Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Americans who are aware of the new rules on independent expenditures that resulted from the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision in 2010 say they are having a negative impact on the 2012 presidential campaign.

Campaign advertisements funded by Super PACs have proliferated with the start of voting in caucus and primary states. Just over half (54%) of registered voters say they have heard about the 2010 Supreme Court decision that essentially created Super PACs by ruling that corporations and individuals can unlimited sums of money on political advertising as long as it is not coordinated with specific campaigns.

Fully 65% of people who are aware of the new rules on independent expenditures say they are having a negative effect on the 2012 presidential campaign. And among those who have heard ‘a lot’ about the new fundraising rules, an even higher 78% say the effect has been negative.

There is no substantial partisan divide in awareness and opinions of the new campaign spending rules. Roughly half of Republicans, Democrats and independents alike have heard about the ”Citizens United” decision, and among those who have heard about it, wide majorities in each group say it is having a negative effect. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.