May 15, 2003

KGW Poll Finds Wide Margin for Passage of Measure 26-48

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That graphic pretty much tells the story. Released earlier today, a KGW poll shows Measure 26-48 headed towards likely passage:

Multnomah County residents appear poised to pass a new temporary three-year income tax (Measure 26-48) to fund schools, police agencies and social service programs, according to a new KGW poll released Thursday.
...
The survey conducted by Riley Research Associates shows 63% of Multnomah County residents favoring the tax which could generate up to $135 million a year. Only 26% are opposed, with 11% remaining undecided. (The sampling has a margin of error of plus or minus 10%).

Of course, "plus or minus 10%" is one of the largest margins of error I've ever seen in a poll. But if these poll findings hold, even accounting for that margin, the measure will still pass.

Some other results:

Support for the tax, some say predictably, is much greater among the county's Democrats (76%) than Republicans (43%). But as Riley notes, "forty-three percent of Republicans supporting a tax increase is news by itself."
Higher support for the Multnomah County tax measure also comes from the youngest voters, including 82% approval by those polled in the 25-34 age bracket.

As always, do not take such poll results to mean you can slack the vote. If you haven't yet voted, get those ballots filled out, and deliver them to a drop site.

Posted at 11:04 PM | PermalinkComments (3) | TrackBacks (0)
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Comments (3)

  1. Rob Salzman on 15 May 2003

    Ahh. But will 50% of the registered voters vote?

    I read today, in a bad news / good news story, that the east county has a much higher then usual ballot return. Good, because every vote gets us closer to 50%. Bad, because East County has historically voted against any tax hikes.

  2. The One True b!X on 16 May 2003

    It doesn't matter if 50% of voters vote in this election. There's no double majority requirement for a county income tax.

  3. Emma on 16 May 2003

    For a number of reasons, polls have become increasingly innacurate. The message should still be: go vote yes. Don't leave it to chance.