Copyright© 1999 by School Services of California, Inc.
By The Way. . .
New Field Poll Shows Public Supports Majority Vote Initiative. A new Field Poll finds that voters now favor, by a 5-3 margin, lowering the vote requirement for local school bonds from the current two-thirds vote to a simple majority. This marks a major shift in voter attitude regarding lowering the vote threshold. In 1993, Proposition 170, which proposed the same change, was soundly defeated. This new Field Poll serves as a positive signal that voters may be more receptive to the Majority Vote Initiative that will be on the March 2000 ballot.
The poll found that while only 23% of voters had ever seen or heard anything about the initiative, the majority of all voters responded favorably to descriptions of the measure. Democrats favored the initiative by 76%-21%, while Republicans narrowly opposed at 45% "yes" to 50% "no." The remainder were undecided or had no opinion.