The people of North Dakota are calling for a major shift away from the current policies of the Legacy Fund, according to a new North Dakota Poll conducted by the North Dakota News Cooperative (NDNC).
By an overwhelming margin of 68% to 6%, voters say the State Investment Board (SIB) should invest most of the money in the Legacy Fund “within the state of North Dakota” instead of continuing its current policy of investing most of the money out-of-state and in foreign countries.
The strong support for major changes in the management of the Legacy Fund cuts across all demographic categories, media markets and political party preferences.
Women voters over the age of 55, for example, support a shift away from the current policies by a margin of 73% to 2%. “These results leave no doubt. The people of North Dakota want major policy changes and they know what they want their sovereign wealth fund to be used for,” said Dr. Trevor Smith, the Chief Research Officer of WPA Intelligence, the national research firm that conducted the survey. “They are sending a powerful message to your State Investment Board.” Specifically, by a 60% to 18% margin, voters want the Legacy Fund to be more concerned about economic development projects in the state and less about returns from investments in stocks and bonds.
And, by a 59% to 17% margin, voters are even open to using the Legacy Fund for things like property tax relief which go beyond the traditional definitions of investments. “These large margins tell me that the voters want the Legacy Fund to directly benefit themselves and their communities,” Smith said. “ND Poll results demonstrate that what the State Investment Board is doing and what the voters want them to do is emerging as an issue,” said Steve Andrist, co-chair of the NDNC.
Dr. Smith said the poll found other concerns voters have with the SIB – concerns that can lead to an erosion of trust if not addressed. “The voters want more transparency about the investments being made with their tax dollars,” said Smith. By a margin of 84% to 6%, voters want the SIB to publish the list of Legacy Fund investments on its website or elsewhere so they don’t have to go through a formal process to find out where their money is invested.
Smith added that support is “wide and deep” for more transparency and highlighted the fact that selfidentified Republicans, Independents and Democrats all support publishing the list of investments at levels exceeding 80%, poll results show. Independent voters, who make up a third of the electorate, support publishing the investments by a margin of 88% to 5%. Additionally, voters with college degrees support this policy change by an 89% to 7% margin while those with a post-graduate degree support the change by a 91% to 3% margin.
The poll also shows that North Dakotans are not familiar with the SIB and how it manages their tax dollars. Fifty-five percent (55%) of all voters are “very unfamiliar” with the SIB and only 3% are “very familiar” with the Board and its management of the fund. “This is an important government board but it’s a mystery to most voters,” said Smith.
“Our new poll has discovered a major disconnect between what the voters want from their Legacy Fund and what their public officials are doing with it,” said Jill Denning Gackle, an NDNC co-chair. “Before we conducted the survey, our research found that the State Investment Board calls the Legacy Fund ‘the people’s fund.’ But these results show that the public may not understand what that means. They are not making a connection with the Legacy Fund and their own lives or communities.”
Finally, the poll suggests that interest in the 2024 election is growing. Those who “definitely” plan to vote has risen to 78%, up from 71% in the previous ND Poll just three months ago.
The Legacy Fund is a sovereign wealth fund created from a tax on oil and gas production in the state. North Dakota voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2010 to establish the fund. According to state government records, the fund is valued at $9.8 billion with an average monthly deposit of over $54 million for the past 12 years. Unlike state pension funds, the Legacy Fund has no future obligations it is required to pay.
The new North Dakota Poll of 500 eligible and likely voters interviewed between February 4-6, 2024, has a margin of error of +/- 4.4%.
The North Dakota News Cooperative will be releasing new survey results on a series of energy and environmental issues on Tuesday, February 20.
The North Dakota News Cooperative is a new non-profit news organization providing reliable and independent reporting on issues and events that impact the lives of North Dakotans. The organization increases the public’s access to quality journalism and advances news literacy across the state. For more information about NDNC or to make a charitable contribution, please visit newscoopnd.org. WPA Intelligence is a leading national provider of survey research, predictive analytics, and data management technology to assist in survey design, representative sampling, programming, fielding and data analysis.
