June 20, 2012 - Florida Voters Back Voter Purge, Stand Your Ground, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Gov. Scott's Job Approval Still Very Low Word format With wide partisan and racial division, and a small gender gap, Florida voters support 60 - 35 percent Gov. Rick Scott's effort to purge non-citizens from the state's voter rolls, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. There are similar partisan and racial divisions, and a wider gender gap, as Sunshine State voters support 56 - 37 percent the state's "Stand Your Ground" law, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Gov. Scott, however, is still unpopular with the state's electorate, who disapprove 49 - 39 percent of the job he is doing, compared to a 46 - 41 percent disapproval May 24, Scott's best score in his 18 months in office. Support for the attempted voter purges is 90 - 8 percent among Republicans and 59 - 37 percent among independent voters, while Democrats are opposed 60 - 33 percent. But unlike the gender split on many major political issues, there is little disagreement among the sexes on the purge: Men support it 63 - 33 percent while women back it 58 - 37 percent. White voters back the purge 67 - 29 percent, while black voters oppose it 56 - 38 percent and Hispanic voters support it 49 - 42 percent. "Gov. Rick Scott may be a lot less popular in Florida these days than President Barack Obama, but on the face-off between the two on the purge issue, Floridians seem to be solidly in Scott's corner," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Whether this voter purge becomes a big deal issue in the campaign or not is not clear at this point." Support for Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law is 81 - 12 percent among Republicans and 55 - 39 percent among independent voters, with Democrats opposed 60 - 30 percent. Men back the law 63 - 33 percent, while women back it 50 - 40 percent. White voters support it 60 - 33 percent, while black voters oppose it 59 - 31 percent. Hispanic voters support the law 58 - 32 percent. "There is solid support for 'Stand Your Ground' among Florida voters, especially Republicans," said Brown. "Republican lawmakers, who dominate the State Legislature, would be taking on their own base if they were to change the law." Scott's job approval among Republicans is 71 - 19 percent. Independent voters give him 52 - 36 percent thumbs down, while Democrats disapprove overwhelmingly, 75 - 14 percent. Men disapprove 47 - 42 percent, while women disapprove 50 - 35 percent. Florida voters split 37 - 35 percent when asked if they like Scott as a person and, despite support for the voter purge, voters don't like the governor's policies 49 - 37 percent. "Florida voters don't approve of the job Gov. Scott is doing. They don't like his policies, and they are mixed on whether they like him as a person," said Brown. "Women especially disapprove and dislike their governor. He has some work to do here." U.S. Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio are doing just OK in the eyes of the state's voters: Nelson has a 47 - 32 percent approval rating, while Rubio's is 51 - 31 percent. Voters disapprove 50 - 31 percent of the job the State Legislature is doing. From June 12 - 18, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,697 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 15. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling his job as Governor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 39% 71% 14% 36% 42% 35% 43% 16% 34% Disapprove 49 19 75 52 47 50 44 76 54 DK/NA 13 10 12 12 11 14 13 9 12 North/ Panhd Bay Cntrl SthW SthE Approve 46% 36% 39% 50% 30% Disapprove 43 53 48 32 58 DK/NA 11 11 13 18 12 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling his job as Governor? APPROVE....... High Low Jun 20 May 24 Mar 28 Jan 26 Jan 10 May 24 May 25 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 Approve 39 41 36 36 38 41 29 Disapprove 49 46 52 49 50 46 57 DK/NA 13 13 13 15 13 13 14 16. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 31% 48% 16% 28% 34% 28% 32% 23% 29% Disapprove 50 27 70 53 51 49 47 65 52 DK/NA 19 25 14 18 15 23 21 12 19 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? APPROVE....... High Low Jun 20 May 24 Jan 26 Jan 10 Aug 05 Sep 23 May 25 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2004 2011 Approve 31 31 31 33 32 51 27 Disapprove 50 48 49 49 51 34 56 DK/NA 19 21 20 18 17 15 17 17. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Marco Rubio is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 51% 84% 23% 48% 55% 47% 55% 30% 53% Disapprove 31 6 55 32 31 32 28 45 31 DK/NA 18 10 22 20 15 21 17 25 15 North/ Panhd Bay Cntrl SthW SthE Approve 57% 52% 50% 60% 42% Disapprove 23 32 32 22 40 DK/NA 20 16 19 18 18 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Marco Rubio is handling his job as United States Senator? APPROVE....... High Low Jun 20 May 23 Jan 26 Jan 10 Nov 11 May 23 Feb 03 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2011 Approve 51 54 48 50 49 54 42 Disapprove 31 27 33 29 29 27 20 DK/NA 18 19 20 21 22 19 37 18. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Nelson is handling his job as United States Senator? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 47% 25% 71% 47% 47% 47% 43% 66% 55% Disapprove 32 54 11 32 35 29 36 16 22 DK/NA 21 21 18 22 19 24 22 18 23 North/ Panhd Bay Cntrl SthW SthE Approve 43% 48% 47% 37% 53% Disapprove 39 30 34 41 21 DK/NA 18 22 19 23 26 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Nelson is handling his job as United States Senator? (*Low also 42% Aug 2004) APPROVE....... High Low Jun 20 May 24 Jan 26 Jan 10 Nov 11 Feb 06 Aug 04 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2007 2011* Approve 47 44 43 47 47 54 42 Disapprove 32 35 30 30 27 18 35 DK/NA 21 21 27 23 26 28 23 20. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Florida today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Very satisfied 5% 8% 3% 3% 7% 3% 5% 4% 4% Smwht satisfied 36 46 29 33 38 34 37 34 33 Smwht dissatisfied 34 27 36 38 33 35 34 33 36 Very dissatisfied 25 18 30 25 22 27 23 27 27 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 - 1 1 2 - North/ Panhd Bay Cntrl SthW SthE Very satisfied 7% 3% 5% 6% 3% Smwht satisfied 39 37 37 43 29 Smwht dissatisfied 34 30 33 25 40 Very dissatisfied 19 29 24 23 27 DK/NA 1 1 - 2 - TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Florida today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied? (*combined High also 63% Sep 2004) VERY+SMWHT.... High Low Jun 20 May 24 Jan 10 Sep 22 Aug 05 Feb 24 Sep 22 2012 2012 2012 2011 2011 2005* 2011 Very satisfied 5 4 4 4 4 15 4 Smwht satisfied 36 39 38 31 33 48 31 Smwht dissatisfied 34 30 32 29 28 22 29 Very dissatisfied 25 25 24 34 33 15 34 DK/NA 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 23. Regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott's policies, would you say you like or don't like Rick Scott as a person? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Like 37% 62% 19% 34% 42% 32% 38% 34% 37% Don't Like 35 14 52 38 34 36 34 35 38 DK/NA 29 24 29 28 25 32 28 32 26 TREND: Regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott's policies, would you say you like or don't like Rick Scott as a person? Jun 20 Jan 10 Sep 21 Aug 05 2012 2012 2011 2011 Like 37 39 37 34 Don't Like 35 34 37 45 DK/NA 29 27 26 21 24. And regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Rick Scott's policies? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Like 37% 69% 10% 35% 41% 34% 43% 14% 33% Don't Like 49 17 76 52 46 51 44 76 48 DK/NA 14 13 13 13 13 15 13 11 19 TREND: And regardless of how you feel about Rick Scott as a person, would you say you like or don't like most of Rick Scott's policies? Jun 20 Jan 10 Sep 21 Aug 05 2012 2012 2011 2011 Like 37 37 35 34 Don't Like 49 50 53 54 DK/NA 14 13 12 12 31. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling the state budget? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 38% 64% 16% 36% 41% 34% 42% 18% 32% Disapprove 48 22 73 49 45 50 43 72 49 DK/NA 14 14 11 15 13 15 15 10 19 North/ ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME.. Panhd Bay Cntrl SthW SthE <30K 30-50 50-100 >100 Approve 46% 35% 40% 53% 25% 32% 34% 40% 47% Disapprove 43 52 48 28 56 51 49 49 44 DK/NA 11 13 12 19 19 17 17 11 9 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Rick Scott is handling the state budget? Jun 20 May 24 Jan 10 Sep 21 Aug 05 May 25 Apr 06 2012 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011 Approve 38 37 36 36 32 30 36 Disapprove 48 48 51 53 57 59 55 DK/NA 14 14 13 11 11 11 9 32. Do you think the state budget is fair or unfair to people like you? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Fair 40% 64% 20% 38% 48% 33% 46% 17% 26% Unfair 48 25 71 47 41 54 40 74 64 DK/NA 13 12 9 15 12 14 14 10 9 North/ ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME.. Panhd Bay Cntrl SthW SthE <30K 30-50 50-100 >100 Fair 44% 43% 39% 55% 30% 28% 35% 50% 56% Unfair 45 48 50 30 54 60 53 39 37 DK/NA 11 9 11 16 17 12 12 11 7 TREND: Do you think the state budget is fair or unfair to people like you? (* "new state budget") Jun 20 Jan 10 Sep 21 Aug 05 May 25 2012 2012 2011 2011* 2011* Fair 40 39 41 33 29 Unfair 48 48 48 51 54 DK/NA 13 14 11 16 16 33. Do you think that Florida's economy has gotten better, worse or stayed about the same since Rick Scott took office? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Better 22% 36% 10% 21% 25% 19% 25% 13% 16% Worse 31 17 44 32 23 38 27 47 33 The same 43 45 40 44 49 38 44 38 47 DK/NA 4 2 6 3 4 5 5 2 5 North/ ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME.. Panhd Bay Cntrl SthW SthE <30K 30-50 50-100 >100 Better 25% 23% 22% 30% 15% 17% 24% 20% 32% Worse 27 30 33 15 38 35 33 31 21 The same 46 42 41 51 42 43 39 46 43 DK/NA 3 4 4 4 5 5 4 3 4 TREND: Do you think that Florida's economy has gotten better, worse or stayed about the same since Rick Scott took office? Jun 20 May 24 Jan 10 2012 2012 2012 Better 22 24 16 Worse 31 29 34 The same 43 42 45 DK/NA 4 5 4 34a. (If economy better q33) Do you credit Barack Obama or Rick Scott more for this change? ECONOMY BETTER Q33 Tot Men Wom Obama 15% 11% 20% Scott 76 81 71 NEITHER (VOL) 3 4 2 BOTH (VOL) 1 1 1 DK/NA 4 3 5 TREND: (If economy better) Do you credit Barack Obama or Rick Scott more for this change? ECONOMY BETTER........ Jun 20 May 24 Jan 10 2012 2012 2012 Obama 15 16 13 Scott 76 76 81 NEITHER (VOL) 3 3 2 BOTH (VOL) 1 3 1 DK/NA 4 3 3 34b. (If economy worse q33) Do you blame Barack Obama or Rick Scott more for this change? ECONOMY WORSE Q33 Tot Men Wom Obama 16% 17% 16% Scott 66 67 65 NEITHER (VOL) 11 11 11 BOTH (VOL) 5 5 5 DK/NA 2 1 3 TREND: (If economy worse) Do you blame Barack Obama or Rick Scott more for this change? ECONOMY WORSE......... Jun 20 May 24 Jan 10 2012 2012 2012 Obama 16 20 19 Scott 66 61 65 NEITHER (VOL) 11 6 7 BOTH (VOL) 5 8 4 DK/NA 2 4 4 35. Florida has a law that says a person is legally entitled to fight back with deadly force if they feel threatened, even if they could retreat instead. Do you support or oppose that law? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Support 56% 81% 30% 55% 63% 50% 60% 31% 58% Oppose 37 12 60 39 33 40 33 59 32 DK/NA 8 6 10 6 4 11 7 9 10 North/ Panhd Bay Cntrl SthW SthE Support 64% 56% 56% 66% 45% Oppose 27 35 37 28 48 DK/NA 8 9 8 6 7 TREND: Florida has a law that says a person is legally entitled to fight back with deadly force if they feel threatened, even if they could retreat instead. Do you support or oppose that law? Jun 20 May 24 2012 2012 Support 56 56 Oppose 37 35 DK/NA 8 8 36. As you may know, there has been an effort by Governor Scott to remove people from the state's voter rolls who are suspected of not being U.S. citizens. Some people say this effort is needed to prevent voter fraud. Others say this effort is intended to suppress turnout by low-income people and minorities. Do you support or oppose Governor Scott's effort to remove potential non-citizens from the registered voter rolls? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Support 60% 90% 33% 59% 63% 58% 67% 38% 49% Oppose 35 8 60 37 33 37 29 56 42 DK/NA 5 2 7 5 4 5 4 6 9 North/ Panhd Bay Cntrl SthW SthE Support 64% 62% 57% 71% 56% Oppose 32 35 38 23 38 DK/NA 4 4 5 6 6 Demographic Summary
