BREAKING: Two Out of Three Voters Say Elected Officials Care More About Wealthy Donors Than Needs of Communities, Want ‘Clean Elections’ as Solution
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12th, 2024
Contact: team@cleanelectionshawaii.org
POLL: Two Out of Three Voters Say Elected Officials Care More About Wealthy Donors Than Needs of Communities, Want ‘Clean Elections’ as Solution
71% of voters support a Clean Elections program to publicly fund campaigns, with only 12% opposing.
9 in 10 say campaign contributions influence and obligate legislators, and 66% say elected officials care more about wealthy donors than communities.
[Link to SurveyUSA analysis and results]
HONOLULU, Hawaiʻi — More than 3 in 4 (78%) Hawai‘i voters believe legislators are influenced and obligated by campaign contributions and have had their trust in government impacted by recent corruption scandals, 2 in 3 (66%) believe elected officials care more about “wealthy donors” than the “needs of their communities,” and about the same amount (71%) support a “Clean Elections” publicly-financed elections program as a solution, according to a new poll conducted by SurveyUSA from February 27th - March 6th, 2024 and released by the Clean Elections Hawai‘i Coalition. The survey interviewed 1,008 registered and likely voters across Hawai‘i and found widespread and deep concern about money in politics and corruption in government, as well as broad and deep support for a “Clean Elections” program of public financing as a reform solution across ethnic and racial, gender, geographical, and political demographics.
“Clearly, the idea of Clean Elections is one with strong appeal to a very broad cross-section of Hawaii voters,” said Ken Alper, President of SurveyUSA who conducted the poll. “Two thirds of voters say their representatives care more about their donors than they do about local communities – and not coincidentally, two thirds of voters support a Clean Elections program in Hawaii. This tackles a major issue for voters, and that’s why you see such strong numbers in support of it.”
Poll results show strong support for a “publicly-financed elections” program across all likely voters, across all major ethnic groups, and across political parties, with 3 out of 4 likely Democratic and Republican primary voters supporting the program, and voters being 4 times more likely to support (42%) than oppose (10%) a candidate for office who supports Clean Elections.
At the same time, results are alarming as it relates to current concern over money in politics, private campaign financing, and trust in elected officials and the government. A jaw-dropping half or more of all voters think that private campaign contributions are “greatly” influencing or obligating their legislators and are concerned about the financial transparency of candidates running for office, with 9 out of 10 likely voters sharing these concerns to some degree. 2 out 3 likely voters believe elected officials are more focused on wealthy donors than the needs of their community, and 3 out of 4 have had their trust in government shaken by recent corruption scandals.
“This survey should be a wakeup call for our elected officials — ordinary working people do not trust that you are working in our communities’ interest.” said Sergio Alcubilla, Executive Director of the Hawai‘i Workers Center and a spokesperson for the Clean Elections Hawai‘i campaign. “Last year’s marginal reforms have not moved the needle on public perception or trust in legislators. But a solution is on the table and ready for legislators to win back the public trust and make meaningful reform to a system that many feel is rigged against them. It’s time we put the best interests of the community first. The time for Clean Elections is now.”
Opponents of Clean Elections in Hawai‘i have tried to point to its cost as a deterrent, and suggested that voters would not be willing to shoulder the burden. However, when asked directly about the cost per taxpayer of a Clean Elections program, 58% say the cost is reasonable while less than 1 in 4 believe it is unreasonable. [Maybe: Even when opposition framing which contains falsehoods about cost is shared about Clean Elections, voters still show net support for the program by double digits — 19 percentage points. Furthermore, voters seem enthusiastic about a variety of ways to pay for the program. Early this month, legislation for publicly financed elections described as the “last shot” for legislators to make reform before the elections passed the Hawai‘i Senate and was transferred to the House of Representatives, where today it was scheduled for a hearing on Thursday, March 14th in the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs committee at 2pm in Capitol Conference Room 325. Members of the media and the public are encouraged to attend.
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About SurveyUSA and the Polling Methodology: SurveyUSA is an independent, apolitical and non-partisan research organization that conducts custom, local opinion research for universities, non-profits, local and state governments and small to medium-sized businesses, ad agencies and public relations firms. Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight.com rates 517 polling firms on an ongoing basis, and no research company of any size scores as highly as SurveyUSA on four key metrics: SurveyUSA is in the 94th percentile for absence of partisan bias, the 98th percentile for accuracy, the 98th percentile for predictive value, and the 100th percentile for most prolific.
SurveyUSA interviewed 1,265 adult respondents from the entire state of Hawaii 02/27/24 through 03/06/24. Of the adults, 1,008 were identified by SurveyUSA as being registered to vote and were asked the substantive questions which follow. This research was conducted using a blended sample, mixed mode approach. 71% of registered voters were online panelists chosen randomly who were shown the survey questions on the display of their smartphone, laptop, or tablet. 29% of registered voters were texted on their cell phones by live operators who secured the cooperation of each respondent before linking them to an online survey. The pool of adult respondents was weighted to US Census targets for gender, age, ethnicity, education, and home ownership.
About Clean Elections Hawai‘i: The Clean Elections Hawaiʻi Coalition represents dozens of leading local organizations coordinating to advance a pro-democracy agenda in our islands and help end the corrupting influence of big money on our politics. Supporting organizations include: Common Cause Hawaiʻi, Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, League of Women Voters of Hawaiʻi, Our Hawaiʻi Action, The Hawaiʻi Workers Center, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, Lāhainā Strong, Free Access Coalition, Chamber of Sustainable Commerce, Global HOPE (Hawaiʻi Organization for Peace and the Environment), HOPE Services Hawaiʻi, Kauaʻi Women’s Caucus, Friends of Makakilo, Kauhakō ʻOhana Association, Living Wage Hawaii, 350 Hawaiʻi, Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi Education Caucus, Imua Alliance, Pono Hawaiʻi Initiative, Our Revolution Hawaiʻi, LGF Consulting, Community Alliance Partners, Habitat for Humanity Hawaii Island, Going Home Hawaii, Young Progressives Demanding Action, HULI PAC, Holomua Collaborative, League of Women Voters of Honolulu, Malama Makua, Americans for Democratic Action Hawaii, Indivisible Hawaii, Kihei Community Association, Aloha ʻĀina Women’s Patriotic League, Clarity Project, Funder Hui, Saturation Point, Hawaii-Fi, Makawalu Creatives, Energy Transitions, Public Citizen, Rethink Media, and more.
For more information, contact team@cleanelectionshawaii.org
