The poll found nearly 90 percent of American voters consider racial and ethnic discrimination to be a problem in the U.S.
WEST LONG BRANCH -- A new Monmouth University Poll has found that most American voters think racial discrimination is a big problem that has only worsened.
Amid national attention of shooting deaths of African Americans by police officers, nearly 90 percent of 805 voters nationwide "consider racial and ethnic discrimination to be a problem in the United States, including 68 percent who describe this as a big problem," according to poll published Monday.
The poll -- which was conducted before a military veteran ambushed police officers in Baton Rouge, La., on Sunday, killing three and wounding three others -- found that more American voters describe racial discrimination as a big problem now than they did in January 2015.
From January of last year to now, this notion has increased from 44 to 64 percent for white voters and from 67 to 88 percent for black voters, according to the poll. These figures slightly increased among Hispanic voters, from 66 to 72 percent.
The university also asked about Black Lives Matter, an organization created after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Florida. The group gained national attention during protests over the August 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
"Most Americans agree that Black Lives Matter has shined a light on important issues of race," Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement. "But there is a significant split on the impact that attention is having."
Nearly half of all voters polled say Black Lives Matter has made racial issues in the country worse. Only 10 percent say the movement has made racial issues in the U.S. better, while the other 36 percent says it "has not really changed things either way," the poll found. A small majority of black voters, however, said the movement hadn't had much impact with 21 percent saying it made things worse and 17 percent saying it made things better.
These 1-word answers sum up emotions at Black Lives Matter rally
The poll also found that American voters have not really changed their minds about race being a factor when police use excessive force.
A majority of those polled -- 52 percent -- say "police are no more likely to use excessive force in a given situation regardless of whether the culprit is black or white, while 34 percent say they are more likely to use excessive force if the person is black." The institute said these findings are similar to ones from December 2014.
There is a significant difference of opinion between black and white voters on this issue with 77 percent of black voters saying that police are more likely to use excessive force against a black person, up from 60 percent in 2014, while only 25 percent of whites -- the same as in 2014 -- say they believe this to be true. Among Hispanics, only 38 percent said police are more likely to use force against a black person, slightly up from 36 percent in 2014.
You can view all of the institute's results, which have a margin of error of 3.5 percent, here.
Luke Nozicka may be reached at lnozicka@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @lukenozicka. Find NJ.com on Facebook and Twitter.