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Rutgers-Eagleton Poll also finds leadership by citizens groups needed to raise ethical standards

As New Jersey voters elected a corruption-busting former U.S. Attorney to the Governor's Office, a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll of state residents finds overwhelming belief that New Jersey politics is corrupt, with more than half believing the state is more corrupt than other states. At the same time, they are divided about the harshness of punishment to be meted out to those accused of corruption, believing accused officials should not summarily have their pay and benefits cut off, but that they should be forced to leave office upon being accused.

The poll of 903 New Jersey adults was fielded October 15-20 and has a margin of error of +/-3.3 percentage points.

Perceptions of Corruption in New Jersey

Almost two-thirds of respondents (65 percent) say there is "a lot" of political corruption in New Jersey, while 26 percent say there is "some" and only 5 percent say there is "little" political corruption. In comparison, when asked about corruption in New Jersey business, 80 percent are evenly split between "a lot" and "some" corruption, and 10 percent think there is only a little corruption.

A similar question on political corruption asked by a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll in October 2007 also found 65 percent thought there was a lot of corruption in New Jersey. In August 2004, only 45 percent felt the same.

"The comparison with beliefs about business is instructive," said David Redlawsk, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll and professor of political science. "A large share of New Jerseyans thinks corruption pervades both business and politics, but many more seem to find politics especially corrupt. Moreover, they have become more negative over the past few years. The result is increased cynicism and negativity about government and politics."

Exit polls show that while corruption was the No. 1 issue for only 20 percent of Tuesday's voters, both Republican Chris Christie and Democrat Jon Corzine were viewed quite negatively by many in the electorate. "Many voters are unhappy about corruption but at the same time they are doubtful that any politician can really clean things up," said Redlawsk.

When asked to compare states, 54 percent of respondents say that New Jersey is more corrupt than other states, while 40 percent believe corruption in New Jersey is about the same as elsewhere. Only 3 percent believe New Jersey is less corrupt.

The results show a dramatic surge over the past decade in the belief that New Jersey is more corrupt. Redlawsk noted that in a 1974 poll, only 16 percent thought New Jersey was more corrupt than other states, and the percentage dropped to 11 percent in 2002. "With recent high-profile corruption arrests and convictions, New Jerseyans have become much more negative about how corrupt their state really is," he said.

Penalties for Officials Accused of Corruption

After the July 2009 arrests of legislators and local officials on corruption charges, Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. announced the immediate cutoff of pay and benefits to three legislators who had been accused. By 58 percent to 36 percent, poll respondents say that such penalties should be applied only after conviction. But when asked if officials who have only been accused of corruption should be forced to leave office, 50 percent say yes; 42 percent say such officials should be allowed to stay in office until found guilty.