Americans Can Agree on One Thing: Happy Hours
2022-11-17
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1In the American state of Massachusetts, Democrats and Republicans could find an issue to agree on: letting bars have happy hours.
2Happy hours are times at bars and restaurants when there are lower prices for drinks.
3Massachusetts law bans bars and restaurants from having special discounts for alcoholic drinks.
4But a public opinion study, or survey, carried out by The Associated Press shows that about 6 in 10 people support the state legalizing happy hour.
5The news agency calls its survey AP VoteCast.
6It asked U.S. voters their opinions on some of the most important issues affecting the nation.
7But the survey also covered other parts of society.
8For example, AP VoteCast also explored Alabama college football, what Mississippi voters think about former football star Brett Favre and whether Tennessee voters like Taylor Swift.
9These questions were part of a larger effort to understand how politics and culture are related.
10The survey covered topics ranging from state political issues to questions about the Bible.
11In Alabama, college football can feel like a religion.
12One of its senators, Tommy Tuberville, coached at Alabama's Auburn University.
13The University of Alabama's Crimson Tide has won 18 national championships.
14The AP survey found that about half of Alabama voters say they are Crimson Tide fans, compared with about 2 in 10 who favor Auburn.
15About 1 in 10 say they support both teams.
16But 25 percent of Alabama voters say they do not support either team.
17In Iowa, the survey explored voters' feelings about being the first state in the nation to choose their party's next presidential nominee.
18The process is called the Iowa caucus.
19It does not involve direct votes, but a series of speeches and open debate to decide which candidate to support.
20The process created problems in 2020 because Democrats had a delay in reporting results.
21Six in 10 Iowa voters say they want their state to continue to hold caucuses rather than change to holding a direct vote.
22Voters for Democrats are about evenly divided following their party's caucus problems two years ago.
23Pop singer Taylor Swift has criticized Republican lawmakers in Tennessee.
24She called one of that state's senators, Marsha Blackburn, "Trump in a wig," in a 2020 documentary.
25But many Tennessee voters do not seem to care. About 4 in 10 have favorable feelings toward Swift.
26The AP survey found about 3 in 10 voters do not support the singer, most of them Republicans.
27But another 3 in 10 said they did not know enough to say how they felt about Swift.
28The music star recently had 10 songs in the top 10 positions of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
29In Mississippi, Hall of Fame football player Brett Favre is not as popular with voters.
30An investigation this year showed he had misused $8 million meant for welfare programs.
31He even contacted the governor to see if the money could help build a football practice building at his former school, the University of Southern Mississippi.
32About 2 in 10 Mississippi voters said they had a favorable opinion of Favre, with most saying they support Republicans.
33About 4 in 10 had an unfavorable opinion of Favre, a group that was divided between voters supporting Democratic and Republican candidates.
34President Joe Biden was similarly rated in Mississippi.
35By 2-1, voters said they had more unfavorable than favorable opinions about both the Democratic president and the famous football player.
36I'm Dan Novak.
1In the American state of Massachusetts, Democrats and Republicans could find an issue to agree on: letting bars have happy hours. Happy hours are times at bars and restaurants when there are lower prices for drinks. 2Massachusetts law bans bars and restaurants from having special discounts for alcoholic drinks. But a public opinion study, or survey, carried out by The Associated Press shows that about 6 in 10 people support the state legalizing happy hour. 3The news agency calls its survey AP VoteCast. It asked U.S. voters their opinions on some of the most important issues affecting the nation. But the survey also covered other parts of society. 4For example, AP VoteCast also explored Alabama college football, what Mississippi voters think about former football star Brett Favre and whether Tennessee voters like Taylor Swift. 5These questions were part of a larger effort to understand how politics and culture are related. The survey covered topics ranging from state political issues to questions about the Bible. 6In Alabama, college football can feel like a religion. One of its senators, Tommy Tuberville, coached at Alabama's Auburn University. The University of Alabama's Crimson Tide has won 18 national championships. 7The AP survey found that about half of Alabama voters say they are Crimson Tide fans, compared with about 2 in 10 who favor Auburn. About 1 in 10 say they support both teams. But 25 percent of Alabama voters say they do not support either team. 8In Iowa, the survey explored voters' feelings about being the first state in the nation to choose their party's next presidential nominee. The process is called the Iowa caucus. It does not involve direct votes, but a series of speeches and open debate to decide which candidate to support. The process created problems in 2020 because Democrats had a delay in reporting results. 9Six in 10 Iowa voters say they want their state to continue to hold caucuses rather than change to holding a direct vote. Voters for Democrats are about evenly divided following their party's caucus problems two years ago. 10Pop singer Taylor Swift has criticized Republican lawmakers in Tennessee. She called one of that state's senators, Marsha Blackburn, "Trump in a wig," in a 2020 documentary. 11But many Tennessee voters do not seem to care. About 4 in 10 have favorable feelings toward Swift. The AP survey found about 3 in 10 voters do not support the singer, most of them Republicans. But another 3 in 10 said they did not know enough to say how they felt about Swift. The music star recently had 10 songs in the top 10 positions of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 12In Mississippi, Hall of Fame football player Brett Favre is not as popular with voters. An investigation this year showed he had misused $8 million meant for welfare programs. He even contacted the governor to see if the money could help build a football practice building at his former school, the University of Southern Mississippi. 13About 2 in 10 Mississippi voters said they had a favorable opinion of Favre, with most saying they support Republicans. About 4 in 10 had an unfavorable opinion of Favre, a group that was divided between voters supporting Democratic and Republican candidates. 14President Joe Biden was similarly rated in Mississippi. By 2-1, voters said they had more unfavorable than favorable opinions about both the Democratic president and the famous football player. 15I'm Dan Novak. 16Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 17_________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19discount - n. an amount taken off a regular price 20caucus - n. a meeting of members of a political party for the purpose of choosing candidates for an election 21wig - n. artificial hair that you wear on your head because you are bald or in order to change your appearance 22documentary - n. a movie or television program that tells the facts about actual people and events 23welfare - n. a government program for poor or unemployed people that helps pay for their food, housing, medical costs, etc.