Discrimination is unpopular with voters. That’s good news. Last month, the John Locke Foundation released new polling data revealing that North Carolina voters would support an amendment to the state constitution to ban discrimination or special treatment in public education, hiring, and contracting.
Nearly 70 percent of likely North Carolina voters said they would support an amendment “to prohibit the State and its political subdivisions from discriminating or granting preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, or public contracting.”
The question was part of a larger survey conducted by Cygnal, a national public opinion and predictive analytics firm. The survey was conducted from November 12 through 14, 2021, with 600 likely general election voters. According to Cygnal, the survey “has a margin of error of ±4.00%. Known registered voters were interviewed via live phones, SMS, and email invitation. The survey was weighted to a likely general election voter universe.”
The amendment is popular with voters regardless of their race and ethnicity. The survey revealed that 69.5 percent of white voters, 100 percent of Asian voters, 71.9 percent of black, and 68.6 percent of Hispanic voters support the amendments. Of voters who reported their race as “Other,” 54 percent supported the amendment. You can read more about race preferences in college admissions here.
Jenna A. Robinson is president of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal.
Originally published by The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. Republished with permission.
Is this an amendment which has been proposed by the NC Legislature or is this just another thought experiment which will go nowhere and is therefore useless?
I would hope that the heartland daily news would not waste our time with rhetorical “breaking news” items which have no basis in actual legislative actions as if anything were to really get done.
Thanks for your comment. The question refers to a proposal not yet offered in legislation but well worth considering. The refusal to “waste” one’s time on thinking about things that can be done leaves the field wide open to those who do think about these things. That is why the Left is so successful in getting their way and the Right is continually being caught flatfooted.
The issue of college admissions based on race is being considered in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that relates to Harvard, and would affect cases related to UNC (where a federal judge ruled in October that the university’s diversity goals were rational). Though judges, and justices, aren’t supposed to be swayed by polling, public opinion is relevant when considering what the meaning of words and governmental actions are to ordinary people.