POLL: VOTERS AGAINST GAY MARRIAGES

HELENA - Voters still show strong support for a constitutional
initiative seeking to ban gay marriage in Montana, a new Gazette State
Poll shows.

Likely voters favor Constitutional Initiative 96 by a 59 to 34 percent
margin, with 7 percent undecided. Support for the ban remains similar
from a similar Lee poll last month that showed voters favoring it 61
to 32 percent, with 7 percent undecided.

CI-96, which would limit Montana marriages to unions between one man
and one woman, garnered slightly more support from men - 60 percent -
compared with 58 percent from women.

The telephone poll, which surveyed 625 registered Montana voters, was
conducted Tuesday and Wednesday by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research,
Inc., of Washington, D.C., the Gazette State Bureau. It has a margin
of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Support for another initiative, which would allow the medical use of
marijuana, jumped somewhat from the September poll. The October poll
results show likely voters favoring Initiative 148 by a 63 to 28
percent margin, with 9 percent undecided. In September, voters favored
I-148 by 58 to 29 percent, with 13 percent undecided.

Support for the medical use of marijuana is equal among men and woman,
at 63 percent.

Finally, support for Initiative 149, the proposed 140 percent tobacco
tax increase, has jumped in the recent Gazette State Poll. Likely
voters favor the proposal by a 66 to 28 percent margin, with 6 percent
undecided, the October poll showed. In the September poll, the margin
was 59 percent for to 30 percent against, with 11 percent undecided.

Under I-149, cigarette taxes would jump $1 per pack, from 70 cents to
$1.70 per pack. The tax on snuff would increase from 35 cents to 85
cents an ounce and taxes on other tobacco products would increase from
25 percent to 50 percent of wholesale price. The overall price of
tobacco would jump 25 percent.

Support for the initiative remains even between the genders at 66
percent.

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HOW THE POLL WAS CONDUCTED

HELENA - The Gazette State Poll was conducted last Monday through
Wednesday by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C.,
for The Billings Gazette, Montana Standard of Butte, Helena
Independent Record, Missoulian and Ravalli Republic of Hamilton.

A total of 625 registered voters were interviewed statewide by
telephone. All said they were likely to vote in the November general
election.

The polling firm interviewed 315 women or 50 percent of the sample and
310 men or 50 percent of the total.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The margin of error is higher for any subgroup such as a gender,
region or age sampling.

Those interviewed were selected by random variation of the last four
digits of telephone numbers. A cross section of telephone exchanges
were used to ensure an accurate reflection of the state. Quotas were
assigned to reflect voter turnout by county.

Here is the breakdown:

* Eastern Montana area, 55 interviews in these 15 counties: Carter,
Powder River, Rosebud, Custer, Fallon, Prairie, Wibaux, Dawson,
Garfield, McCone, Richland, Roosevelt, Sheridan, Daniels and Valley.

* Billings and southeastern Montana area, 125 interviews in these 11
counties: Yellowstone, Treasure, Big Horn, Carbon, Stillwater, Sweet
Grass, Wheatland, Golden Valley, Musselshell, Petroleum and Fergus.

* Great Falls and northcentral Montana area, 105 interviews in these
12 counties: Cascade, Meagher, Judith Basin, Teton, Chouteau,
Phillips, Blaine, Hill, Liberty, Toole, Pondera and Glacier counties.

* Butte, Helena and Bozeman areas, 160 interviews in these 10
counties: Lewis and Clark, Powell, Broadwater, Jefferson, Silver Bow,
Deer Lodge, Beaverhead, Madison, Gallatin and Park.

* Missoula and Kalispell areas, 180 interviews in these eight
counties: Missoula, Granite, Ravalli, Mineral, Sanders, Lake, Flathead
and Lincoln counties.

Copies of the poll results may be purchased from Mason-Dixon Polling
and Research by calling (904) 261-2444.