Last week, Civitas Poll released its annual statewide survey of unaffiliated voters.
There are approximately 2.2 million registered unaffiliated voters in North Carolina, which is 31.5 percent of registered voters. Unaffiliateds are less prevalent than registered Democrats (38.1 percent) and slightly more common than registered Republicans (29.9 percent).
Since they make up almost a third of registered voters in the state, it is clear that unaffiliateds have substantial impacts on state elections. In terms of ideology, unaffiliated voters are a diverse group. They have no “party platform” by which state leaders can learn about their policy preferences. The August 2018 Civitas Poll helps to shed light on the opinions and policy leanings of this elusive voting bloc. Some highlights from the poll include:
- A majority of unaffiliated voters expressed support for three constitutional amendments that will be on this Novembers ballot: the right to hunt and fish (65 percent support), Voter ID (63 percent support), and lowering the income tax cap (60 percent support).
- Democrats held advantages in three generic ballot questions: state legislature, state judicial races, and congressional races.
- Fifty-one percent of respondents felt that the economy is improving, while only 15 percent believe it is getting worse.
The impact of unaffiliated voters varies on a county-by-county basis. Edgecombe County has the lowest percent of unaffiliated voters at 13.9 percent. Currituck County has the highest unaffiliated ratio, with 42.2 percent of voters registered unaffiliated. There are 10 counties in which unaffiliateds are the largest registered voting group – Camden, Currituck, Dare, Henderson, Jackson, New Hanover, Onslow, Polk, Transylvania, and Watauga.
Explore our interactive map below to learn about voter registration in each county.
For more information on unaffiliated voters, view the full unaffiliated Civitas Poll results here.
