What are the most liberal states?

Answer 1

Arizona, Missouri, Wyoming, Alaska, Utah, and a few others. The four listed are possibly the least restrictive, in my opinion; there may be more.

While Texas has liberal gun laws, there are more restrictions to firearms (in particular, how they are carried) than some other states.

Answer 2

My answer is Minnesota.

disclaimer: The word "liberal" does not have a precise definition and there is no objective measure of liberalism that I know of. Some states which are liberal in some ways or liberal in some districts are conservative in other ways and other districts. Also sometimes liberal measures provoke a back-lash and states can change quickly.

AnswerAccording to a Gallup poll published in Feb 2011 (see links below), Washington DC is technically the most liberal district (not a state) followed by Vermont. A year later, the same poll found that DC occupied the top spot with Massachusetts trailing second.

The same caveat above applied to this poll. The poll counted people who self-identified as "liberal" or "conservative." This assumes that people are correctly informed on each ideology.

Further, determining which state is most liberal or conservative based on your own opinion is even more difficult. Recent polls show that people are highly polarized in the Democrat or Republican party. Between administration changes, the parties will often completely flip ideology on certain issues, which makes party affiliation an unreliable indicator. Important or outspoken politicians may also distort one's ability to judge sentiment in a state: the poll notes that Massachusetts is highly liberal even though it produced Mitt Romney.

Answer 3

All states in order of liberal to conservative (based on conglomeration of voting records and registration data):

D.C.

Hawaii

Vermont

Rhode Island

New York

Maryland

Massachusetts

Delaware

Connecticut

Illinois

California

Washington

Maine

New Jersey

New Mexico

Oregon

Michigan

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Pennsylvania

Nevada

New Hampshire

Colorado

Iowa

Virginia

Ohio

Florida

North Carolina

Missouri

Arizona

Indiana

Montana

Georgia

South Carolina

Texas

West Virginia

South Dakota

North Dakota

Kentucky

Tennessee

Arkansas

Nebraska

Kansas

Mississippi

Alaska

Louisiana

Alabama

Oklahoma

Idaho

Utah

Wyoming

Answer 4

California