Raleigh, N.C. – By a wide margin North Carolina voters would prefer the creation of an independent redistricting commission to having the Legislature continue to draw up the boundary lines in the state. And a plurality of them would like there to be a special session between now and the end of the year to create that new commission.
By a 49/21 margin North Carolinians think the state would be better off with an independent commission creating the new lines for Congressional and Legislative districts than legislators themselves doing it. There’s a bipartisan consensus on the issue with Democrats preferring the independent commission 47/24, Republicans doing so 41/20, and independents overwhelming in their support of it by a 69/15 spread.
Incoming Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, who has voiced support for an independent commission in the past, has backed off of that position by saying there won’t be enough time once the next session starts to tackle this issue. The solution to that would be to call the Legislature back before the end of the year to deal with the problem and 40% of voters in the state support doing that to only 27% who are opposed and 33% who have no opinion. Democrats and independents both strongly support a special session on the issue while Republicans are evenly divided.
“Bev Perdue’s had difficulty appealing to independent voters ever since she took office but this is an issue where she could score some points with them,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Taking the politics out of redistricting- and taking action to do it quickly- has a lot of appeal to the critical voters who don’t identify themselves with any political party.”
PPP surveyed 517 North Carolina voters from November 19th to 21st. The survey’s margin of error is +/-4.3%. Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.
Complete results are attached and can be found at www.publicpolicypolling.com.
If you would like an interview regarding this release, please contact Dean Debnam at (888) 621-6988 or 919-880-4888.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Before the 2012 election North Carolina’s
Congressional and Legislative districts will be
redrawn. Do you support or oppose the
creation of an independent commission for
redistricting?
Support ………………………………………………….. 38%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 24%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 38%
Q2 Would you prefer that control of the redistricting
process rested with members of the
Legislature or an independent commission?
Members of the legislature………………………… 21%
Members of an independent commission ……. 49%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 30%
Q3 Would you support or oppose the Legislature
holding a special session between now and the
end of the year to create an independent
commission for redistricting?
Support ………………………………………………….. 40%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 27%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 33%
Q4 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 49%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 45%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 6%
Q5 Would you describe yourself as a liberal,
moderate, or conservative?
Liberal ……………………………………………………. 20%
Moderate………………………………………………… 38%
Conservative…………………………………………… 42%
Q6 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%
Q7 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 49%
Republican……………………………………………… 35%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 17%
Q8 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
press 2. If other, press 3.
White …………………………………………………….. 77%
African-American …………………………………….. 19%
Other……………………………………………………… 4%
Q9 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 9%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 24%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 47%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
Q10
252………………………………………………………… 12%
336………………………………………………………… 23%
704………………………………………………………… 19%
828………………………………………………………… 15%
910………………………………………………………… 12%
919………………………………………………………… 20%
