ALBANY - New York State voters think government corruption is a major problem in the state capital, and many say that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has done a lackluster job of fighting it, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The poll, by Quinnipiac University, found that voters had an overwhelmingly negative view of the State Legislature, and nearly 9 in 10 voters said government corruption was a serious problem in New York State. The survey was conducted from April 9 to 14, shortly after two state legislators were charged by federal prosecutors in unrelated corruption schemes.
Many voters suggested that Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat who ran for governor on a platform of cleaning up Albany, had fallen short of his goal. Fifty-seven percent approved of his overall job performance, an increase of two percentage points from last month. But voters were more critical when it came to Mr. Cuomo’s efforts at reducing corruption: 52 percent rated his work as not so good or poor, compared with 37 percent who described it as excellent or good.
Voters were even more negative about legislative leaders; three quarters rated their efforts at cleaning up corruption as not so good or poor.
Some also appeared to have soured on an unusual arrangement in which control of the State Senate is being shared between Republicans and an independent faction of Democrats.
Fifty percent of voters described the power-sharing deal as a power grab, compared with 35 percent who thought it was an effective form of government, a reversal from when Quinnipiac asked voters about the arrangement just after it was announced in December. The group of Democrats had included one of the charged legislators, Senator Malcolm A. Smith of Queens, who was accused of trying to bribe his way onto the ballot for mayor of New York City; on Monday, the majority coalition removed Mr. Smith from its ranks.
Voters were skeptical about the installation of a system of public financing for state elections, which is the centerpiece of a package of reform measures that government watchdog groups and many Democratic officeholders hope to pass during this year’s legislative session. Only 37 percent of voters said they supported public financing for state elections, and just 35 percent said they believed such a system would reduce government corruption.
The poll, conducted by telephone of 1,404 registered voters, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
