Polls Find NC Supports Marriage

Special Report - October 14, 2011
A new poll by Public Policy Polling has found strong support for the proposed Marriage Protection Amendment that will be put before North Carolina voters in the 2012 primary election. The newly-released poll, asked 671 likely primary voters whether they would “vote for or against a constitutional amendment to provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State?” and found that 61 percent support the marriage amendment, while 34 percent oppose it and 5 percent are unsure. 

The poll also found broad bipartisan support for the proposed amendment, with Republicans favoring the amendment 80-17 percent; Independents in favor by 52-43 percent; and Democrats by 49-44 percent. Additionally, a majority of all age brackets supported the amendment, even among the youngest age group of 18-29 year olds (53-44 percent). The proposed amendment also earned strong support from African-Americans by a 71-24 margin in support of the amendment.

The proposed marriage amendment gives North Carolinians the opportunity to protect the institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman by placing the definition in the state constitution. If a majority of voters support the amendment, North Carolina would become the thirty-first state to add a Marriage Protection Amendment to the State Constitution.

The results of the Public Policy Polling survey closely mirror the results of a September 2011 poll recently released by the Civitas Institute, which found that 62 percent of likely North Carolina voters support the proposed amendment, while 31 percent of those polled oppose the amendment and 7 percent responded as being undecided or not sure about their stance on the proposal.

“A diversity of pollsters, exemplified by the recent Public Policy Polling and Civitas results, continue to find what marriage supporters have long known— a bipartisan majority of Americans and North Carolinians value the protection of marriage,” said Bill Brooks, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council. “After waiting eight years for a marriage amendment to be allowed on the ballot, these polls only confirm the fact that the people of North Carolina continue to want to protect marriage in our state as the most important and foundational institution in society.”

Related resources:
Likely Voters Support the Marriage Amendment - October 6, 2011
Marriage Scores on Survey - June 20, 2011
Elon Poll Shows Question Bias - March 2, 2011
Marriage Amendment Support Continues - January 3, 2011

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