The correct response was c) 82% of respondents agreed that all political contributions should be disclosed: No more “dark money” in Minnesota.
See below for a summer of all responses to our questions on the SCSU survey.
SCSU survey results: A nonpartisan road map for electoral reform
Minnesotans support election reforms to eliminate anonymous contributions (“dark money”), unlimited spending, special interest domination, and gerrymandering. These are the findings of a survey commissioned by Clean Elections Minnesota and conducted in October 2020 by Saint Cloud State University.
Eliminate Dark Money
Minnesotans want to know who gives to campaigns and how much. By 82% respondents agree “all contributions to political campaigns should be publicly disclosed.” Only 13% favor continuing to allow contributions to “remain private.”
Limit Campaign Contributions [DSM Note: contributions differ from campaign spending]
Minnesotans want to reduce the political influence of wealthy special interests. A majority of 55% oppose US Supreme Court Decisions that allow wealthy special interests, rich individuals, and corporations to contribute unlimited amounts to aid political campaigns.
Increase Public Campaign Funding
A strong majority of 58% of respondents “support increased partial financing of political campaigns to reduce dependence on funding by special interest groups.” A minority of 37% oppose the increase.
End Politically Biased Redistricting
Minnesotans recognize the inherent conflict of interest that drives legislators to draw district boundaries to favor their party. By 65% respondents “prefer the creation of an independent citizens commission to draw those maps.” Only 13% support continuing to allow legislators to create the maps.
Solutions
Clean Elections Minnesota, formerly known as Minnesota Citizens for Clean Elections, supports legislation to address each concern by
- 1.Requiring public disclosure of all contributions
- 2.Amending the state constitution to end unlimited campaign contributions
- 3.Increasing state funding of campaigns to offset special interest influence
- 4.Creating an independent citizens commission to draw congressional and legislative district boundaries.
Findings are based on telephone interviews done from 10/10/20 to 10/29/20 with a representative sample of 372 adult Minnesota residents. The margin of sampling error is 6.7% at the 95% confidence level.
Contact: George Beck, CEM President–952-836-4149 or georgeabeck@aol.com
