Poll shows growing opposition to constitutional amendments
Public Policy Polling, a North Carolina firm linked to Democrats, says opposition to two proposed constitutional amendments has grown since the firm last polled on the issues.
The poll of 937 likely voters in Minnesota between Oct. 5 - 8 finds that a growing number of people are opposed to a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman, and a constitutional amendment that would require people to present photo identification to vote.
The poll found that 49 percent of those polled are opposed to the amendment to ban same-sex marriage while 46 percent support it and 5 percent say they're not sure. One percent of those polled say they won't vote on the amendment. The 50 percent threshold is critical because supporters need a majority to amend the constitution.
"The marriage amendment in Minnesota continues to look like a toss-up," wrote Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. "Voters are very closely divided on the issue."
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Meanwhile, support for the so-called Voter ID amendment has dropped from previous polls. The measure still is supported by a majority of those polled (51 percent) but support has dipped seven percentage points since a June poll. Forty-three percent of those polled oppose the amendment, while 6 percent say they're not sure.
PPP will release data on the race for president tomorrow. The group tweeted that President Barack Obama is polling better in Minnesota than he did in the September poll. Several national polls, including one conducted by the Pew Research Center, signal that Republican Mitt Romney has picked up ground on Obama and now show the race as tied nationally.
DFL Sen. Al Franken and DFL Gov. Mark Dayton got positive marks in the poll. Forty-nine percent of those polled approve of the job Franken is doing in the U.S. Senate. Fifty-three percent approve of the job that Dayton is doing as governor.
Critics will argue that the poll is weighed too heavily towards Democrats. The poll found that 38 percent of those polled identify themselves as Democrats, 29 percent identify themselves as Republicans and 32 percent identify themselves as independents or other. The margin of error is +/-3.2%.
Read the full results here.