Are there really 30-60 million libertarians?

Here’s the evidence (percentages based on 245 million adult Americans)…

• Nate Silver says 11% of Americans self-describe as libertarians. We round that to 30-million for our low-end estimate.
• Political scientist Jason Weeden agrees that the number is about 11%
• Cato Institute estimated the number at 14% back in 2010 = 34 million  
• Pew found that 14% self-identified as libertarian in 2014 = 34 million
• Political scientists Stanley Feldman and Christopher Johnson estimate the number at 15% = 37 million
• A more recent Cato study puts the estimate at around 19% = 47 million
• Nate Silver further estimates that 22% hold libertarian views = 54 million
• A Reuters study found that 20% self-identify as libertarian and know what the word means = 49 million
• A Public Religion Research Institute study found that 7% (17 million) of the population is “hardcore libertarian” while 15% (37 million) lean libertarian. 17 million + 37 million = 54 million.
• A 2011 Reason magazine study says that 24% are libertarians. That equals 59 million adults. We round that to 60 million to arrive at our own upper estimate.

But there are also studies that exceed 60 million…

• American National Election Studies has counted libertarians equal to 25% of the populace = 61 million
• Numerous Gallup surveys have found 20-27% libertarians = 49-66 million
• A Zogby study found that a whopping 44% (108 million) have libertarian views on the issues and don’t object to being described by that label
• Decades of experience with people taking Nolan Chart quizzes support these estimates.

Are these people the same kind of libertarian you are?

We think there are three types…

• Small government libertarians hold the correct positions on enough issues to score libertarian on a Nolan Chart quiz. Rand Paul and Gary Johnson are examples. We think these libertarians number in the tens of millions.
• Limited-state libertarians think The State should be limited to police, courts, and national defense. There’s a reason to believe there are a half-million of these.
• Voluntaryist libertarians think governance can be provided without a State or taxation. Voluntaryists probably number in the tens of thousands.

All these libertarians can help move America in a libertarian direction.

Do you want that?

Downsize DC is working to FIND and ACTIVATE 10 million of these 30-60 million adults. That population size is within shooting distance of what the Left and the Right have, but those two groups are already FOUND and ACTIVATED.

Only the libertarian population is dormant and apathetic.

You can help us change that by subscribing to Downsize DC! Please understand…

It doesn’t matter what strategy you prefer for taming the leviathan state — elections, initiatives, jury nullification, civil disobedience — all of them require more active libertarians. Personally, we want to see all of these strategies pursued. But we focus on pressuring Congress for three reasons…

1. It’s one of the easiest actions you can take, and therefore one of the quickest ways to mobilize a dormant libertarian.
2. It will take far fewer people to influence Congress than replace Congress.
3. Using Downsize DC to activate libertarians could build the constituency you need to win on Election Day.

The libertarian population is a sleeping giant. Please help us wake the giant. Subscribe to Downsize DC right now!

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