An Update from the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service
North Carolinians have a deep respect for the U.S. Constitution on its 238th anniversary, but believe that the nation’s governing document needs revision to reflect modern challenges, according to a new Catawba-YouGov Survey released on Constitution Day.
The survey also shows an overwhelming number who believe that the nation’s Framers of the Constitution would be disappointed in the state of American politics and governance today.
“As the nation celebrates Constitution Day, it appears that North Carolinians still respect our governing document,” said Dr. Michael Bitzer, director of the Center for North Carolina Politics & Public Service who wrote and paid for the survey as part of Catawba College’s celebration of Constitution Day. “However, if the authors of the Constitution came back to America today, large numbers of North Carolinians believe the framers would be disappointed in the state of the nation.”
The survey, conducted online by YouGov between August 11 and 18, 2025, interviewed 1194 respondents who live in North Carolina, who were then matched down to a representative sample of 1,000 adults who are 18 and older. The survey’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.83 percent, meaning that in 95 out of 100 samples such as the one used here, the results should be at most 3.83 percentage points above or below the figure obtained by interviewing all North Carolinians. Where the results of subgroups are reported, the margin of error is higher. All survey results should be viewed as informative and not determinative.
Nearly two-thirds of North Carolinians say they are ‘somewhat’ familiar with the Constitution, with another 17 percent saying they are very familiar and have read the document in full. Eighteen percent have either heard of the Constitution but not read any part, or are not familiar with the document at all.
Nearly seven out of ten North Carolinians are satisfied with the governing document, with ten percent expressing dissatisfaction. However, there is a twenty-point satisfaction gap between self-identified partisans: 83 percent of Republicans were very or somewhat satisfied, compared to 63 percent of Democrats. Two-thirds of independents expressed satisfaction.
- Application to Today’s Issues: 62 percent believe the Constitution addresses today’s political and social issues well, while 30 percent say it does not. Partisan differences emerge again:
- 72 percent of Republicans say it addresses issues well
- 57 percent of Democrats agree
- Framers’ Perspective: An overwhelming 86 percent of North Carolinians believe the Framers would be ‘disappointed’ in the state of the country, while only 14 percent believe the Constitution’s drafters would approve.
- Feelings about need for Revisions: A majority—53 percent—say the Constitution needs revision, but maintain the basic ‘three branches’ structure. Four out of ten believe the Constitution is fine as is, while only eight percent believe the entire document should be replaced.
- Interpreting the Constitution: Four out of ten North Carolinians favor a mixed approach between a strict original intent and reading the document as a ‘living document.’ An even division was for one constitutional interpretation over the other:
- 28 percent prefer the ‘living document,’ or adapting the words in the Constitution to the meaning of today’s society
- 27 percent who believe in a strict original intent, or holding the original words to the time they were adopted in the Constitution and not adapted to today’s society.
Additional findings on North Carolinians’ attitudes towards constitutionalism and American democracy will be released at a Constitution Day event, beginning at 7:00 P.M. in the Corriher-Linn-Black Library on Catawba’s campus, with a panel composed of former N.C. chief justice Cheri Beasley, associate justice Robert Orr, and Catawba assistant professor of politics Dr. Allyson Yankle.
