Eighty percent of North Carolina voters believe that legislators listen more to the people that help fund their campaigns.
Public Policy Polling conducted a survey of 775 North Carolina voters for the N.C. Center for Voter Education, which advocates for ways to help citizens participate in Democracy.
The survey asked respondents if they believed that legislators listen more to groups that fund campaigns or to average voters and 80 percent said lawmakers pay more attention to those who give money while 9 percent said lawmakers listen to average voters. The remaining 11 percent were unsure.
When asked if the state's campaign finance laws need changing, 71 percent said they need a "major overhaul," 23 percent said "small tweaks," and 6 percent said they were "fine as they are."
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The Center for Voter Education has pushed the legislature to expand publicly financed campaigns, in which candidates who qualify use taxpayer money to run for office.
The survey asked questions that seem tailored to help the center make its pitch in the next session.
"Do you think the high cost of seeking office keeps some qualified candidates from running?" (80 percent said yes while 12 percent said no)
"If your legislator supported a public campaign financing program financed without increased taxes on the general public would that make you more or less likely to vote for them in the next election?" (57 percent said "more likely," 20 percent said "less likely" and 24 percent said "no difference")
Respondents were also asked whether they would prefer a candidate whose money came from "special interests" or "from taxpayer money," and 20 percent chose "special interests" while 54 percent said "taxpayer money." The remaining 26 percent were unsure.
The poll, which was conducted March 29-30, had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
