Civitas Poll: Voters Don’t Like Perdue Veto of “Energy Jobs Act”

Raleigh, N.C. – Amidst stubbornly high gas prices, 60 percent of North Carolina voters disagree with Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue’s veto of the “Energy Jobs Act,” according to a new poll released by the Civitas Institute.  The poll also found that voters are more likely to vote for a legislator who votes to override this veto.

The state legislature passed the “Energy Jobs Act,” that would encourage more oil and natural gas exploration in North Carolina as well as expand energy-related industries and jobs. Gov. Perdue vetoed this bill, stating it infringed on the powers assigned to the governor by requiring her to work with other states and the legislature on energy exploration options.  Sixty percent of voters said they disagree with Perdue’s veto, 31 percent said they agree, and eight percent said they do not know or have no opinion.

Voters disagree with Perdue’s veto regardless of geographical location: Western North Carolina (76 percent disagree), Piedmont Triad (65 percent disagree), Southeast (60 percent disagree), Charlotte (60 percent), Northeast (52 percent), and the Triangle (51 percent).

“While Governor Perdue talks jobs, her vetoes of legislation like the ‘Energy Jobs Act’ show her as hostile to the creation of private sector jobs that she does not support,” said Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca.

Further evidence of dissatisfaction with the governor’s veto is 58 percent of voters indicating they would be more likely to vote for a legislator who voted to override or overturn this veto while 30 percent said they would be less likely to do so.  Five percent said it would make no difference in their vote and seven percent said they do not know.

“With North Carolina unemployment now at 9.9 percent, legislators do not want to be seen as voting against job creation,” added De Luca.

The Civitas Poll is the only regular live-caller poll of critical issues facing North Carolina.  For more information on Civitas polling see http://www.nccivitas.org/category/poll/.

Full Text of Questions:

“The state legislature passed the “Energy Jobs Act,” that would encourage more oil and natural gas exploration in North Carolina as well as expand energy-related industries and jobs.  Governor Perdue vetoed this bill, stating it infringed on the powers assigned to the governor by requiring her to work with other states and the NC legislature on energy exploration options.  Supporters say the bill would lead to more affordable and clean energy while also creating new jobs.  Opponents say the bill would allow offshore drilling and the natural gas exploration that they feel is hazardous to the environment.  Governor Perdue vetoed this bill. Do you agree or disagree with Governor Perdue’s veto of the Energy Jobs Act?”

Total Agree – 31%

Total Disagree – 60%

Strongly Agree – 20%

Somewhat Agree – 12%

Somewhat Disagree – 18%

Strongly Disagree – 42%

Don’t Know/No Opinion – 8%

 

“Would you be more or less likely to vote for a legislator who voted to override or overturn this veto?”

Total More Likely – 58%
Total Less Likely – 30%

Much More Likely – 37%

Somewhat More Likely – 21%

Somewhat Less Likely – 12%

Much Less Likely – 18%

No Difference – 5%

Don’t Know/Refused – 7%

Click here for full results and crosstabs.

This poll of 600 registered general election voters in North Carolina was conducted July 12-13, 2011 by National Research, Inc. of Holmdel, NJ.  All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina.  For purposes of this study, voters interviewed had to have voted in at least one of the past three general elections (2006, 2008, 2010) or be newly registered to vote since November 2, 2010.

The confidence interval associated with a sample of this size is such that: 95 percent of the time, results from 600 interviews (registered voters) will be within +-4% of the “True Values.” True Values refer to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every person in North Carolina who had voted in at least one of the past three general elections or is newly registered since November 2, 2010.

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