Az poll: 49 percent like ballot measure defining marriage
by Andrew J. Shainker on Oct. 02, 2008, under Elections, Local, SpecialPHOENIX – Two years after rejecting a similar measure, Arizona voters appear to favor a ballot proposition that would define marriage as a union of one man and one woman, according to a Cronkite/Eight Poll released Tuesday.
Forty-nine percent of respondents said they planned to vote for Proposition 102, while 40 percent were against it. Nine percent were undecided.
In 2006, voters defeated Proposition 107, which would have carried the same definition of marriage and also barred unmarried partners from receiving benefits.
Bruce Merrill, a retired Arizona State University professor who directs the poll, said not having the prohibition on benefits this time around could be helping the new proposition.
“I believe personally Proposition 107 would have passed if it wasn’t a compound law,” Merrill said.
Kelly Molique, spokeswoman for the campaign supporting Proposition 102, said the results reinforce her confidence that the measure will pass.
“The fact is Arizona voters want a clear definition of marriage, and now most likely they will get it,” Molique said.
State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, chairwoman of the campaign to defeat Proposition 102, noted that 49 percent doesn’t represent a majority of Arizona voters. She said Molique shouldn’t be so confident.
The poll, conducted Thursday to Sunday by ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Eight-KAET-TV, involved 976 registered Arizona voters. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The Cronkite School operates Cronkite News Service.
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POLL HIGHLIGHTS
Here are highlights from the Cronkite/Eight Poll released Tuesday by Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Eight/KAET-TV:
Proposition 102, to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman:
Vote for it: 49 percent
Vote against it: 42 percent
Don’t know/no opinion: 9 percent
Probably will vote for the following in November:
McCain: 45 percent
Obama: 38 percent
Nader: 1 percent
Undecided: 15 percent
Confidence in Sarah Palin’s ability to be an effective president if forced to take over:
Very confident: 24 percent
Generally confident: 24 percent
Not very confident: 46 percent
Don’t know/no opinion: 6 percent
Confidence in Joe Biden’s ability to be an effective president if forced to take over:
Very confident: 35 percent
Generally confident: 35 percent
Not very confident: 24 percent
Don’t know/no opinion: 6 percent
