About the Elon University Poll

The Elon University Poll conducts statewide and national surveys on issues of importance to North Carolina voters and residents. Information from these polls is shared with media, citizens and public officials to facilitate informed public policy making through the better understanding of citizens’ opinions and attitudes. By conducting several statewide public opinion surveys annually, the Elon University Poll is easily recognized as the “poll of record in North Carolina.”

The poll is operated under the auspices of the Center for Public Opinion Polling, which is a constituent part of the Institute of Politics and Public Affairs. These academic units are part of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences at Elon University, which is led by Dean Gabie Smith. The Elon University administration, led by Dr. Connie Book, president of the university, fully supports the Elon University Poll as part of its service commitment to state, regional, and national constituents.

Being fully funded by Elon University permits the Elon University Poll to operate as the neutral, non-biased resource of information for citizens and political and business leaders; as a result of this generous support, the Elon University poll does not engage in any contract work. Elon University students are employed to administer the survey as part of the University’s commitment to civic engagement and experiential learning where “students learn through doing.”

The Elon Poll …

  • was started in 2000.
  • is fully funded by Elon University as a public service to citizens; it is a neutral, independent operation & does no contract work.
  • seeks to measure public support for major political issues, policies, and candidates, and to understand not just “who” and “what” they support, but why they hold these views.
  • conducts both telephone surveys and online surveys.
  • uses live interviewers for telephone surveys; our interviewers manually dial telephone numbers.
  • employs trained interviewers; these interviewers are monitored during calling hours, to ensure instrument administration and data entry integrity.
  • has a CATI system software (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) and a 40 station survey laboratory; each station is equipped with survey software and computers networked by a dedicated server.

Topics Since 2005

  • Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) System
  • Annexation
  • Banking/Financial Industry Regulation
  • Budget and Taxes in North Carolina
  • Political Candidate Qualities
  • Cell Phone Use While Driving
  • Climate Change
  • Community and Government Service Satisfaction
  • Death Penalty
  • Digital Television Conversion
  • Drought and Water Conservation in North Carolina (Elon University Public Relations Group)
  • Economic Stimulus
  • Economy
  • Education and School Programs (Alamance-Burlington School System)
  • Education in North Carolina
  • Energy and Conservation
  • Environment
  • Environmental Pollution
  • Finance and Tax Structure in North Carolina
  • General Assembly Television
  • Government Ethics
  • Government Trust and Corruption
  • Gun Control and Regulation
  • Healthcare Reform
  • Hurricane Preparedness in N.C. and South Atlantic States
  • Immigration
  • Judicial Selection in North Carolina
  • Juvenile Justice
  • Labor Unions
  • Minimum Wage
  • Motor Vehicle Solicitation (City of Burlington, N.C., Police Department)
  • Offshore Oil Drilling
  • OLF (Outlying Landing Field in Eastern North Carolina)
  • Open Government (N.C. Open Government Coalition)
  • Personal Economic Situations
  • Philanthropy and Charitable Giving
  • Political Advertising
  • Political Institutions (N.C. General Assembly and U.S. Congress)
  • Public Education Leadership in North Carolina
  • Public Financing of Elections
  • Public School Vouchers
  • Religion
  • Same Sex Marriage
  • Smoking Ban (N.C. Department of Public Health, Division of Tobacco Prevention)
  • State Lottery
  • State and Local Taxes
  • Stem Cell Research
  • Tea Party
  • Toll Roads in N.C.
  • Transportation Issues/Policy in N.C.
  • Urban and Regional Rail