By Michael Bitzer
Much has been made about the state of our polarized and divided politics, and if anyone needs a potential case study of that environment, one could look no further than the Old North State. But what about the core ideas and principles of American democracy: are North Carolinians as divided on the fundamental concepts of our democracy as we are in terms of public policies and pure partisanship?
The Catawba-YouGov Survey polled 1,000 North Carolinians in June about their attitudes regarding various principles of American democracy: governing authority, civic participation, and rights & liberties (the links go to the spreadsheets for each category and the crosstab data).
In doing so, I wanted to explore what the levels of importance (very or somewhat important) that North Carolinians would place on critical components to the notion of self-governance. While I wasn’t sure what would be a sufficient number to say North Carolinians agreed on these democratic principles (ideally, all principles would garner 100 percent importance), I set the bar at principles garnering 80 percent (or higher) saying it was important as demonstrating a sense of agreement. Those principles that were between 60 and 80 percent show some critical differences when it comes to democratic values and ideas.
While there were some stark differences over key principles and ideas to a democracy, 39 of the 51 principles garnered at least 80 percent of North Carolinians saying the principle was important. Obviously North Carolinians--and particularly partisans--believe that there are a significant majority of core principles of American democracy that are important to our civic health.
However, there were some fundamental issues regarding the importance of some democratic principles: a quarter were below 80 percent of North Carolinians rating them as important, most notably among rights & liberties.
I’ll take each of the three broad categories and review some ‘big takeaways’ from the polling data: again, most North Carolinians agree on many of the principles within each, but among those with key differences, I’ll explore that data a bit more in-depth.
Principles of Governing Authority
This set of principles, dealing with concepts such as ‘checks & balances’ and the power/authority that each branch of government has, garnered the highest percentage of principles that obtained 80 percent of North Carolinians agreeing on their importance. Of the nineteen principles, sixteen of them had at least 80 percent ‘importance’ agreement by respondents (listed by overall level of importance):
- Laws should be clear, accessible to all, and predictable so that citizens can understand their rights and obligations.
- Government officials should be open and transparent when they make decisions.
- Laws are passed in open and transparent ways through the system of checks and balances.
- Regardless of party affiliation, government officials are accountable for their actions and can be legally sanctioned for misconduct when they violate the law.
- Elected officials hold themselves accountable to their constituents, no matter the political party affiliation of either.
- Government officials should not withhold information or the basis for their decisions from the public.
- When the president or members of his cabinet exercise authority, it must be within the limits of the U.S. Constitution, no matter what they individually believe the law is.
- Judges determine the outcomes of cases based only on the law and the facts of each case.
- Regardless of party affiliation, government officials do not use public office for private gain.
- Regardless of which political party is in power, government agencies are not used to monitor, attack, or punish political opponents.
- When legitimate laws come into conflict with arbitrary decisions made by government officials, it is the law that prevails.
- Law enforcement investigations of public officials or their associates are free from political influence or interference.
- Government statistics and data are produced by experts who are not influenced by political considerations.
- Government effectively prevents private actors from engaging in politically motivated violence or intimidation.
- The elected branches (Congress and the president) respect judicial independence.
- The legislature determines the level of federal spending, and if the president agrees, the president must execute that spending.
From 92 to 81 percent in ‘importance,’ these principles run the spectrum of ideas about governing authority: from transparency to government officials’ conduct and abuse of power, these principles are critical to the effectiveness of government institutions and the individuals who compose those institutions (the president, members of Congress, and federal judges).
However, three governing principles were in the 70 percent range of importance by North Carolinians:
- The ambitions of one branch of the U.S. government must counter the ambitions of the other branches of government.
- The legislature is able to effectively limit executive power.
- Judges are able to effectively limit executive power.
These principles are classic “checks & balances” ideas that many Americans know of. The principle of “ambition counters ambition” is found in the classic writing of American political thought: Federalist #51 by James Madison.
Madison made the argument that by dividing power among various government branches, and at times forcing the separated governing branches to ‘share’ power (for example, law making, treaty ratification, and war powers between the legislative and executive branches), this principle would enable that not only would government be able to control the governed, but government would control itself:
The Interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. (Emphasis added)
Only 73 percent of North Carolinians ranked as important the ‘ambition counter ambition’ principle, and within the data, there are some surprising differences. Among those who identified as liberal/very liberal, 68 percent said this principle was very important. But among conservatives/very conservative, only 38 percent said it was very important.
This ideological divide is even more apparent among the other two principles of checking the executive branch: 81 percent of liberal/very liberal respondents said it was very important that Congress check the president, with 83 percent saying it was important that judges check the president.
Among conservative/very conservative North Carolinians, however, only a third said it was very important that Congress check the president, with 28 percent saying it was very important that judges check the chief executive.
Principles of Civic Participation
Among the principles that garnered at least 80 percent of importance by North Carolinians:
- All adult citizens have equal opportunity to vote.
- Elections are conducted, ballots counted, and winners determined without pervasive fraud or manipulation.
- All votes have equal impact on election outcomes.
- Elections are free from foreign influence.
- Citizens have access to information about candidates that is relevant to how they would govern.
- Citizens can make their opinions heard in open debate about policies that are under consideration.
- Information about the sources of campaign funding is available to the public.
- Voter participation in elections is generally high.
- Even when there are disagreement about ideology or policy, political leaders and elected officials generally share a common understanding of relevant facts.
- It is a fundamental responsibility for citizens to vote in all elections.
- The way electoral districts are drawn doesn't consistently favor one political party over the other.
- Public policy is not determined by large campaign contributions.
- Parties and candidates are not barred due to their political beliefs.
Notable numbers of North Carolinians identified as important some key principles of civic participation: free and fair elections, campaign information availability to citizens, and not 'tilting' the game of electoral politics to favor one group over another.
But again, three principles garnered a level of importance by North Carolinians in the 70 percent range:
- Elected officials seek compromise with political opponents.
- Political competition occurs without criticism of opponents' loyalty or patriotism.
- Incumbent politicians who lose elections publicly concede defeat.
Two of these three principles saw the greatest partisan differences between Democrats and Republicans: a 15 point gap regarding the public concession of defeat principle and a 20 point gap with the political opponents’ loyalty or patriotism criticism. Seeking compromise only had a 5 point gap between partisans.
Not surprising, voters who supported Harris versus Trump in 2024 had very different views of these two principles with the largest gaps. Two-thirds of respondents who said they voted for Harris in 2024 said it was very important incumbent politicians who lose publicly concede, while only 39 percent of Trump 2024 voters said it was very important.
A smaller gap existed between Harris and Trump voters was over political competition without criticizing the loyalty or patriotism of opponents, with 63 percent of Harris voters and 41 percent of Trump voters saying this principle was very important.
Principles of Rights & Liberties
Finally, what do North Carolinians think about a set of rights and liberties Americans have and their importance to American democracy? Within this group, ten out of sixteen principles received at least 80 percent of respondents saying it was important, the lowest percentage (63 percent) of the three groups.
The ten rights and liberties that were over 80 percent ‘important’ include:
- When charged with violating the law, evidence must be presented in an open and transparent manner within a court of law.
- When charged with violating the law, persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
- When charged with violating the law, persons have the right to a jury of their peers to determine their guilt or innocence.
- Citizens can only be punished when found in violation of the law through an open and fair process.
- Citizens have basic rights and processes that the government or governmental officials must respect.
- All adult citizens enjoy the same legal and political rights.
- Both the law and the administration of the law and government can be freely and publicly criticized by citizens.
- Government protects individuals' right to engage in peaceful protest.
- The law is enforced equally for all persons, no matter their status or connections.
- Government protects individuals' right to engage in unpopular speech or expression.
Notably, strong consensus is present regarding those principles dealing with criminal law, as well as equal protection of the law and freedom of speech and protest.
Two principles were just under the 80 percent threshold, both at 79 percent: ‘if suspected of breaking the law, all persons must have the charges publicly disclosed,’ and ‘Government does not interfere with journalists or news organizations in reporting the news.’
Three-quarters of North Carolinians said the principle that ‘Universities, businesses, and professional organizations operate independently of government pressure’ was important. But within the partisan identification of this question, nine out of ten Democrats said it was important, while only two-thirds of Republicans said so.
The bottom three rights and liberties garnered a level of importance in the sixties, the only principles to do so in the entire survey:
- 69 percent said it was an important right/liberty ‘if a person is born on American soil, they are considered a citizen of the United States.’
- 67 percent said it was an important right/liberty ‘if a person is born on American soil, they are considered a citizen of the United States, even if their parents are non-citizens.’
- And only 61 percent who said it was an important right/liberty that ‘when the U.S. Constitution guarantees rights to 'all persons,' this includes both citizens and non-citizens.’
All three of these lowest principles share the citizenship concept. While Democrats ranged from 86 to 92 percent importance, and independents were 64 to 70 percent of importance, less than half of Republicans indicated these three principles were important: 47 percent for birthright citizenship, 45 percent for birthright citizenship + parents, and 38 percent for ‘all persons’ under the 14th Amendment’s protections.
The Biggest Takeaway? There Are More Commonalities Than Differences in Core Principles
Significant majorities of North Carolinians--no matter their political stripes--believe that core principles of American democracy are important. Across the three broad categories of governing authority, civic participation, and rights and liberties, North Carolinians believe that fundamental concepts to a democratic republic are important.
But thanks to our polarized environment, it's not surprising that a quarter of the core principles garnered important differences among partisans--particular when it comes to the principles of American citizenship. Who can be an American has always been a struggle throughout our nation's history and the current times still call this issue into question.
Another fault line in this survey revolves around the principle of winners & losers in American politics and how each are treated. Criticizing political opponents as lacking loyalty, failure to seek compromise in a governing system that often demands such a principle, and acknowledging loss in an election are issues of critical concern in a time that the divide is only greater. But many of these principles on the lower end of importance require fundamental beliefs and attitudes within human behavior.
And with the strength of partisanship dominating Americans' overall identities, it's unlikely we'll see those principles shift in their importance anytime soon. We have to hope that future readings of public opinion won't see further erosion of their importance to North Carolinians.
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Dr. Michael Bitzer directs the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service, which created and funded this public opinion poll of 1,000 North Carolinas; YouGov conducted the online survey from June 10-25, 2025.
YouGov interviewed 1,126 respondents who were then matched down to a sample of 1,000 to produce the final dataset. The respondents were matched to a sampling frame on gender, age, race, and education. The sampling frame is a politically representative "modeled frame" of US adults, based upon the American Community Survey (ACS) public use microdata file, public voter file records, the 2020 Current Population Survey (CPS) Voting and Registration supplements, the 2020 National Election Pool (NEP) exit poll, and the 2020 CES surveys, including demographics and 2020 presidential vote.
The matched cases were weighted to the sampling frame using propensity scores. The matched cases and the frame were combined, and a logistic regression was estimated for inclusion in the frame. The propensity score function included age, gender, race/ethnicity, years of education, and region. The propensity scores were grouped into deciles of the estimated propensity score in the frame and post-stratified according to these deciles.
The weights were then post-stratified on 2020 and 2024 presidential vote choice as well as a four-way stratification of gender, age (4-categories), race (4-categories), and education (4-categories), to produce the final weight.
