Polling indicates public perceptions about money in politics and the need for campaign finance reform. For example, a poll released by Newsweek on October 23, 1999 evaluated the following problems in politics. (Poll conducted 10/21-22/1999 by Princeton Survey Research Associates; surveyed 755 adults; margin of error +/- 4%)

How Big a Problem in Politics Today are:	Major Concern	Somewhat a Concern	Not a Concern
1) Good people being discouraged from running for office by the high cost of campaigns?	63%	24%	9%
2) Political contributions having too much influence on elections and government policy?	59%	31%	7%

Polling also reveals people's views about how money in politics affects legislators and lawmaking. A poll by the Mellman Group done in March of 2000 for Public Campaign asked several questions on this topic. The sample size was 800 likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.5%.
 

Question	Results
Do we need to make major changes, minor changes, or no changes in the way we finance election campaigns?	59% major changes	26% minor changes	9% no changes
When a member of Congress is elected with the help of special interest contributions, how much do you think it affects his or her votes on issues of concerns to those groups?	87% affects	9% does not affect	4% don't know
If a politician opposes campaign finance reform which of the following is the most important reason	69% believed he felt that campaign finance reform would hurt his changes of being re-elected	24% believed he thought that campaign finance reform was a limitation on free speech and would be bad for the country	16% not sure about this

The Nation published a poll done by Lake Snell Perry and Associates in June of 2000 that compared the views of political contributors who gave $1000 or more to any federal election candidate in the 1996 election cycle with the opinions of average voters on several key questions.
 

Questions	Response Options	Voters opinion	Campaign contributors opinion
Who is in most control in Washington D.C.?	Special interests and lobbyists	52%	41%
	Citizens and voters	5%	12%
A corporation makes a large campaign contribution and then receives a government contract. Is that ethical?	Normal and ethical	19%	44%
	It's legalized bribery	71%	43%

A national poll of 300 corporate executives was done by The Tarrance Group for the Committee for Economic Development. This survey was done from mid-September to mid-October of 2000 and has a margin of error of + 5.8%. Key findings from this survey include:

• 79% agree that the current campaign finance system has spawned an arms race for cash that continues to get more-and-more out of control
• 75% agree that business leaders believe that political contributions give them an advantage in the shaping of legislation
• 73% believe that Corporate America contributes to political campaigns because it wants something in return
• 51% agree that many business executives fear adverse legislative consequences to themselves or their industry if they turn down requests for campaign contributions from high-ranking political leaders and/or political operatives

© 2003, Money in Politics Research Action Project
Last Updated March 4, 2003