High Point Poll: Likely voters say they are very interested in election
Published October 14, 2016
by High Point University, October 12, 2016.
On a scale from zero to 10, 64 percent of North Carolina likely voters ranked themselves at the top of the scale as very interested in the 2016 presidential election, according to a new High Point University/News & Record Poll. They also answered questions about how they’ve been receiving and seeking information out about the campaigns.
When asked how they get news and information about campaigns on a regular basis, 55 percent said they watched television news daily; 47 percent said they read about public affairs and politics on the internet daily; and 40 percent said they read about politics and political affairs in a newspaper daily.
When asked whether they had been contacted or received information about the Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, or both campaigns from multiple sources, 86 percent likely voters said they had received information about both major presidential campaigns from television advertisements, along with the internet (54 percent) and radio (51 percent). For local and state campaigns, 83 percent said they had received information from television advertisements, with radio (58 percent) and the internet (50 percent) following.
A large majority of likely voters – 68 percent – said they had received direct mail about state and local candidates. Only about 25 percent of these same likely voters said they had received direct mail from both presidential candidates, with 17 percent saying they received direct mail from Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and 11 percent saying they received direct mail from Donald Trump’s campaign.
Some other means of communication are apparently not reaching many voters. More than 80 percent of likely voters said neither the Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton campaigns had communicated to them through text messages (85 percent), door-to-door visits from campaign staff (89 percent), or friends or family members who were working on campaigns (86 percent). These voters also had not received these types of campaign contacts from state and local candidates. More than 80 percent of voters said they had not been contacted by state or local candidates by friends or family working on a campaign (89 percent), text message (96 percent), or campaign staff going door to door (91 percent).
“There is no doubt that voters are interested in the election, and the campaigns are working hard to communicate to them,” says Brian McDonald, the associate director of the HPU Poll and adjunct professor. “One of the big questions of this election cycle is whether the traditional sources of advertisements—that these voters cite as the most likely place for them to receive campaign information—have much power to shape the outcome of campaign.”
