


More than half of New York’s registered voters believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, as Gov. Kathy Hochul’s popularity nose-dives and 40% consider moving out, a startling new poll shows.
The fed-up respondents gave Hochul a dismal 40% approval rating, a big drop from her 50% figure just three months ago, according to the independent Unite NY’s Voter Empowerment Index released Sunday.
Other state lawmakers faired even worse with a 27% approval rating, down from their recent 36%.
Not surprisingly, a whopping 80% said they support term limits for the governor and legislators.
“Independent and unaffiliated New Yorkers, the second largest group of voters in the state, are clearly frustrated with the state of democracy in New York and the latest Voter Empowerment Index makes this face clear,” Unite NY Executive Director Tim Dunn said in a statement, referring to the bloc’s influence on the survey’s results.

“The path to winning back those voters lies in enacting reforms that have overwhelming, bipartisan support,” Dunn said. “I would encourage elected leaders from both parties to take this into account during the policymaking process, as this group is growing in both numbers and extreme dissatisfaction.”
According to the results, upstate New Yorkers are strongest in their desire for an open primary process, or allowing non-party-affiliated residents to cast ballots in primaries.
Meanwhile, the Bronx topped the list with the most voters wanting to leave the state, with 71%.
In addition, only 10% of voters polled thought the state was doing a good job of implementing election reforms compared to other US states, the survey found.
United NY questioned 800 voters in June to come up with the results.