Research Reports

Featured Research Reports

Democracy North Carolina is recognized nationwide for our reliable non-partisan research into money in politics, voter participation and political reform.

Connect to our Research Library for a list of our research reports. Some information is released only as a press statement or as a blog item on our "Link of the Day." Use the Search feature in the upper right of this page to find reports about a topic. You are welcome to download and distribute these reports for all non-commercial purposes.

For more on the philosophy behind our research activities, please visit the Research page in our What We Do section.

Serving the Public Good

Research Logo Democracy North Carolina is recognized nationwide for objective, nonpartisan research into money in politics and voter participation.

We use our research skills to identify election- or ethics-related problems as well as needed improvements in each of these areas. We then distribute our findings to the media, the public and our partners.In the past, our research reports have led to BOE and law enforcement investigations of corrupt officials, inspired new legislation to toughen ethics and lobbying laws, highlighted the transparent practices of elected officials who follow the law and do a good job of reporting their campaign donations, and led to electoral reform.

We also use our research to inform our advocacy, organizing and civic engagement strategies, and to evaluate the effectiveness of reforms we have won.

You may download and distribute our research free-of-charge for non-commercial purposes.

Check out our complete research library >>

$7 Million = $I Billion?

Recent Democracy NC analysis showed that three dozen of North Carolina’s biggest political action committees donated $7 million to state candidates and political parties in the 2008 election – and that the people and companies behind these donations were receiving special tax breaks worth at least $1 billion a year from NC. This research caught the eye of the media as well as lawmakers struggling to draft a fair budget in tough economic times. Reports by others also highlight correlations between specific donors and earmarked projects or special interest breaks. That deals exist is nothing new to most people – but sometimes it takes a stark example and a shocking figure to jolt people into action.

Download the report that makes the link here.>>

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Are You With the Media?

If you are with the media and have questions about any of these reports or would like a comment for a story, please contact Democracy NC’s Executive Director Bob Hall at sprc@mindspring.com or at 919-489-1931. You can also sign up for our research distribution list and receive notification of all future research reports when they are available.

Spotlight on Ethics

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Former NC governor Mike Easley came under media scrutiny in early 2009 for a host of problems, including undisclosed and apparent illegal gifts of cars and airplane trips.

Democracy NC conducted its own investigation into possible violations of election law related to a number of in-kind donations by major political donors to the NC Democratic Party for the benefit of Mike Easley Committee.

Our research led us to conclude that the Democratic Party had been illegally used as a conduit for contributions to the Mike Easley Committee. We reported our findings to the state Board of Elections, requested an investigative hearing.

Ten days later, the Democratic Party forfeited more than $24,000 related to the improper donations we had detailed in our report.

After five days of hearings (October 26-30, 2009), the State Board of Elections identified additional violations involving earmarked contributions, fined the Easley Committee $100,000, ordered the Democratic Party to forfeit $9,000 and referred Mike Easley “and others” to the District Attorney for criminal investigation.

Download our report and link to the televised State Board hearings for more on this matter.

Review our recent press releases highlighting the impact of our research on North Carolina for a better idea of the kinds of things we cover at Democracy North Carolina.