April 2, 1998 - Connecticut Voters Back Birth Control Insurance 4-1, Quinnipiac College Poll Finds; Lieberman Gets Strong Approval From Republicans Connecticut voters support 76 - 18 percent a proposal to require insurance companies which provide prescription benefits to include prescription birth control methods, according to a Quinnipiac College Poll released today. Women support the idea 81 - 16 percent, while men back it 71 - 21 percent. Support among Catholics is 72 - 23 percent. Proposals to make voting more convenient, by allowing mail ballots for anyone who requests them or to allow voting by home computer, fail by large margins. Connecticut voters reject 61 - 36 a proposal to allow all voters the option of voting by mail, as absentee ballots currently are used by those who are not home on election day. A proposal to allow home computer voting fails 71 - 27 percent. Given three options, 72 percent of voters prefer voting from their current location, while 14 percent prefer mail and 14 percent prefer computers. "That Yankee tradition of going to the polls remains strong in Connecticut, where most voters are not ready for cyber-voting," said Quinnipiac College Poll Director Douglas Schwartz. "Voters across the spectrum think it's a good idea to require insurance companies which provide prescription benefits to include prescription birth control." U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman's approval rating remains at 69 - 16 percent, while Sen. Christopher Dodd's approval is 60 - 27 percent, similar to findings of a February 19 poll by the independent Quinnipiac College. In his reelection bid, Sen. Dodd holds a 60 - 24 percent lead over his likely Republican challenger, former U.S. Rep Gary Franks. There has been almost no movement in this race. By a 54 - 9 percent margin, Connecticut voters have a favorable opinion of Lieberman, with 18 percent mixed and 19 percent saying they don't know enough to form an opinion. Favorability for other leaders is: Favorable Unfavorable Mixed No Opinion Dodd 45 20 19 15 Franks 13 21 12 52 "Sen. Lieberman, who has been talked about as a potential candidate for President, continues to be very popular in Connecticut. His 61 - 22 percent approval among Republicans is remarkable for a Democrat," Schwartz said. "There hasn't been any movement in the race for Senate. Gary Franks must improve on his name recognition and he must improve his image. Negative perceptions of Franks out number positive ones 21 - 13 percent." From March 24 - 30, Quinnipiac College surveyed 1,014 Connecticut residents who say they are registered voters. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent. The Quinnipiac College Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut as a public service and for research. 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joseph Lieberman is handling his job as United States Senator? Feb 19 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Approve 69% 61% 71% 72% 69% 68% 69% Disapprove 16 22 13 15 20 13 16 DK/NA 15 17 16 13 11 19 15 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christopher Dodd is handling his job as United States Senator? Feb 18 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Approve 60% 33% 79% 62% 55% 64% 59% Disapprove 27 50 9 25 34 20 30 DK/NA 13 17 11 13 11 15 11 29. Is your opinion of United States Senator Joseph Lieberman favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Feb 18 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Favorable 54% 48% 56% 58% 57% 52% 53% Unfavorable 9 13 5 7 11 6 8 Mixed 18 20 15 19 17 19 20 Haven't heard enough 19 18 24 16 14 22 18 REFUSED - - - - - - - 30. Is your opinion of United States Senator Christopher Dodd favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Feb 18 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Favorable 45% 20% 64% 46% 45% 45% 42% Unfavorable 20 43 6 18 28 13 22 Mixed 19 20 15 21 16 22 21 Haven't heard enough 15 17 15 14 11 19 15 REFUSED - - - - - 1 - 31. Is your opinion of former United States Representative Gary Franks favorable, unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him? Feb 18 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Favorable 13% 24% 8% 11% 16% 11% 16% Unfavorable 21 10 33 20 23 20 21 Mixed 12 13 10 12 13 11 18 Haven't heard enough 52 50 48 56 46 58 45 REFUSED 1 2 1 1 2 - 1 32. If the 1998 election for United States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Christopher Dodd the Democrat, and Gary Franks the Republican, for whom would you vote? Feb 18 Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1998 Dodd/Democrat 60% 26% 87% 62% 55% 64% 59% Franks/Republican 24 57 5 19 30 18 27 SOMEONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 WOULDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 5 2 3 3 4 3 DK/NA 11 11 5 13 9 13 9 41. There is a proposal to require insurance companies who provide prescription benefits to include coverage for prescription birth control. Do you think this is a goodidea or a bad idea? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Prot Cath Jew Good idea 76% 64% 84% 78% 71% 81% 74% 72% 92% Bad idea 18 29 13 17 21 16 18 23 6 DK/NA 5 7 4 5 8 3 8 5 2 43. Currently Connecticut does not allow voting by mail except for absentee ballots. Do you favor or oppose changing the election law to allow people the option of voting by mail? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favor 36% 33% 41% 35% 33% 40% Oppose 61 67 54 62 65 57 DK/NA 3 1 5 3 3 3 44. Currently Connecticut does not allow voting by home computer. Do you favor or oppose changing the law to allow people the option of voting by home computer? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Favor 27% 27% 28% 26% 27% 27% Oppose 71 72 69 72 71 70 DK/NA 2 - 3 2 1 2 45. If you could choose from the following ways to vote which would you prefer? Vote at your current location, vote by home computer, or vote by mail? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Current location 72% 78% 70% 71% 74% 71% Home computer 14 16 13 13 15 12 Mail 14 7 16 15 10 16 DK/NA - - - 1 - 1
