Right to Repair enjoys 79% total support, with large majorities across party lines and from Greater Minnesota

A new survey of Minnesotans conducted by Repair.org, a coalition of groups supporting Right to Repair in Minnesota and across the country, shows how popular the policy is as legislators get ready to vote on these reforms as part of a larger bill package. Today, lawmakers voted to include a pending Right to Repair bill -- HF 1156 (Rep. Peter Fischer) -- in a larger judiciary omnibus package, HF 4608, which should see consideration on the floor later this week.

Asked if they support Right to Repair, 79.6% of respondents indicated that they support, with 44.3% indicating they “strongly support” such reforms, while only 4% opposed.

The survey targeted 200 registered voters of which 40.3% were independents, 34.3% democrats and 25.4% Republicans.

“Right to Repair is a common-sense idea -- it’s no wonder there are 20 times the number of supporters as those in opposition. People just want to fix their stuff, and they are tired of manufacturers getting in their way,” said Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of Repair.org. “Lawmakers should keep that in mind when they get ready to vote.”

The survey focused on Greater Minnesota. In total, 79% of respondents were from Rural or Suburban Minnesota. Support from these sectors was nearly identical to the support from urban Minnesotans -- with 77.2% in support, and 3.2% opposing.

One of the reasons why Right to Repair enjoys such support is that many people have had the experience of being pushed into expensive upgrades by the original manufacturer’s “authorized” repairers. As family budgets tighten with rising consumer costs, people can’t afford to replace devices whenever they break. Ninety-three percent of surveyed respondents said they agree that manufacturers push upgrades over repair.

“Repair saves consumers money, cuts electronic waste and empowers local repair businesses,” said Nathan Proctor, senior Right to Repair campaign director for U.S. PIRG, which is also backing reforms in Minnesota. “I calculated that if people repaired instead of replacing their products to extend the lifespan by 50%, it would save the average household $330 per year. That’s $734 million in savings across the more than 2 million households in Minnesota -- every year. It’s time for lawmakers to stand up to the big manufacturers and deliver for their constituents.”