Q POLL; CRIST'S APPROVAL STILL HIGH; GAY MARRIAGE BAN FALLS SHORT

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Q POLL; CRIST'S APPROVAL STILL HIGH; GAY MARRIAGE BAN FALLS SHORT
Miami Herald "Naked Politics" Blog - - September 7, 2008
By Mary Ellen Klas

Gov Charlie Crist continues to ride high job approval ratings according
to a new poll from Quinnipiac University but the luck's not as good for
the ballot amendment he supports but is not actively campaigning for --
the amendment to ban gay marriages.

Florida voters are satisfied with the governor's performance, with 61
percent favorable compared to 25 percent who say he's doing a poor job.
But he isn't on the ballot this year and the proposal to enshrine in the
state constitution a definition that marriage is between a man and a
woman falls short of the 60 percent approval threshold. Voters support
Amendment 2 by 55-41 percent. Republicans favor it 76-21 percent while
Democrats oppose it 51-45 percent.

Two of the three other amendments, which were stripped off the November
ballot last week by the Florida Supreme Court, also appeared in trouble.
The poll was taken from Sept. 2-4 and began before the court tossed the
amendments. But two nights of polling showed that Amendment 5, which
would have eliminated property taxes that pay for schools and replace
them with a sales tax and other revenues, was supported by 51-39
percent, short of the 60 percent needed for passage.

Amendment 9, which on its face indicated it was intended to give at
least 65 percent of public school funds to the classroom, also would
have opened the door to any state-sanctioned private school vouchers. It
appeared on its way to passage with 65 – 24 percent support.

The third proposal, Amendment 7, which would have eliminated the
century-old "no aid" provision that banned the use of state money for
religious institutions and also would have allowed for more school
vouchers, fell short of approval with voters opposed to it 57 – 38 percent.

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