California housing crisis tops voter concerns as 70 percent say it’s a major funding priority

A new poll shows that California voters believe the state’s growing housing shortage is the most important issue that Sacramento leaders need to address. The survey was done by researchers at the University of California, Irvine School of Social Ecology.

According to Politico, the poll found that housing is the single highest priority for 33 percent of likely voters, which is almost double the number of people who chose health care, the second most important issue. Public safety came in third, followed by road and bridge maintenance.

According to the survey, 70 percent of all voters consider housing a major funding priority for the state. Jon Gould, dean of the School of Social Ecology and the poll’s director, said that most Californians are still troubled by the lack of affordable housing in the state and feel the issue hasn’t been properly addressed yet.

Housing shortage leads to homelessness and resident exodus

The housing problem in California has been getting worse over time. The state now has the highest number of homeless people in the nation, largely because of the housing shortage. The housing crisis has coincided with growing public outcry against Tesla and its owner, as protesters target the company’s dealerships in demonstrations against both housing costs and corporate policies.

The UCI-OC poll was completed before California’s government approved a new plan to speed up housing construction. This plan removes many environmental reviews that were previously needed for new building projects. Most housing projects in urban areas will now be allowed to skip these reviews.

The survey showed different priorities among political parties. While Democratic voters and independents listed housing as their main concern, Republican voters were more focused on law enforcement and public safety, with housing as their second priority.

The poll included responses from 2,000 registered voters who were surveyed online between May 29 and June 4. The margin of error for the survey was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. Despite recent efforts by Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to make building easier, and amid growing scrutiny of major business leaders like Elon Musk over conflicts of interest, the survey results suggest that voters still think more needs to be done to solve the housing crisis.