Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee this summer, national attention has focused on the issue of fracking in Pennsylvania – and what it means for the election outcome in this key state – reached new heights. But what do Pennsylvania voters really think about fracking? And what influence do these opinions have on their choice of president?

A new poll of likely voters in Pennsylvania attempts to answer those questions. The poll, commissioned by the Ohio River Valley Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Appalachia, echoes a previous poll in that it shows that while Pennsylvanians are divided on fracking, a significant majority supports more regulations on the natural gas industry. The poll also shows that energy and natural gas issues are not among voters’ most important priorities, something that is often overlooked in national debates about the policy implications of the practice.

When asked which two issues “most personally motivated” them to vote, voters chose issues such as jobs, border security, preserving democracy, reproductive rights and reducing taxes, ahead of issues such as climate change and reducing energy costs.

Fracking is a divisive issue in Pennsylvania and its support is highly partisan. Fifty-one percent of all Pennsylvania voters say they support fracking, 30 percent say they oppose it, and 19 percent are unsure one way or the other, indicating that fracking is not the most important issue for many voters. Eighty-one percent of Republicans support spending taxpayer dollars on more fracking and pipeline development, compared to just 43 percent of Democrats. Support for fracking is determined regionally, with voters living in areas near Pittsburgh, where the fracking industry is concentrated in Pennsylvania, seeing the highest percentage of support.

Just 42% of respondents said they would support an outright ban on fracking in Pennsylvania, a reason why Republicans like former President Donald Trump and Senate candidate Dave McCormick have tried to present their Democratic opponents as supporters of a ban. The number of voters favoring a ban is lower among independents, at just 38 percent.

Fifty-two percent of respondents agreed with the statement that “fracking can be done in a way that protects the health and safety of my family.” This belief is at odds with the ninth edition of the Concerned Health Professionals of New York’s compendium of findings and reports on hydraulic fracturing, which states that it has found “no evidence that hydraulic fracturing can be practiced in a manner that does not does not directly threaten human health. or without endangering the climate stability on which human health depends.

Forty-eight percent agreed that “living near fracking activities can lead to a higher risk of asthma, childhood lymphoma and other health problems.” This statement closely reflects the findings of a series of 2023 studies on fracking and public health conducted by the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Public Opinion Institute, which surveys Pennsylvanians about their opinions on fracking, said the results of this new poll “generally agree” with what he has seen in polls over the years: Although Pennsylvania is the second largest producer of natural energy. In the United States, Pennsylvanians have long been divided on the issue of fracking. Pennsylvanians have “significant reservations” about fracking and its health and environmental impacts, although they tend to view it as economically beneficial.

“It’s a big fracking state. But that doesn’t mean his views are monolithic,” Mr. Borick said. “A large portion of the state’s population lives outside of shale deposits. They’ve never seen a fracking rig. The idea that everyone works in the industry is absolutely false.”

There’s also no evidence that fracking is an electoral “hit” for politicians seeking to win the state, he said. Muhlenberg’s poll yielded similar results to this one, when voters were asked to name their most important issues. “Hydraulic fracturing is not recorded,” he said.

Perhaps most encouraging for environmental activists who have long sounded the alarm over evidence that fracking harms public health, the environment and the climate, the poll shows broad support bipartisan in favor of stricter regulations on the fracking industry than currently exist. Ninety-four percent of respondents said they support mandatory disclosure of chemicals used by companies for hydraulic fracturing, 93 percent said they support safer transportation of fracking waste and 90 percent favored increasing the distance that wells can be drilled near hospitals and schools.

“I was genuinely surprised by the level of support for increased restrictions,” said Sean O’Leary, a senior energy and petrochemical researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute. O’Leary said support for more regulation has grown since the organization last conducted a poll on the topic three years ago.

Although he was surprised, O’Leary said the numbers made sense to him. “My sense from being on the ground in the region is that most people are deeply ambivalent about fracking. It’s not a nice thing to live near or near,” he said. “I suspect that much of the concern about the industry and the desire for greater regulation simply comes from people’s direct experience.”

Listening to national debates about voters’ feelings on the issue, he said, that fact doesn’t seem to be well represented. “There is simply a significant lack of recognition of the downsides people perceive and the desire they feel to see the industry’s effects on quality of life, pollution and health better managed and mitigated,” he said. he declared.

Some Pennsylvanians continue to associate fracking with jobs and economic gains, but that doesn’t mean they’re happy with the industry’s disruptive impacts on their daily lives.

The regulations suggested in the poll are similar to policy recommendations made in a 2020 grand jury report on fracking from the state attorney general’s office, then led by now-Gov. Josh Shapiro. The goal of these recommendations was to “create a more comprehensive legal framework that would better protect Pennsylvanians from the realities of industrial operations.”

Echoing the three regulations voters were most supportive of, the report recommended that well setbacks be increased from 500 feet to 2,500 feet, that companies publicly share chemicals used in fracking operations and that the transportation of fracking waste is made safer. . None of these three recommendations have been implemented.