Background Memo  

The PublicMind poll was sponsored by the New Jersey Farm Bureau and was conducted by telephone from October 25 through October 31 using a randomly selected sample of 577 likely voters statewide aged 18 and over.  The sampling error for 577 adults is +/- 4 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. Survey results are also subject to non-sampling error. This kind of error, which cannot be measured, arises from a number of factors including, but not limited to, non-response (eligible individuals refusing to be interviewed), question wording, the order in which questions are asked, and variations among interviewers. All PublicMind interviews are conducted by TMR, Inc. of Cedar Knolls, NJ.  Professionally trained interviewers use a CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) system. Random selection is achieved through computerized random-digit dialing. This technique gives every person with a phone number (including those with unlisted numbers) an equal chance of being selected.

The questions included in this release are as follows:

Now let's think about something called eminent domain. As you may or may not know, Eminent Domain is the right of a government to force someone to sell their property at market price so the government can build something new for a public purpose.

Before now, how much have you heard or read about eminent domain…?

• Quite a lot
• Some
• Just a little
• Nothing

Local and state governments use the power of eminent domain to build various things. IN GENERAL, do you think it's acceptable or not acceptable for local governments to use eminent domain to force the sale of…?

• houses and shops to build a new school?
• dilapidated properties to rebuild with better housing and shops
• middle class housing and replace it with upscale condos and shops
• active farmland to build a new school or ball field

see also:
Survey Analysis
Tabular Results