Elon University Poll shows lack of confidence in House
Speaker Black
A new Elon University Poll shows 42 percent of North
Carolinians lack
confidence in state House Speaker Jim Black, and 40 percent
say he should
resign from office. The poll also found support for a state
lottery, which
started March 30.
The poll, conducted April 2-6 by the Elon University
Institute for Politics
and Public Affairs, surveyed 677 North Carolina residents.
The poll has a
margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percent.
Forty percent of North Carolinians believe Black should
resign from office,
up from 30 percent in a February Elon University Poll.
Eighteen percent said
Black should remain in office, while 42 percent said they
weren’t sure or
were not familiar with the situation. Black’s campaign
is under
investigation for potential campaign finance violations, and
Black’s former
political director and others are being investigated for
possible violations
of state lobbying laws.
“These numbers indicate that more and more people are
becoming disenchanted
with the circumstances surrounding Jim Black,” said
Hunter Bacot, director
of the Elon University Poll. “But despite the ongoing
investigation of
Speaker Black, many citizens claim they don’t know
whether he should resign
or remain in office, which can be to his advantage.”
Support for a state lottery, which started selling
instant-win scratch
tickets March 30, remained consistent with previous polls.
Sixty-eight
percent of citizens said they support a lottery, while 16
percent oppose the
lottery. Five Elon University Polls since March 2003 have
measured support
for the lottery between 67 and 69 percent.
Forty-eight percent of respondents said they plan to play
the state lottery.
Twenty-five percent of those polled said they had already
played the state
lottery, and 17 percent of those who had already played said
they had played
more than six times.
The poll also surveyed citizen opinion about the most
important issues
facing North Carolina. Twenty-seven percent said education
was the most
important issue, while 16 percent listed economic issues as
most important.
Fourteen percent said immigration was the top issue, while
five percent each
said taxes and gas prices were key issues.
The Elon University Poll has conducted several polls
annually since 2000.
The non-partisan Elon University Poll conducts frequent
scientific telephone
polls on issues of importance citizens. The poll results are
shared with
media, citizens and researchers to facilitate representative
democracy and
public policy making through the better understanding of the
opinions and
needs of citizens in the state and region.
