{"id":27417,"date":"2024-04-05T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/04\/05\/take-our-poll-what-issues-in-the-2024-elections-matter-most-to-feds\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:12:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:12:35","slug":"take-our-poll-what-issues-in-the-2024-elections-matter-most-to-feds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/leadership\/2024\/04\/05\/take-our-poll-what-issues-in-the-2024-elections-matter-most-to-feds\/","title":{"rendered":"Take our poll: What issues in the 2024 elections matter most to feds?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the 2024 presidential election this fall, dueling initiatives to save or slice the federal workforce will be on the ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These may seem secondary compared to economic policy or violent conflicts roiling overseas, but to millions of federal employees and the people who depend on them, these issues are likely at the forefront.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We at Federal Times want to know for sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our latest reader survey asks feds what issues they\u2019re tracking mostly closely come Nov. 5. After all, the 2.2-million large workforce has the potential to represent a significant voter base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We understand that engaging with election topics as a member of the nonpartisan civil service can feel dicey, so we consulted the federal government\u2019s experts on ethics: the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. In a review of our completely anonymous survey, they concluded a federal employee responding to survey questions from a news organization is not considered political activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Political activity\u2019 is activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, partisan political group, or candidate for partisan political office,\u201d the office said in a statement to Federal Times. \u201cEven though the survey questions relate to an upcoming partisan election, OSC has determined that answering the questions in these specific circumstances is not \u2018political activity\u2019 as defined in the Hatch Act\u2019s implementing regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, an employee would not violate the Hatch Act by responding to these Federal Times survey questions, even if an employee does so while on duty or in the federal workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be aware, however, that other rules about using official time or government devices to engage in non-work activity may still apply. (So, we recommend you do this on your own time and using your own tech.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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People watch a big screen displaying the live election results on election day in Washington, D.C., in 2020. (OLIVIER DOULIERY\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s at stake in 2024<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The debates waged on the campaign trail and social media are not new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one, it\u2019s been a plank of the Republican party to favor small government and states\u2019 rights. At least as far back as the 1820s,<\/a> \u201cOld Republicans\u201d split in Congress over their colleagues\u2019 support for a national bank and federal funding of infrastructure projects. In much more recent memory, President Ronald Reagan said in his 1989 farewell address, \u201cman is not free unless government is limited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former President Donald Trump, the main Republican challenger, attempted to reclassify tens of thousands of federal employees to at-will status, and he said he wants to do so again. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, last month, Republicans published a study on the fiscal 2025 budget <\/a>that seeks to expedite the removal process of federal employees, repeal telework and eliminate automatic salary raises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest losers in this system are hardworking taxpayers who are forced to subsidize the bloated salaries of unqualified and unelected bureaucrats working to force a liberal agenda on a country that does not want it,\u201d the study reads. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, Democrats have long been sympathetic to union workers, and more than half <\/a>of all government jobs are represented by a bargaining unit. Following his State of the Union on March 7, Joe Biden, the incumbent Democratic candidate, wrote a \u201cthank you\u201d letter <\/a>to federal employees, saying \u201cthe President has your back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current administration also just put forward a new administrative rule this week <\/a>preventing a return of Schedule F or something similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\t