Corporate corruption a consideration for U.S. voters: poll

BOSTON (Reuters) - A survey conducted for a U.S. lawfirm found that almost two-thirds of likely voters polled would consider a candidate's commitment to addressing corporate wrongdoing as part of their decision-making process in the upcoming U.S. election.

The law firm Labaton Sucharow LLP, which has a practice that specializes in representing whistleblowers, released its 2nd annual "Integrity Survey of the American Public" on Wednesday, in what it termed an attempt to gauge attitudes toward corporate ethics.

The poll was conducted by the market research firm ORC International. ORC contacted 1,015 people from August 16-19 using a computer assisted telephone interviewing system. No margin of error was given for the results.

Asked if political candidates in general favor corporate interests over their constituents' interests, 77 percent of respondents said yes. The response was broadly consistent across political affiliation and among men and women.

Some 64 percent of those surveyed said corporate misconduct helped bring about the economic crisis that led to the U.S. recession. About 81 percent said the government has not done enough to stop corporate wrongdoing.

For full results see: here

Labaton said the latest survey found the commitment to speak up had grown, with 83 percent saying they would report wrongdoing, compared with 78 percent a year ago.

(Reporting By Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)