SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Proposition 54 has steadily lost favor with
California voters, with nearly half reporting they oppose the
initiative that would bar state and local governments from
collecting most racial and ethnic data, according to a Field Poll
released Saturday.
Just 35 percent of the 1,026 registered voters questioned by the
Field Research Corp. in the Sept. 25-Oct. 1 survey said they would
vote ``yes'' on the ballot measure 49 percent planned to vote
``no.''
In an early September poll, voters were evenly split on
Proposition 54, with 40 percent for it, 40 percent opposed and the
remainder undecided. As recently as August, the numbers were nearly
opposite from where they stand now, with 48 percent supporting the
measure.
Voter attitudes toward Proposition ``have become increasingly
negative as more voters have become aware of the measure,'' said
Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll.
The proposed constitutional amendment that has been largely
overshadowed by Tuesday's gubernatorial recall. It asks voters
whether state and local governments should be restricted from
collecting and using information on an individual's race,
ethnicity, color or national origin.
It was sponsored by University of California Regent Ward
Connerly, the man who used a ballot initiative to ban affirmative
action in public hiring and education in California seven years
ago.
The new poll found opposition to Proposition 54 growing across
the state and among voters of all races, ages, genders and
political affiliations during the last month. But as with previous
surveys, the trend was strongest among minorities, registered
Democrats and voters who intended to vote ``no'' on the measure to
recall Gov. Gray Davis.
More than three out of four black voters opposed the initiative,
compared to the half who felt that way in early September.
Geographically, Los Angeles County had the highest percentage of
``No on 54'' voters 53 percent compared to 46 percent in the
San Francisco Bay area.
When the poll was conducted, many voters said they didn't know
where the major candidates running in the recall election stood on
Proposition 54 even though the candidates all had taken positions.
The uncertainty was greatest when it came to Republican Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
Although Schwarzenegger has come out against the measure, 22
percent of those questioned thought he favored it while 19 percent
correctly figured he was against it.
A coalition opposing the initiative includes doctors' groups and
civil rights advocates, who say its ban on racial data collection
would harm anti-discrimination and public health efforts.
In an interview with The Associated Press before the poll was
published, Connerly predicted the initiative probably would fail.
The Field Poll results mirrored the findings of a Los Angeles
Times poll released earlier this week, which reported 54 percent of
likely voters opposing the initiative and 31 percent supporting it.
The poll had a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)