PROP. 19 POT MEASURE 'VERY IMPORTANT' TO VOTERS

A new survey about voter attitudes finds that a lot of Californians
were interested in Proposition 19, the recently failed proposition to
legalize and tax marijuana.

But the people most interested in it were opposed to it, according to
a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.

According to the survey of 2,003 California voters who reported
participating in the Nov. 2 election, 38 percent said they were most
interested in Prop. 19, an enthusiasm level more than double that for
any other proposition.

The problem for cannabis enthusiasts: 51 percent of those who said the
outcome of Prop. 19 was "very important" voted no on it. Only 18
percent of those who found its outcome very important supported it.
Others ranked it less highly.

"While it wasn't a vocal opposition, the opposition harkened back to
what (former President Richard) Nixon called 'the silent majority,' "
said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the opposition to Prop. 19. "It
was very important to a small segment of the population but not to a
lot of people."

However, when asked if they supported the legalization of marijuana,
voters were equally split: 49 percent thought it should be legalized,
and 49 percent thought it shouldn't.

"But there was some wariness about the way (Prop. 19) was written,"
said Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of the Public Policy Institute
of California. Overall, two-thirds of the voters said the wording on
all the ballot initiatives was "too complicated or confusing,"
according to the survey.

Age differences

While the poll found that 60 percent of Latinos and 58 percent of
voters between 35 and 54 opposed Prop. 19, it was supported by 62
percent of voters under 34 and 55 percent of independents.

"It's not a matter of if (marijuana is legalized), it is a matter of
when," said Dan Newman, a consultant who advised sponsors of Prop.
19.

On another issue, while much pre-election pundit chatter nationally
foreshadowed an "enthusiasm gap" among Democratic voters, that appears
to be "less of the case in California," Baldassare said. An October
poll from the University of Southern California found that 39 percent
of GOP supporters ranked their enthusiasm a "10" on a scale of 1 to 10
compared with a finding that 35 percent of Democrats were that
enthusiastic.

Wednesday's PPIC survey found that 46 percent of overall voters were
"more enthusiastic" about voting this year. Republicans (54 percent)
were more likely than Democrats (44 percent) or independents (40
percent) to feel catapulted to the polls.

Anticipating that gap, Democratic operatives in California tried to
rally base supporters by warning them they would get smothered by the
spending of GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, who poured $144
million of her own money into her campaign.

"We stressed that when we went out to talk to funders and others - we
needed them to step up," said Salazar, who also was a spokesman for an
independent expenditure campaign that supported Gov.-elect Jerry Brown
and was largely funded by labor organizations.

Baldassare attributed voter enthusiasm to the competitive
gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races, provocative propositions,
Whitman's record contributions and the continuing popularity President
Obama enjoys in California - contrary to his national approval
ratings. "People here wanted to support him," he said.

The poll found that 53 percent of Californians, including 54 percent
of independent voters, approve of the way Obama is doing his job.

ON OTHER ISSUES

Other findings:

More voters (34 percent) say the state's voter information guide
and sample ballot are still the most helpful source of
information.

While the poll found that only 21 percent of Californians approved
of the way Congress is doing its job, all of the state's congressional
incumbents were re-elected.

Asked how much "trust and confidence" they have in California
voters making public policy by approving or rejecting propositions,
only 9 percent said "a great deal."

The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2.7 percent.