ELON - On top of questions about the approval ratings of elected officials, the latest Elon University Poll asked residents their views on various policy issues.

North Carolina was one of many states where same-sex marriage became legal last Autumn but the latest poll shows this has not led to any influx of support or opposition. Poll director Kenneth Fernandez says public sentiment is just about where it's always been.

"But it is pretty close," Fernandez says. "We see, among registered voters, 48 percent oppose and 43 percent support."

While a plurality of North Carolinians still oppose same-sex marriage, the Elon Poll has shown a gradual increase in support over the past years.

According to the Elon Poll, nearly half of North Carolinians feel the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, will make healthcare worse, compared to about 35 percent who believe it will make things better. This is a jump in opposition since the last poll, but according to Fernandez, but not a significant one.

"That pessimism has sort of flattened out and we haven't seen dramatic changes," Fernandez says. "Maybe, as it becomes the law of the land for a decade or so, maybe attitudes will change."

When the question was asked, pollsters would include the Obamacare nickname in the question. While Fernandez says this can skew some respondents, if "Obamacare" was not included, he feels some people would not know what the Affordable Care Act is.

The poll also asked residents their views on abortion. 44 percent of North Carolinians want fewer restrictions on abortion, compared to 40 percent who want more.

"We've seen that that's pretty consistent among the Elon Poll throughout the last two years," Fernandez says. "Abortion is a very divisive issue, not surprisingly. I think a lot of us realize that."

Of those surveyed, more women wanted fewer restrictions than more, but men were evenly split on the issue.

Questions about natural gas drilling or "fracking" continue to brew in North Carolina and Fernandez says nearly half of registered voters were opposed to fracking.

"We did see a decline in support," he said. "Only 36 percent of registered voters support fracking."

Included in the question was whether the respondent had heard of fracking. Fernandez says there was only a two-point increase in familiarity since 2013.

The right for parents not to vaccinate their children has been an ongoing debate across the country, and in the Elon Poll, more than a fourth of North Carolinians surveyed said parents should have that right. Fernandez says support for mandatory vaccinations resulted in an unlikely coalition.

"We actually found, interestingly enough, the least educated and the most educated respondents were the most in support of vaccination," he says.

Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed said all children should be vaccinated. And unlike other policy questions in the poll, Fernandez says there was essentially no difference between Democrats and Republicans on this issue.

For more information, go to http://www.elon.edu/e-web/elonpoll/