August 18, 2011 - New Jersey Voters Say No To Tolls, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; More Women In Government Means Fewer Sex Scandals Word format New Jersey voters oppose 54 - 41 percent increasing tolls, no matter what the economic conditions, on bridges and tunnels between New Jersey and New York, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Rural voters, who may be less likely to drive into New York, split 47 - 47 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Urban voters, also less car- dependent, split 47 - 49 percent. Opposition grows from 55 - 41 percent in the Philadelphia suburbs to 57 - 37 percent among voters in shore areas. Most voters, 54 percent, blame the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey for the proposed toll hikes, while only 28 percent blame the governors of New York and New Jersey, even when it is pointed out that the governors appoint the Port Authority board members. By a 38 - 17 percent margin, New Jersey voters have an unfavorable opinion of the Port Authority, with 43 percent who haven't heard enough about the authority to form an opinion. "Just about everyone in New Jersey has heard about the Port Authority's toll proposals and they're not popular," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Even in South Jersey, where there's another Port Authority which controls toll bridges to Pennsylvania, voters are opposed." "Most voters don't think there's any economic justification for toll increases. "And voters blame the faceless entity called 'the Port Authority,' rather than the flesh and blood governors, Christopher Christie in New Jersey and Andrew Cuomo in New York, who appoint the people who want to raise the tolls." There should be more women in high elective office, 54 percent of New Jersey voters say, while 33 percent say there are enough women in office now. Women voters want more women in office 65 - 27 percent while men barely support the call for more women 42 - 39 percent. Male elected officials are more likely than women to have sex scandals, 80 percent of voters say, while 17 percent say there is not much difference. Here there is no gender gap. Women officials are more likely to have the right priorities, 18 percent of voters say, while 7 percent trust men more and 73 percent say there is not much difference. Woman officials are more likely to be problem solvers, 29 percent of voters say, while 8 percent say men solve problems better and 62 percent say there is not much difference. "As in the other states where Quinnipiac University has asked about women in politics, New Jerseyans think there should be more women," Carroll said. "Men think so by the smallest of margins. Women? You guessed it." "Would women in government be better problem solvers than men, or be more likely to have the right priorities? Most voters think men and women would be about the same. "How about staying clear of sex scandals? Read the headlines. New Jersey voters, men and women, agree - men are far more likely to misbehave." Few New Jersey voters know much about Gov. Christopher Christie's nomination of a Muslim judge to the State Superior Court, but 65 percent say the fact that Sohail Mohammed is a Muslim won't affect his performance. Only 15 percent say it will have a negative effect and 4 percent say it will have a positive effect. Voters say 85 - 8 percent that the fact that a person is a Muslim should not keep them from serving as a judge in New Jersey. There is strong agreement among all groups and in all regions of the state. "There has been some brouhaha in other parts of the country about Muslims trying to impose Sharia Law, or Muslim Law, on America," Carroll said. "New Jerseyans aren't concerned." From August 9 - 15, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,624 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. 24. Is your opinion of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about it? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Favorable 17% 17% 18% 18% 20% 14% 18% 14% Unfavorable 38 43 28 43 44 32 38 28 Hvn't hrd enough 43 38 52 37 33 52 42 55 REFUSED 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Favorable 24% 17% 21% 10% 16% Unfavorable 38 44 41 26 36 Hvn't hrd enough 36 38 36 63 45 REFUSED 2 2 2 2 3 25. Have you heard or read anything about plans to raise tolls on bridges and tunnels between New York and New Jersey? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 82% 86% 75% 86% 82% 82% 83% 73% No 18 13 24 14 18 18 16 27 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes 82% 86% 85% 67% 84% No 18 14 15 31 15 DK/NA - - - 2 1 26. Who do you blame more for these proposed toll hikes: The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which operates the bridges and tunnels, or the governors of New York and New Jersey who appoint the Port Authority board members? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Port Authority 54% 66% 45% 58% 61% 47% 58% 33% Governors 28 18 38 24 21 35 25 45 BOTH(VOL) 5 4 4 6 6 4 5 5 NEITHER(VOL) 2 3 2 3 3 1 2 2 DK/NA 10 9 11 10 8 12 10 14 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Port Authority 53% 58% 57% 40% 56% Governors 30 25 23 40 29 BOTH(VOL) 6 4 7 6 3 NEITHER(VOL) 1 3 3 2 2 DK/NA 10 10 10 12 9 27. Do you think that economic factors might justify some increase in tolls or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 41% 35% 46% 41% 41% 42% 44% 33% No 54 60 48 56 56 51 52 57 DK/NA 5 5 6 4 3 7 4 10 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes 47% 39% 47% 41% 37% No 49 56 47 55 57 DK/NA 4 5 6 4 7 29. Have you heard or read anything about Governor Christie's nomination of Sohail Mohammed to a Superior Court, becoming New Jersey's second Muslim judge? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 27% 26% 24% 30% 31% 23% 27% 23% No 71 71 73 68 67 74 70 76 DK/NA 3 4 3 2 2 3 3 1 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes 26% 28% 35% 19% 24% No 72 70 63 79 70 DK/NA 3 2 2 2 5 30. Do you approve or disapprove of Governor Christie's nomination of Sohail Mohammed to be a New Jersey Superior Court judge, or don't you know? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 20% 16% 22% 23% 26% 16% 19% 20% Disapprove 14 16 12 13 14 13 13 14 DK/NA 66 68 66 65 60 71 68 67 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Approve 22% 19% 28% 17% 19% Disapprove 13 14 12 13 14 DK/NA 65 66 60 70 67 31. Do you think the fact that Sohail Mohammed is a Muslim will have a positive effect on his job performance as a judge, a negative effect on his job performance as a judge, or won't it affect his job performance as a judge? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Positive effect 4% 2% 6% 3% 3% 4% 3% 8% Negative effect 15 26 10 12 15 14 15 13 Won't affect perform 65 53 70 70 68 62 64 59 DK/NA 17 20 15 15 14 19 18 20 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Positive effect 6% 3% 2% 4% 4% Negative effect 9 15 16 17 14 Won't affect perform 66 65 70 58 68 DK/NA 18 17 12 22 14 32. Do you think the fact that a person is a Muslim should keep them from serving as a judge in New Jersey or don't you think so? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 8% 14% 5% 7% 9% 8% 8% 8% No 85 79 90 87 86 85 85 85 DK/NA 7 7 5 6 6 7 7 7 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes 4% 7% 10% 10% 9% No 88 85 83 84 86 DK/NA 8 8 6 6 5 42. Thinking about the number of women who hold high level political office in the United States today - such as governors and members of Congress - would you say that there should be more, should be fewer, or is the number about right? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Should be more 54% 39% 71% 48% 42% 65% 51% 69% Should be fewer 3 3 1 3 4 2 3 1 About right 33 46 22 36 39 27 35 26 DK/NA 10 12 6 13 16 5 11 4 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Should be more 65% 51% 52% 53% 55% Should be fewer 3 2 3 3 4 About right 26 34 34 36 31 DK/NA 6 13 11 8 11 43. Who do you think are more likely to have the right priorities - male elected officials or female elected officials or is there not much difference between them? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Male officials 7% 6% 8% 6% 7% 6% 5% 16% Female officials 18 11 22 19 13 23 18 24 Not much difference 73 81 69 73 77 70 75 57 DK/NA 2 2 1 3 3 1 2 2 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Male officials 6% 5% 5% 8% 10% Female officials 18 16 19 21 19 Not much difference 75 78 74 69 67 DK/NA 1 2 2 2 3 44. Who do you think are more likely to be problem solvers - male elected officials or female elected officials or is there not much difference between them? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Male officials 8% 10% 5% 8% 10% 6% 6% 10% Female officials 29 23 34 28 20 38 28 34 Not much difference 62 66 60 62 69 55 65 53 DK/NA 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Male officials 11% 6% 10% 7% 8% Female officials 27 27 27 34 31 Not much difference 59 66 62 58 59 DK/NA 3 1 1 1 2 45. Who do you think are more likely to have sex scandals - male elected officials or female elected officials or is there not much difference between them? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Male officials 80% 84% 79% 81% 80% 81% 83% 73% Female officials 1 1 2 - 1 1 1 3 Not much difference 17 15 18 17 18 15 14 22 DK/NA 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Male officials 82% 79% 79% 80% 83% Female officials - 1 - 1 2 Not much difference 17 17 18 17 14 DK/NA 1 2 3 2 2 Demographic Summary
