December 8, 2010 - New Yorkers Have Little Hope For Fixing Albany, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Legislature Won't Cooperate, Most Voters Say Word format New York State government is "broken and needs to be fixed," state voters say 89 - 9 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This overwhelming consensus is consistent among all groups and in all areas of the state. By a 59 - 25 percent margin, New York State voters are optimistic about the next four years with Andrew Cuomo as governor. Even Republicans are optimistic 46 - 39 percent. But only 45 percent of voters say Cuomo will be able to fix state government, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds, while 42 percent of voters say Cuomo will fail in this effort. Democrats are confident 57 - 28 percent that Cuomo will succeed, but pessimism rules Republicans 57 - 34 percent while independent voters are split 43 - 43 percent. And voters say 57 - 33 percent that the New York State Legislature will not cooperate in fixing state government. Democrats split 44 - 44 percent on whether the Legislature will cooperate in the fix-up, while Republicans say no 63 - 25 percent and independent voters are glum 66 - 26 percent. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is part of the problem, 57 percent of New York State voters say, while 19 percent expect him to cooperate in fixing government. Even Democrats say 45 - 26 percent that Silver is part of the problem. "That's one messed-up state government in Albany, almost everyone agrees," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Will our new governor, Andrew Cuomo, be able to straighten things out? We get two readings. Most New Yorkers are generally optimistic that he will do a good job overall." "But will he be an effective Mr. Fix-it? Ask the question that way and voters are split," Carroll added. "New Yorkers agree with people who follow New York politics: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been the 800-pound gorilla in Albany for years. That means he's 'part of the problem,' most voters think. About one-fifth think he'll cooperate to straighten the place out." New York State voters say 69 - 20 percent that an independent commission, not the State Legislature, should draw the district lines from which members of Congress and the State Legislature are elected. There is strong support for an independent commission across all party and regional lines. Elections would be more competitive if an independent commission created congressional and legislative districts, voters say 71 - 14 percent. "It's far from certain that those election-time pledges to make redistricting non-partisan will stick. But voters heavily favor the idea of having an independent commission - not legislators - draw the political lines for themselves and for Congress," Carroll said. "With the state set to lose one or two members of Congress, drawing those lines could be a real blood-bath." By a 48 - 43 percent margin, New York State voters approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing, his lowest approval ever in the Empire State. Democrats approve of the president 75 - 16 percent, but he gets a negative 12 - 82 percent rating from Republicans and a 44 - 46 percent split from independent voters. President Obama gets a negative 36 - 55 percent score from white voters, with positive scores of 93 - 3 percent from black voters and 71 - 17 percent from Hispanic voters. From November 30 - December 6, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,646 New York State voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and nationwide 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. 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Approve 48% 12% 75% 44% 44% 51% 45% Disapprove 43 82 16 46 49 38 48 DK/NA 9 6 9 11 7 10 7 UpSt NYC Subrbs Wht Blk His Approve 45% 57% 38% 36% 93% 71% Disapprove 44 34 56 55 3 17 DK/NA 10 9 7 9 4 12 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? APPROVE...... High Low Dec 08 Aug 31 Jul 29 Jun 22 Apr 13 Feb 19 Dec 08 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 Approve 48 51 53 55 62 72 48 Disapprove 43 41 41 39 33 17 43 DK/NA 9 7 6 6 5 10 9 2. Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic about the next four years with Andrew Cuomo as Governor? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Optimistic 59% 46% 71% 56% 57% 62% 57% Pessimistic 25 39 14 24 30 20 29 DK/NA 16 14 14 20 13 18 13 UpStat NYC Suburbs Optimistic 58% 60% 60% Pessimistic 26 20 29 DK/NA 16 19 11 3. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New York State today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Very satisfied 2% 4% 2% 1% 2% 2% 3% Smwht satisfied 23 15 31 19 23 23 17 Smwht dissatisfied 31 30 37 29 29 33 29 Very dissatisfied 42 50 29 49 45 40 50 DK/NA 1 - 1 2 1 1 1 UpStat NYC Suburbs Very satisfied 2% 2% 2% Smwht satisfied 13 33 25 Smwht dissatisfied 27 35 33 Very dissatisfied 56 29 39 DK/NA 2 1 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New York State today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Dec 08 Sep 01 Jul 28 Jun 23 Apr 14 Feb 25 Jun 23 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 1998 2010 Very satisfied 2 1 3 1 2 13 1 Smwht satisfied 23 19 20 18 20 60 18 Smwht dissatisfied 31 31 32 33 32 20 33 Very dissatisfied 42 47 45 47 46 7 47 DK/NA 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 15. Some people say that state government in New York State is broken and needs to be fixed. Do you agree or disagree? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Agree 89% 90% 87% 90% 88% 89% 89% Disagree 9 7 11 8 10 8 9 DK/NA 3 3 2 3 2 3 2 UpStat NYC Suburbs Agree 93% 85% 86% Disagree 6 11 11 DK/NA 1 4 3 TREND: Some people say that state government in New York State is broken and needs to be fixed. Do you agree or disagree? Dec 08 May 17 2010 2006 Agree 89 72 Disagree 9 20 DK/NA 3 8 16. Do you think as governor Andrew Cuomo can fix New York State government or not? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Yes 45% 34% 57% 43% 42% 49% 44% No 42 57 28 43 47 37 44 DK/NA 13 9 14 14 11 15 12 UpStat NYC Suburbs Yes 42% 50% 45% No 45 35 45 DK/NA 12 15 11 17. Do you think the legislature will cooperate in fixing New York State government or not? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Yes 33% 25% 44% 26% 30% 35% 30% No 57 63 44 66 64 51 62 DK/NA 10 12 12 8 5 15 7 UpStat NYC Suburbs Yes 28% 38% 32% No 64 49 58 DK/NA 8 13 10 18. The most powerful legislator is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Do you think he is part of the problem or will he cooperate in fixing New York State government? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Part of problem 57% 67% 45% 62% 64% 49% 60% Will cooperate 19 14 26 16 20 19 17 DK/NA 24 19 29 23 16 32 22 UpStat NYC Suburbs Part of problem 62% 46% 62% Will cooperate 16 26 16 DK/NA 22 28 22 19. Who do you think should draw the district lines by which members of the state legislature and Congress are elected, the state legislature or a commission that has no connection to the state legislature? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Legislature 20% 21% 24% 16% 16% 23% 15% Commission 69 71 64 76 75 64 74 DK/NA 11 8 12 8 8 13 11 UpStat NYC Suburbs Legislature 19% 25% 15% Commissionn 73 60 78 DK/NA 9 15 6 TREND: Who do you think should draw the district lines by which members of the state legislature and Congress are elected - the state legislature or a commission that has no connection to the state legislature? Dec 08 Dec 16 Aug 18 Jun 22 2010 2009 2009 2009 Legislature 20 16 21 22 Commission 69 73 70 66 DK/NA 11 11 9 12 20. If a commission drew the district lines from which legislators and members of Congress are elected, would that make for more competitive elections or not? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Yes 71% 71% 72% 72% 75% 68% 74% No 14 16 13 14 15 13 12 DK/NA 15 13 15 15 10 19 13 UpStat NYC Suburbs Yes 67% 75% 73% No 17 12 11 DK/NA 16 13 16 TREND: If a commission drew the district lines from which legislators and members of Congress are elected, would that make for more competitive elections or not? Dec 08 Dec 16 Aug 18 Jun 22 2010 2009 2009 2009 Yes 71 69 69 65 No 14 12 16 14 DK/NA 15 19 14 22 21. Who would you like to control the state senate, the Democrats or the Republicans? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Democrats 46% 5% 85% 31% 37% 54% 42% Republicans 35 87 5 33 40 30 38 DK/NA 19 9 10 36 23 16 20 UpStat NYC Suburbs Democrats 37% 59% 41% Republicans 39 24 45 DK/NA 24 17 14 TREND: Who would you like to control the state senate - the Democrats or the Republicans? Dec 08 Feb 04 Jun 22 2010 2010 2009 Democrats 46 47 50 Republicans 35 33 30 DK/NA 19 20 20 22. There are still some state legislative elections that haven't been decided. How concerned are you that these elections won't be decided by the time the legislature convenes on January first; very concerned, somewhat concerned, not too concerned, or not concerned at all? Union Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom HsHolds Very concerned 23% 24% 23% 20% 19% 26% 24% Smwht concerned 38 45 37 35 35 40 38 Not too concerned 25 21 27 30 28 23 24 Nt at all concerned 13 9 12 14 16 9 12 DK/NA 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 UpStat NYC Suburbs Very concerned 19% 26% 24% Smwht concerned 38 36 39 Not too concerned 26 25 25 Nt at all concerned 15 11 10 DK/NA 1 2 1
