Pubdate: Thu, 26 Sep 2013
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.utsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area.
Author: Michael Gardner

VOTERS FAVOR POT LEGALIZATION, POLL SAYS

Gay Marriage, Path to Citizenship Backed

Sacramento - A strong majority of California voters want marijuana 
legalized and say the federal government should not interfere in 
states where pot use is allowed, according to a new survey.

The Public Policy Institute of California poll also found that voters 
overwhelmingly endorse same-sex marriage, favor offering a path to 
citizenship to unauthorized immigrants and are skeptical of the 
benefits of the federal health insurance overhaul known as "Obamacare."

The survey released Wednesday night gauged voter attitudes on a broad 
range of pressing state and federal issues:

60 percent approve of legalizing marijuana and 68 percent said 
federal agents should not enforce federal anti-pot laws in states 
where marijuana is legal. Last month, the Obama administration said 
they would let legalization laws in Colorado and Washington state take effect.

A legalization initiative was rejected by 54 percent of California 
voters in 2010.

64 percent favor same-sex marriage and 63 percent approved of the 
U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed those weddings to take place 
again in California.

79 percent approve of a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants.

50 percent support Obamacare, which launches with open enrollment 
Oct. 1. Significantly, 34 percent say they and their families will be 
"worse off," 22 percent say they will be "better off" and 40 percent 
say the law will "not make much difference" personally.

79 percent say government should not interfere with a woman's choice 
to have an abortion.

52 percent favor a state compromise to spend $315 million to ease 
prison overcrowding. Seventy-seven percent said they were either 
"very" or "somewhat" concerned about early release of dangerous felons.

66 percent support the state's overhaul of school funding that 
provides additional revenues to districts with large enrollments of 
disadvantaged students.

43 percent say the state should build more reservoirs as part of 
water-supply planning efforts while 52 percent said to focus on 
conservation. Forty-eight percent said voter-approved bonds should be 
used to pay the bills, while just 25 percent thought user fees should 
increase instead.

73 percent disapprove of how congressional Republicans are handling 
the deficit and debt ceiling leading up to the current threat of a 
government shutdown. Fifty-three percent don't think President Barack 
Obama is doing any better at fixing the budget problems.

49 percent approve of the way Gov. Jerry Brown is handling the job, a 
rating similar to those reported over the past seven monthly polls.

51 percent approve of Obama's job performance. That's down from his 
54 percent last month and his lowest rating since July 2012.

61 percent of likely voters favor increased regulation of hydraulic 
fracturing "or fracking" that involves using high-pressured water 
mixed with chemicals to extract oil and gas from underground rock 
foundations. (Brown just signed legislation to do that.) Fifty-three 
percent said they opposed increasing fracking.

On marijuana, the survey's results - combined with recent polls by 
Gallup, Field and others - suggest that nationally and in California 
voters are moving toward legalization, either through legislation or 
by an initiative.

PPIC President Mark Baldassare said it's the first time one of his 
polls has recorded a majority backing for legalization.

That's politically important because as a general rule initiatives 
need an early lead to have a chance of success at the polls, he said.

High-propensity voters 55 and older favor legalization by a 
three-point margin, 50 percent to 47 percent.

"When you think about putting something on the ballot, you think of 
the response from likely voters and older voters show up most at the 
polls," Baldassare said.

He said Californians clearly want a path toward citizenship for 
unauthorized immigrants as long as the applicant has met conditions, 
such as a waiting period, English fluency, paying a fine and passing 
a criminal-background check.

Eight out of 10 poll respondents had that view.

"People are looking to give them a path toward normalcy," Baldassare 
said. "Whether it's through state or federal efforts matters less. 
They just want something that works for California."

PPIC polled 1,703 Californians, including 1,429 registered voters, 
Sept. 10-17. Among those likely voters responding, 46 percent were 
Democrats, 31 percent Republicans and 17 percent independents. That 
generally follows current voter registration statistics. The racial 
makeup of likely voters was 61 percent white, 15 percent Latino, 12 
percent Asian and 8 percent black.

The PPIC poll had a margin of error of between 3.7 percent and 4.5 
percent depending on the subgroup polled.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom