PHOENIX - Just under half of likely voters in California favor a $9 billion state school bond measure, according to a survey released late Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.
The survey, conducted Sept. 9-18, asked the opinions of 1,702 likely voters about their presidential preferences, top concerns, and support for key measures on the ballot in November.
Proposition 51 would authorize the state to issue $9 billion in bonds to fund construction and modernization of K–12 schools and community college facilities. It requires only a simple majority to pass.
Among the likely voters surveyed, 47% said they supported the measure while 43% said they did not and 10% said they did not know if they would vote yes or no. Support for the measure appeared strongest in the major metropolitan regions, with Los Angeles voters favoring it by a margin of 51% -40%, Bay Area voters by 54%-34%, and Orange County/San Diego voters 47%-44%.
Central Valley respondents overwhelmingly said they opposed the measure, with only 38% in favor and 53% opposed. Likely voters in the Inland Empire east of Los Angeles opposed it as well, with 41% in favor and 49% opposed.
Breaking the responses down by political party, 62% of Democratic likely voters said they would vote yes while only 26% said they would vote no. Among Republicans, 64% said they would vote against the measure with only 29% saying they had decided to support it. Independent likely voters appeared to support the measure by a slim margin, with 50% giving it a yes and 42% a no.
The survey also asked about some non-bond ballot questions that concern the state's finances. On Prop. 55, an initiative that would extend by 12 years a temporary tax increase on earnings over $250,000 enacted in 2012 and set to expire in 2018, likely voters said they would support it by a margin of 54% to 38%. Prop. 56, which would increase the cigarette tax by $2.00 per pack, earned the support of 59% of survey respondents with 36% saying they opposed it. Prop.64, which would legalize marijuana use for adults aged 21 and older and impose state taxes on it was running with strong support: 60% of likely voters said they favored it while 36% said they opposed it.
