Field Poll: CA VOTERS SUPPORT BUDGET REFORM

Results of poll that measured voter awareness and sentiment toward four of 10 propositions slated to appear on the state’s November general election ballot were released Friday.

by Melanie Turner Staff writer | Sacramento Business Journal

GoTo►THE FIELD POLL: 7/9/2010 #2342: State ballot propositions: Marijuana legalization narrowly opposed. Large majority favors changing vote needed to pass state budget. Pluralities oppose suspending AB32, favor water bonds.

Friday, July 9, 2010, 2:50pm PDT | Voters are opposing Proposition 23, the initiative to suspend AB 32, California’s greenhouse gas reduction law, and Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization initiative, and supporting Propositions 25 and 18, the Field Poll said.

Proposition 25 would require a majority vote to approve the state budget while retaining a two-thirds vote to increase taxes, while Proposition 18 is an $11.1 billion bond measure to fund water supply and protection facilities.

Voter awareness of the measures varied widely, according to the survey. More than three in four likely voters (77 percent) report some familiarity with Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization initiative. Most voters (56 percent) also had heard of Proposition 25, which would change vote requirements needed to pass the state budget.

Fewer potential voters (39 percent) had heard of Proposition 23, which would suspend AB 32, or water bond measure Proposition 18 (24 percent).

According to the Field Poll:

• Voters are opposing Proposition 19, marijuana legalization, by a narrow 48 percent to 44 percent margin, with 8 percent undecided. Those who had heard of the measure are favoring its passage by that same percentage, while the 23 percent of voters who had not heard of it rejected it by a nearly two-to-one margin, or 61 percent to 32 percent, with 7 percent undecided. Democrats are backing it 53 percent to 38 percent, while Republicans are opposed, 63 percent to 31 percent.
• Voters support Proposition 25, the state budget measure, by more than three-to-one or 65 percent to 20 percent, with 15 percent undecided. According to the poll, majorities of Democrats, Republicans, non-partisans and others are all supporting the proposition.
• Voters are opposition Proposition 23, the measure to suspend AB 32, 48 percent to 36 percent. Among the 39 percent who had some awareness of the measure, opinions are divided (44 percent in favor and 45 percent opposed). Voters who had some awareness of the measure lined up against it, 50 percent to 31 percent. Democrats and non-partisans are rejecting it, while Republicans are in favor of the measure. Democrats are opposing the measure, 57 percent to 31 percent, and non-partisans, 53 percent to 29 percent, while Republicans favor it, 47 percent to 33 percent.
• Voters are favoring Proposition 18, the $11.1 billion water bond measure, by a 42 percent to 32 percent margin. Democrats back the measure by a greater than two-to-one margin or 54 percent to 24 percent, with 22 percent undecided, while Republicans opposed it, 44 percent to 30 percent, with 26 percent undecided.

The poll has a sampling error rate of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points for likely voters and a higher margin for subgroups. Pollsters surveyed 1,005 people by telephone between June 22 and July 6.