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Support still strong for marriage amendment, poll shows Tuesday, Oct 26, 2004 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas voters continue to strongly support proposed Amendment 3, which would define marriage as only between a man and woman, according to a new poll by the Arkansas News Bureau and Stephens Media Group. The poll of likely Arkansas voters, conducted Oct. 18-20 by Opinion Research Associates Inc. of Little Rock, found that 77 percent support the measure. Nineteen percent said they oppose it. The poll of 500 Arkansans equally divided among the state's four congressional districts has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. Early voting began last week and the general election is Nov. 2. "Most candidates would give their eye teeth to have those kinds of numbers," said Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Marriage Amendment, about the continued popularity of Amendment 3. A poll done Oct. 4-6 showed Amendment 3 with support of 80 percent of Arkansas voters. Cox's group collected more than 200,000 signatures in July to get the measure on the ballot. "I'm delighted that every poll we have seen shows the amendment passing by a very large margin," Cox said, referring also to an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette poll done by Zogby International about two weeks ago that found the measure with 65 percent support. "What I've said all along is that polls don't vote and people need to get out and vote for it," Cox said. Cox and Ernie Oakleaf of Opinion Research agreed Monday that the slight drop in support for Amendment 3 from the first Opinion Research poll isn't a major concern. "I don't think you would get good odds with a bookie if you bet against this," Oakleaf said. "This is the same story. It's clear that you are going to get a good solid majority." Amendment 3 is popular because Arkansas is located in the Bible Belt, where voters generally attend church on a regular basis and tend to be more conservative on social issues, Oakleaf said. The amendment would declare "marriage consists only of one man and one woman" and that any "legal status for unmarried persons which is identical or substantially similar to marital status shall not be valid." The state also would not recognize any legal arrangement identical or substantially similar to marriage under the proposal. The amendment drew support across party lines with 71 percent of those claiming to be Democrats and 90 percent of Republicans supporting it. Men support it more than women - 80 percent to 74 percent - and whites and blacks support it equally at 77 percent, according to the poll. All four of the state's congressional districts showed overwhelming support for the proposal, with the 4th District of South Arkansas leading the way at 83 percent. Thirteen percent in the district said they oppose it. In the 3rd District, Northwest Arkansas, 78 percent said they would vote for Amendment 3 and 19 percent said they oppose it. In the 1st District of East Arkansas, 77 percent said they would vote for the amendment and 17 percent said they would vote against it. In the 2nd District, Central Arkansas, 67 percent said they support it and 29 percent oppose it. Opponents filed a legal challenge to the proposal in September saying it was misleading and vague and should not be on the Nov. 2 ballot. The state Supreme Court, however, ruled the measure's ballot title and name are sufficient and that it should remain on the ballot. Several other states, including Mississippi and Oklahoma, have similar anti-gay marriage measures on the November ballot. |
