The Election Process and Campaign Funding

Wave I: 1,000 adults interviewed online January 4 to 25, 2016.

Wave II: 1,000 adults interviewed online June 8 to July 5, 2016.

1. Overall, do you think the country is headed in the right direction or the wrong direction?

	Wave I	Wave II
1. Right Direction	42	39
2. Wrong Direction	58	61

3. How satisfied are you with the current process of electing a president in the United States?

	Wave I	Wave II
1. Extremely satisfied	10	9
2. Very satisfied	20	18
3. Somewhat satisfied	38	33
4. Hardly satisfied at all	18	22
5. Not at all satisfied	14	18

12. How important are each of these to your ultimate selection of a candidate?
a. Content of the candidate’s advertising

	Wave I	Wave II
1. Extremely	13	14
2. Very	20	19
3. Somewhat	29	26
4. Slightly	16	17
5. Hardly at all	11	11
6. Not at all	11	13

b. Source of campaign financing

	Wave I	Wave II
1. Extremely	17	15
2. Very	20	25
3. Somewhat	30	25
4. Slightly	16	18
5. Hardly at all	8	7
6. Not at all	8	10

 

c. Extent of media coverage

	Wave I	Wave II
1. Extremely	13	14
2. Very	19	20
3. Somewhat	31	29
4. Slightly	17	18
5. Hardly at all	11	8
6. Not at all	9	11

d. Candidate’s personal qualities

	Wave I	Wave II
1. Extremely	34	37
2. Very	35	32
3. Somewhat	20	17
4. Slightly	7	7
5. Hardly at all	1	3
6. Not at all	2	4

e. The party debates

	Wave I	Wave II
1. Extremely	15	19
2. Very	26	27
3. Somewhat	35	29
4. Slightly	11	12
5. Hardly at all	7	7
6. Not at all	6	7

f. The presidential debates

	Wave I	Wave II
1. Extremely	22	25
2. Very	30	30
3. Somewhat	28	25
4. Slightly	11	9
5. Hardly at all	5	4
6. Not at all	4	7

g. The primary outcomes

	Wave I	Wave II
1. Extremely	19	20
2. Very	28	26
3. Somewhat	29	26
4. Slightly	12	12
5. Hardly at all	7	7
6. Not at all	5	9

h. Candidates’ stand on the issues

	Wave I	Wave II
1. Extremely	51	52
2. Very	27	24
3. Somewhat	14	13
4. Slightly	5	6
5. Hardly at all	1	2
6. Not at all	2	3

22. Do you support or oppose each of the following as a way to limit the impact of special interest money on the political process?
a. Public financing of elections

	Wave II
1. Strongly support	21
2. Support	41
3. Oppose	26
4. Strongly oppose	12

b. Lower limits on the amount individuals can donate to candidates

	Wave II
1. Strongly support	33
2. Support	46
3. Oppose	16
4. Strongly oppose	5

c. Better disclosure requirements for all political contributions

	Wave II
1. Strongly support	46
2. Support	42
3. Oppose	10
4. Strongly oppose	3

23. Do you support or oppose allowing groups not affiliated with a campaign to spend as much money as they want to elect or defeat political candidates?

	Wave II
1. Strongly support	10
2. Support	28
3. Oppose	37
4. Strongly oppose	25

24. In 2014, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in the Citizens United case that allowed organizations outside of the campaigns themselves to spend unlimited money on election campaigns. In view of the Supreme Court’s ruling, would you support or oppose an effort by Congress to reinstate limits on Corporate or union spending on election campaigns?

	Wave II
1. Strongly support	27
2. Support	42
3. Oppose	23
4. Strongly oppose	8

25. Do you support or oppose laws that require voters to show photographic identification before casting ballots?

1. Support – These laws help combat voter irregularities and fraud	75
2. Oppose – These laws reduce turnout and disenfranchise youth as well as ethnic and racial minority voters	25

26. Do you support or oppose same-day registration laws that allow people to register to vote on Election Day and cast a ballot in that same day’s election?

1. Support – These laws help increase participation in our elections	63
2. Oppose – These laws increase the likelihood of voting irregularities and fraud	37