An Update from the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service
Conducted March 9 through 18, 2026, the survey of 1,000 North Carolinians highlights a politically complex state on several policy issues: public education financing following the end of the Leandro case; federal involvement over elections; the impact of immigration status and enforcement on the state; and protecting the environment by the state.
Paid for by Catawba College’s Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service, the online survey was conducted by YouGov with an overall margin of error of plus/minus 3.58 percent; subgroups reported will have higher margins of error. As with all surveys of public opinion, results should be viewed as informative and not determinative.
NORTH CAROLINIANS AGAINST TAX INCREASES FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Following the North Carolina Supreme Court’s dismissal of the long-running Leandro school funding case, a plurality of North Carolinians—47 percent—oppose raising taxes to increase funding for public education.
“With the end of the nearly thirty-year Leandro case and its multibillion dollar plan to address educational inequalities between poor and rich counties, only 27 percent of North Carolinians would support raising taxes for public schools,” said Dr. Michael Bitzer, professor of politics and history and director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service.
No partisan group reaches majority support for raising taxes. While 43 percent of Democrats favor the idea, nearly half of Independents (47 percent) and two-thirds of Republicans (67 percent) oppose it.
Generational divides are also evident: nearly two-thirds of Millennials and Generation Z (under age 45) support raising taxes, while older North Carolinians—particularly those in the Silent and Baby Boomer generations—oppose it, with 58 percent against.
BROAD OPPOSITION TO FEDERAL CONTROL OF ELECTIONS
Amid renewed national debate over federal involvement in elections advocated by President Donald Trump, North Carolinians express clear resistance to national oversight of election administration and vote counting by the states.
Nearly half of respondents—48 percent—oppose federal control of elections in certain states, while 49 percent oppose such a move in North Carolina specifically.
“With President Trump’s repeated calls for federalizing elections and recent actions regarding mail-in voting, North Carolinians are clear: they oppose federal overreach in administering elections,” Bitzer said.
Partisan divides remain pronounced. While 60 percent of Republicans support federal involvement in other states’ elections—and 53 percent support it in North Carolina—large majorities of Democrats (75 percent) and Independents (55 percent) oppose federal control in both contexts. Currently, the North Carolina State Board of Elections oversees the state’s election administration within the hundred counties, and is under the State Auditor, Republican Dave Boliek.
“Even with Republican oversight of North Carolina’s elections, many in the GOP support federal involvement,” Bitzer added.
STRONG SUPPORT FOR COLLEGE EARLY VOTING ACCESS
The survey also finds broad agreement on improving voting access for college students.
A majority of North Carolinians (57 percent) support having early voting sites on college and university campuses, while just 14 percent oppose the idea. Support spans party lines, including 81 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of Independents, and a plurality (42 percent) of Republicans.
Eight in ten respondents say it is important to make it easier for college students to vote, including 70 percent of Republicans, 81 percent of Independents, and 96 percent of Democrats.
Concerns about fairness appear limited: only 15 percent say campus voting sites are unfair to non-students, while pluralities say such access either benefits both parties equally (34 percent) or has no partisan impact (29 percent).
When asked whether the location of voting sites affects turnout, 30 percent say it makes a major difference and 40 percent say it makes a minor difference.
STATE DIVIDED ON IMMIGRATION AND ICE
North Carolinians are sharply divided over immigration and the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the state.
Overall, 41 percent oppose ICE’s presence, compared to 38 percent who support it. The divide is strongly partisan: 81 percent of Republicans support ICE, while 71 percent of Democrats oppose it. Independents tilt against ICE by a 13-point margin (47 percent to 34 percent).
“Not surprisingly, it’s a partisan division that drives these numbers, with 83 percent of Trump 2024 voters supporting ICE in the state, while 78 percent of Harris 2024 voters are opposed,” Bitzer said.
Views also differ sharply based on immigration status. Six in ten North Carolinians believe legal immigrants have a positive impact on the state, while only one-third say the same of undocumented immigrants. Forty-five percent say undocumented immigrants have a negative impact.
NORTH CAROLINA COULD PROTECT ENVIRONMENT MORE
A plurality of North Carolinians—47 percent—believe the state could do more protect the environment, with 40 percent saying environmental protection is about right by the state. Of the overall plurality wanting more environmental protection, a third of North Carolinians say there’s not enough, while 13 percent say there’s far too little environmental protection.
Majorities of Democrats and Independents say North Carolina state government could be more proactive when it comes to environmental protection, while a majority of Republicans say enough is being done, with a quarter of the GOP saying more needs to be done and another quarter saying there’s more than enough protection.
This is the second release from the Catawba College-YouGov March 2026 survey. The next release will focus on knowledge of U.S. constitutional powers by North Carolinians and their opinions on when there is noncompliance with constitutional authority.
