New Jersey is Not Clued into Constitutional Convention

see also:
Tabular Results
Survey Details
Republican Response
Democratic Response

Holding a state constitutional convention is a popular idea even though voters report hearing very little about it.  According to the most recent survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind, a majority (54%) say they’ve heard “nothing at all” about holding a state convention that would propose changes to control property taxes. Another 26% say they’ve heard only “a little.” Another 12% say they’ve heard “some.” Only 7% say they heard “quite a lot.”

“At this point in the new campaign season, the idea of holding a constitutional convention is inside baseball,” said Bruce Larson, professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson University and survey analyst for the PublicMind.

Nonetheless, the idea is popular with voters. Two-thirds (66%) say it’s a good idea to have a convention that would try to deal with the problem of property taxes. Only 16% say it’s a bad idea, and 18% say they’re not sure. Few differences emerge among subgroups. Self-described liberals are only a little more likely than others to say the convention is a bad idea. Republicans are only a little more likely than others to say the convention is a good idea.

“That a majority of people think the convention is a good idea means that officials who oppose it will have to offer a succinct and persuasive explanation for their opposition, ” said Larson.

On the question of whether such a convention should focus only on taxes or also grapple with spending, only 25% say it should be limited to dealing with taxes and not get sidetracked with other issues while 75% say it should deal with issues that affect state spending as well as with taxes.

“This is an issue that may play well in the primary race; but as people learn more about the ins and outs of holding such a convention, their opinion may change,” added Larson. Indeed, 31% of those who say they’ve heard “quite a lot” about the proposal for a constitutional convention say it’s a bad idea. Only 14% of those who’ve heard “just a little” or “nothing at all” say the convention is a bad idea.  Similarly, 19% who have heard nothing at all about the convention say they don’t know whether it’s a good idea or not while only 10% of those who’ve heard quite a lot about the issue say they don’t know.

Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind poll of 640 registered voters statewide was conducted from January 3 to January 9 and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.

Poll Analysis

Contacts:

Bruce Larson 973.769.1401

Peter Woolley 973.670.3239

Radio actuality line: (201) 692-2846.

For more information, please call (201) 692-7032.