(The Center Square) – Only 1 in 10 Americans believe the current checks and balances for the three branches of government are very effective, says a national poll released Thursday in North Carolina.

Sampling April 10-17 of 1,000 adults by the Elon University Poll found 32% said it is somewhat or very ineffective. In answering who has too much power, 46% said the executive branch, 27% the judiciary and 19% the legislative branch.

“Americans are clearly questioning whether the rule of law and our constitutional structure are built to withstand the pressures of the current political moment,” said Zak Kramer, dean of Elon University School of Law. “There’s a lot of uncertainty about how these disputes will turn out, and things are moving fast, so we shouldn’t be surprised that most Americans view these questions through a heavily polarized lens.”

Tuesday will be the 100th day in office for President Donald Trump. Through Tuesday of this week, nonpartisan law and policy journal Just Security documented 206 legal challenges to his administration’s actions. The New York Times, the Elon Poll said, has found 98 judicial rulings at a minimum temporarily pausing some of the administration’s efforts.

Trump’s approval ratings, according to the Elon poll, have gone from positive to negative since a Feb. 6-11 polling just weeks into his second term. His job performance is approved by 41% and disapproved by 47%; in February it was 45% approved and 41% disapproved.

Party lines are strong, according to the poll. His executive orders are opposed by 83% of Democrats and approved by 73% of Republicans.

Survey answers were split nearly evenly on the U.S. Supreme Court – 51% confident, 49% little or no confidence. Only 21% believe it is balanced when considering conservative and liberal.

Regarding the Department of Justice, 69% believe a president should not influence cases. Within that principle, support is from Democrats (83%), independents (65%) and Republicans (61%). Only 38% believe Trump when he says the department’s processes were used against him; 43% think he is wrong.

Elon University said 1,149 adults age 18 and older were interviewed and matched down to the 1,000 sample. Margin of error is +/- 3.58%. The university funds and operates the poll “as the neutral, nonbiased information resource.”

(The Center Square) − Louisiana lawmakers are moving forward with a proposed constitutional amendment and companion legislation aimed at shutting down a loophole that critics say allows foreign actors to influence U.S. elections — not through candidates, but through ballot initiatives.

Senate Bill 109 and House Bill 590, filed by Republican lawmakers this session, would prohibit the use of funds, goods, or services donated by foreign governments, foreign entities or noncitizens to support or oppose any candidate, political party, or ballot measure in Louisiana — directly or indirectly.

While federal law already prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to candidates, it does not explicitly cover ballot initiatives. That gap, long noted by election watchdogs, has come under increased scrutiny following revelations of significant foreign-tied money flowing into ballot campaigns in other states.

The bills would make it a crime for any foreign source to contribute funds to support election-related activities. Violators could face fines of up to twice the amount of the donation and up to five years in prison. Individuals who knowingly accept such donations would be required to return the funds.

SB109 proposes a constitutional amendment that, if passed by the Legislature, would go before voters statewide on Nov. 15, 2025.

“This is a proactive measure to ensure Louisiana doesn’t become the next battleground for foreign-funded influence campaigns targeting our democratic processes,” Jason Snead, Executive Director of Honest Elections Project Action, told The Center Square. 

Louisiana’s move comes amid a broader wave of state-level action on the issue. More than 15 states have introduced similar bills this year, and six—including Ohio, which passed a landmark measure in 2023—have enacted bans on foreign funding in ballot initiatives.

Critics point to the 1630 Fund, a powerful nonprofit aligned with progressive causes, which has spent more than $130 million in 26 states to back or oppose ballot measures, often with funding tied to foreign nationals.

A Swiss billionaire, Hansjörg Wyss, has been identified as a major contributor to the fund, according to Americans for Public Trust. While Wyss has never become a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, he has reportedly poured nearly half a billion dollars into American progressive political efforts, according to Snead.

“In Ohio, for example, the 1630 Fund spent $20 million in just 18 months on ballot measures — most of it arriving after lawmakers began pursuing a ban,” Snead said. “It’s a cautionary tale. Once the money starts flowing, it can be hard to stop.”

Supporters of the bills argue that state action is urgently needed to fill the federal gap and to safeguard democratic processes, especially as ballot initiatives become an increasingly potent tool to bypass legislatures and rewrite state constitutions.

Louisiana, they note, has so far avoided becoming a major target of these influence campaigns — but that could change.

“What we told lawmakers is simple,” Snead said. “Don’t wait for the money to come before you act.”

The proposed bills also aim to block so-called “pass-through” funding structures, in which foreign donations are funneled through U.S.-based nonprofits, effectively masking their origin. Lawmakers are considering provisions to track and limit such intermediary channels.

“We don’t even know if the $280 million linked to the 1630 Fund reflects the full extent of his contributions to that group. And we have no way of knowing whether other foreign nationals are quietly directing money into U.S. nonprofits,” Snead said. “There’s nothing preventing other foreign nationals — even those with close ties to adversarial governments like the Chinese Communist Party — from exploiting the same loophole. We often refer to Wyss and the 1630 Fund as just the tip of the iceberg. There’s almost certainly much more foreign money influencing U.S. politics that we simply can’t see.”

As the measures advance through the Legislature, Louisiana joins a growing list of states working to close what many see as one of the most significant election security loopholes in U.S. law.

“There’s still a long way to go nationally,” Snead said. “But every state that takes action brings us closer to closing this gap once and for all.”

(The Center Square) – A plurality of Americans feel the country’s  immigration policies have improved since President Donald Trump took office, according to a new poll.

The Center Square Voter’s Voice poll released Thursday showed that 47% of those surveyed say federal policy on immigration and border security has “gotten better,” compared to 32% who say it has “gotten worse.” 

The poll found that 13% say there has been no change, and 8% are unsure. 

The same poll found that 42% of registered voters say Trump’s border policies are “just right,” while 8% say they are “too soft.” Meanwhile, 46% say the policies are “too harsh.” 

The Center Square’s Voter’s Voice poll, conducted with Noble Predictive Insights from April 15-18, queried 2,527 registered voters. Of those respondents, 1,089 were Republicans, 1,187 were Democrats, and 251 were “True Independents,” which are independents who do not lean to one party or the other. The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll is one of only six national tracking polls in the United States.

Notably, Americans’ focus on immigration has declined as the border crisis has subsided. The Center Square’s poll found that only 26% of registered voters cite immigration as one of their top three most important issues. During last year’s presidential campaign, voters cited the border crisis with inflation as their top issues.

In March 2024, The Center Square’s poll found that 44% of Americans cited illegal immigration as one of their top 3 concerns. 

“One of our most striking findings: Immigration has gone from a top tier issue to a second tier issue,” David Byler, head of research at Noble Predictive Insights, which conducted the poll, told The Center Square. “People trust Trump on border security. They think he’s doing a solid job, so they’re thinking about the border less and focusing on other issues. In a funny way, Trump could take his best issue off the table. If people think he’s solved the border crisis, they’ll stop thinking on it – and start judging him on issues where he doesn’t poll quite as well.” 

Trump kicked off a nationwide deportation effort led by Border Czar Tom Homan, though a flurry of legal challenges have threatened to slow or even stop that progress. 

“In the first 50 days of the Trump Administration, Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) has made 32,809 enforcement arrests,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in March. “To put this figure into perspective, in the entire fiscal year 2024, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made 33,242 of these at-large arrests.” 

Besides deportations, Trump has taken steps to prevent illegal aliens from receiving federal benefits and to shut down the border.

Illegal immigration at the southern border has plummeted since Trump took office. 

“Trump is at his most popular when he’s taking action on immigration,” Byler said. “He cares about this issue more than almost any other – and people can tell. This is especially true on  border security. He understands where the public is on ideas like the wall and illegal immigration. And, as the chief executive, he can make a lot of changes without having to fight Congress. It’s not hard to see why this is his best issue in our poll.” 

Immigration was a top issue for the president on the campaign trail. He repeatedly promised to carry out the largest deportation effort in history and blasted his opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, for her work on immigration during the Biden administration, when illegal immigration exploded to unprecedented levels. 

Trump also fares well on the transgender issue, with a plurality saying the federal policies on that issue have improved. That was another major campaign issue for Republicans, who criticized Democrats for allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports. 

On other issues, Trump does worse. For instance, tariffs and free speech are both areas where respondents said things have gotten worse. 

The survey has a +/- 2.0% margin of error.