Feb. 1—Pennsylvanians continue to be pessimistic about the economy and the direction the state is heading, but those worries are easing a bit, a new poll released today shows.

In the latest Franklin & Marshall College Poll, 48% of registered voters think that Pennsylvania is generally on the wrong track. Just 37% feel the state is headed in the right direction.

While those number may look grim, that actually represents an improvement of voters’ outlooks.

The October version of the poll showed that 55% of registered voters thought the state was on the wrong track, and just 35% said they thought it was headed in the right direction.

The reason for the somewhat brighter responses appears to be tied to the economy.

In the new poll, 15% of registered voters say they are better off financially than they were a year ago. While that isn’t a staggering amount, it represents a 4-point increase from the 11% who responded that way in October.

The poll showed that 47% of registered voters say they are worse off financially today than a year ago (down from 50% in October) and 37% said they are about the same (down from 39%).

Inflation continues to be the main concern dragging down views on the economy and personal finances. The poll showed that 38% who those said they are worse off cited inflation as the top reason.

Cost of living came in second (19%), followed by cost of food (7%) and stagnant wages (7%).

Looking forward, the poll found that registered voters are a bit more optimistic.

It showed that 22% of respondents believe they’ll be better off financially a year from now, up from 15% who said that in October. Just 24% said they expect to be worse off, down from the 35% who said that in October.

Respondents saying they think they will be in about the same financial situation a year from now remained the same at 40%.

Hot topics

The poll also asked registered voters how they feel about a handful of hot issues.

More than half said they are in favor of having skill games — video gaming machines that resemble digital slot machines and offer chances to win money playing games of skill — to be regulated and taxed in the same way as casino games. The state does not regulate and tax them in the same manner as casino games.

A total of 60% said they strongly or somewhat favor enhanced regulations and taxing, with 36% saying they strongly favor it. Just 31% said they somewhat or strongly oppose such a move.

When it comes to banning skill games, more than half of registered voters said they weren’t in support of doing that.

A total of 56% said they were somewhat or strongly opposed to a ban, while just 32% were strongly or somewhat in favor of one.

The poll also asked about the legalization of recreational marijuana. It showed that a majority of registered voters support legalization.

A total of 63% said they either definitely or probably thought the drug should be legalized for recreational use, with 44% in the “definitely” category. Only 33% said they probably or definitely thought it should not be legalized.

The final hot topic question was about electric vehicles.

It asked whether registered voters were in favor of the state implementing a $290 annual fee to help fund construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. That amount is an estimate of the average amount owners of gas-powered vehicles pay each year in the state’s gas tax.

A total of 59% of respondents said they were either strongly or somewhat in favor of the fee, while 38% said they were strongly or somewhat opposed.

How the poll was conducted

Included in the latest Franklin & Marshall College poll is a detailed explanation of how the survey was conducted:

The survey findings presented in this release are based on the results of interviews conducted Jan. 17-18. The interviews were conducted at the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College on behalf of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs.

The poll was designed and administered by the staff of the Center for Opinion Research. The data included in this release represent the responses of 1,006 registered Pennsylvania voters, including 450 Democrats, 414 Republicans and 142 independents.

The sample of registered voters was obtained from Aristotle. All sampled respondents were notified by mail about the survey. Interviews were completed over the phone and online depending on each respondent’s preference.

Survey results were weighted (age, gender, education, geography and party registration) using an algorithm to reflect the known distribution of those characteristics among state voters. Estimates for age, geography and party registration are based on active voters within the Pennsylvania Department of State’s voter registration data.

The sample error for this survey is 3.6 percentage points when the design effects from weighting are considered.