrats and Republicans agree on over a dozen reforms to the criminal justice system.

Policing

• prohibit use of chokeholds
• require body cameras
• establish a duty to intervene when another officer is using excessive force
• require reporting of police misconduct to a national database
• hire independent prosecutors in cases in which an officer is charged with using deadly force

Judicial Discretion in Sentencing

• reduce mandatory minimum sentence for first-time drug offenders
• allow judges to give early release to prisoners convicted as juveniles after serving 20 years

Solitary Confinement

• substantially limit the reasons that solitary can be used, and for how long

Criminal Records

• limit employers and licensing boards from using criminal records to reject or fire someone for:
  • arrests without charges, or charges without convictions
  • petty non-violent crimes
  • crimes unrelated to the tasks of the job
  • misdemeanors and felonies, several years after their sentence
• automatically seal records for non-violent drug offenders

Steven Kull, Director of the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation (PPC), comments, “Democrats and Republicans agree on numerous proposals to help ensure the criminal justice system is humane when it comes to the way police treat suspects, the way criminals are sentenced, the way prisoners are confined, and the way people are treated after they have completed their sentences.”

Common Ground in the Battlegrounds?

This survey release is the 13th in the Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? survey series conducted by the Program for Public Consultation (PPC) in the run-up to the November election in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts. The results for all individual states and districts can be found HERE.

Surveys on a total of fifteen topics are being released, covering over 100 specific policy questions. The policies – most of which are pending in Congress – were chosen because surveys by PPC and others consistently found majority Republican and Democratic agreement nationally.

With this release, the project has identified 73 policies with bipartisan majority support in every battleground state and district surveyed, and over a dozen more with bipartisan support in most battlegrounds and in all cases nationally.

Previously released surveys: Artificial Intelligence, Housing, Healthcare, Low-Income Assistance, Families and Children, Social Security, Immigration, Abortion and Birth Control, The Role of “We the People”, Energy and Environment, Federal Taxes, and Campaign Finance and Government Reform.

Policing: Use of Force and Accountability

Prohibiting the use of chokeholds that prevent breathing or block the flow of blood or oxygen to the brain is favored by 78 to 95% of Democrats, 46 to 86% of Republicans (majorities in 38 out of 39 battlegrounds surveyed), and 63 to 86% overall. Nationally, 86% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans are in favor, and 78% overall.

Requiring all officers to wear body cameras and turn them on whenever they are responding to a police call or interacting with a suspect, is favored by 83 to 96% of Democrats, 71 to 90% of Republicans, and 76 to 91% overall. Nationally, 90% of Democrats and 90% of Republicans are in favor, and 90% overall.

Bipartisan majorities also favor making it a duty for officers to intervene when they perceive another officer is using excessive force, and providing officers with training for when and how to do so (Democrats 87 to 97%, Republicans 76 to 90%, overall 79 to 91%). Nationally, 91% of Democrats and 88% of Republicans are in favor, and 88% overall.

Requiring record submission to a national database of police misconduct when an officer has engaged in misconduct is favored by bipartisan majorities (Democrats 83 to 96%, Republicans 75 to 90%, overall 78 to 90%). Nationally, 92% of Democrats and 87% of Republicans are in favor, as are 89% overall.

For cases in which a law enforcement officer has been charged with using deadly force, bipartisan majorities favor the federal government providing funds to states so they can hire an independent prosecutor (Democrats 78 to 94%, Republicans 62 to 85%, overall 70 to 86%). Nationally, 85% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans are in favor, as are 78% overall.

Sentencing: Judicial Discretion Over Sentences

Reducing the mandatory minimum sentence for federal drug offenders from 10 years to 5 years is favored by 61 to 93% of Democrats, 42 to 86% of Republicans (majorities in 36 of the 39 battlegrounds surveyed), and 56 to 87% overall. Nationally, 74% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans are in favor, as are 67% overall.

Giving federal judges the option to give early release to prisoners convicted as juveniles who have served at least 20 years in prison, is favored by bipartisan majorities (Democrats 67 to 91%, Republicans 51 to 81%, overall 63 to 84%). Nationally, 79% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans are in favor.

Solitary Confinement: Reasons for and Length of its Use

Currently, there are no federal laws limiting the use of solitary confinement. A person can be placed in solitary as punishment for violating prison rules, or for their own safety. There is also no federal limit on the amount of time a person can be placed in solitary. Respondents were presented a spectrum of proposals for limiting the reasons that solitary can be used, and for how long it can be used including not allowing its use at all.

Large bipartisan majorities favor limiting the use of solitary confinement, so it can not be used as punishment for minor violations, and is limited to 30 consecutive days or 40 days in a two-month period or an even more restrictive policy (Democrats 81 to 97%, Republicans 64 to 92%, overall 77 to 94%). Nationally, 90% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans support this position, as do 82% overall.

Bipartisan majorities in most battlegrounds – 30 out of the 39 surveyed – go further and favor prohibiting solitary confinement from being used as punishment of any kind. Rather, they favor limiting its use to reasons of safety for the prisoner themself, and to no more than 15 consecutive days or 20 days in a two-month period or an even more restrictive policy (Democrats 59 to 84%, Republicans 47 to 71%, overall 55 to 72%). Nationally, 69% of Democrats and 52% of Republicans support this position, as do 59% overall.

Criminal Records: Use in Hiring and Firing, Sealing Records

In many states, a person can be disqualified from a job (i.e. have their application rejected, get fired) or denied a professional license, because of their criminal record. Bipartisan majorities favor prohibiting employers and licensing boards from disqualifying a person on the basis that they were:

• arrested but not charged, or charged but not convicted (Democrats 65 to 94%, Republicans 48 to 89%, overall 59 to 87%). Among Republicans, majorities are in favor in 38 of the 39 battlegrounds surveyed. Nationally, 65% of Democrats and 66% of Republicans are in favor, as do 65% overall.
• convicted of a petty, nonviolent crime, such as littering, jaywalking, failing to pay a parking ticket, or loitering (Democrats 57 to 82%, Republicans 45 to 80%, overall 57 to 79%). Among Republicans, majorities are in favor in 38 of the 39 battlegrounds surveyed. Nationally, 63% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans are in favor, as do 60% overall.
• convicted of a crime unrelated to their ability to responsibly perform the job (Democrats 55 to 86%, Republicans 46 to 72%, overall 53 to 70%). Among Republicans, majorities are in favor in 36 of the 39 battlegrounds surveyed. Nationally, 58% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans are in favor, as are 57% overall.

Bipartisan majorities also favor limiting the period of time during which a person can be disqualified for a misdemeanor, one year after they complete their sentence, or for a felony, five years after they complete their sentence (Democrats 74 to 95%, Republicans 64 to 90%, overall 70 to 90%). Nationally, 82% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans are in favor, as are 79% overall.

For a person convicted of a non-violent drug offense, bipartisan majorities favor automatically sealing the record of that crime five years after the person has finished their sentence or probation, so it is not available to employers or landlords (Democrats 72 to 95%, Republicans 55 to 89%, overall 66 to 88%). Nationally, 83% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans are in favor, as are 77% overall.

MORE INFORMATION

• Individual State and District Results
• National Questionnaire with Toplines, Crosstabs and Methodology

---

Methodology
The state and district surveys used for this analysis were fielded July 21 – August 17, 2026, to a total of 19,949 adults, including 600-2016 in each of the 11 states, and 499-592 in each of the 28 congressional districts. The response rates were 7.1 to 8.9%. The confidence intervals range from +/- 2.9 to 8.1%, and the maximum weights range from 3.7 to 10.0.

The national survey was fielded February 11-26, 2026, with 2,509 adults. The response rate was 7.6%. The confidence interval is +/- 2.9%, and the maximum weight is 2.5.

Sample was obtained from multiple online opt-in panels, including Cint, Dynata and Prodege. Sample collection and quality control were managed by QuantifyAI under the direction of the Program for Public Consultation. The surveys were offered in both English and Spanish.

The samples were pre-stratified and weighted by age, race, ethnicity, gender, education, household income, marital status, and home ownership to match the general adult population. The national sample was further weighted by Census region. Partisan distributions in each sample were within expectations, based on voter registration or Cook’s Partisan Voting Index, or weighted to reflect those benchmarks.

About the Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? Survey Series

The Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? project is conducting and releasing a survey series in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts that are being released on a rolling basis between now and the midterm elections. Surveys will cover 15 topics and include over 100 specific policy questions. The goal of this effort is to determine where there is bipartisan common ground in competitive states and districts across the nation. Additionally, the project seeks to educate the public, policymakers and candidates about the findings; and provide journalists with independent, nonpartisan research that brings the public into the conversation about public policy.

In addition to PPC, project partners include the Civic Innovation Center at the University of Maryland (CivIC) and Voice of the People (VOP), a national nonpartisan organization that seeks to give the public a greater voice in government. None of these entities advocate for policy positions or endorse candidates.

States surveyed: Alaska; Georgia; Iowa; Maine; Michigan; Minnesota; Montana; Nebraska; New Hampshire; North Carolina; Ohio; and Texas.

Congressional Districts surveyed: Arizona’s 1st and 6th; Colorado’s 8th; Iowa’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th; Maine’s 2nd; Michigan’s 4th, 7th, 8th and 10th; Montana’s 1st; Nebraska’s 2nd; Nevada’s 3rd; New Jersey’s 7th and 9th; New Mexico’s 2nd; New York’s 3rd, 4th, 17th and 19th; Oregon’s 5th; Pennsylvania’s 1st, 7th, 8th and 10th; and Washington’s 3rd.

Program for Public Consultation

The Program for Public Consultation (PPC), affiliated with the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, seeks to improve democratic governance by consulting the public and bringing the people’s views into the public discourse. It conducts surveys with representative samples on policies proposed by elected officials and shares its findings with government officials, the media, other academics, and the general public.

Civic Innovation Center

The Civic Innovation Center (CivIC) at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy works to strengthen the foundations of civic health. It contributes to important debates about civic education, civic engagement, and needed democratic reforms in the state of Maryland and nationwide, in partnership with other BIG 10 universities. It works to build the connective tissue that brings together students, scholars and practitioners to help elevate the UMD community’s contribution to our wider democracy.

Voice of the People

Voice of the People (VOP) is a nonpartisan organization working to re-anchor our democracy in its founding principles by giving ‘We the People’ a greater and more effective voice in government. It champions innovative methods and technology that enable the American people to play a role in the policymaking process and provide policymakers with a more accurate understanding of the views of their constituents.