Local News

Campaign 2012 through the eyes of UW faculty and students

RALEIGH, N.C. — The battle over Amendment One in North Carolina continues to receive national attention, as the outcome of the issue could ripple to other states. Amendment One would ban gay marriage and civil unions in the state constitution.

The Coalition to Protect NC Families, the primary organizational opponents of Amendment One, reported $2.26 million in direct dollars raised as of April 30. This gives them an almost 2-to-1 advantage over the primary organizational Amendment-One supporters Vote for Marriage NC, which had received a total of $1.19 million by the same date.

Two interesting nuggets are apparent in the reports.

First, opponents received more in contributions from individuals ($1.28 million) than the proponents had received overall.

Second, Vote for Marriage NC received far more contributions ($865,000) from nonprofit organizations than the opponents ($449,000). The Chicago Tribune broke these numbers down by main supporters for each side, noting that three contributors accounted for 75% of the money the pro-Amendment organization received.

Early voting has been open since April 19, and May 8 is the final day of the vote. Eyes from around the country are focused on the outcome.