Poll: Election season has been more negative

Elon, N.C. — North Carolina residents say this election has seen more mudslinging and negative campaigning than have years past, according to the latest Elon University Poll, which was released late Monday.

Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed said this election was more negative, and 90 percent of respondents reported having seen negative advertisements. Of those residents who viewed the ads, 64 percent said they were “not at all effective” in influencing the candidate for which they will vote.

“Thrust into the national spotlight with very competitive elections, the state has seen its airwaves flooded with campaign advertisements,” said Hunter Bacot, director of the poll. “But North Carolinians don’t believe everything they see and hear.”

Sixty-nine percent of residents said they felt the overall tone has been negative for political ads in the state.

Twenty-five percent of residents described the McCain-Palin campaign as being “too negative or nasty,” compared with 8 percent who said that about the Obama-Biden ticket.

Most residents – 79 percent – feel they received enough information to make an informed choice at the polls this year. More than 50 percent said they gained most of their election information from local television news, followed by 38 percent from local newspapers and 37 percent from the Internet.

The poll surveyed 797 residents from Oct. 27-30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.