A new bipartisan poll conducted jointly by North Star Opinion Research and EMC Research shows that nearly three-quarters of Florida voters support Amendment 4—the Voting Restoration Amendment—on the ballot this November. Amendment 4 gives Floridians who have made past mistakes the eligibility to vote after they have paid their full debt to society. An amendment to Florida’s constitution requires 60 percent of the vote to become law.
“This amendment has the strong bipartisan support needed to pass with Florida’s 60 percent threshold,” said, Dan Judy of North Star Opinion Research, the pollster for Senator Marco Rubio. “Regardless of party, gender, race, or region of the Sunshine State, Floridians strongly support Amendment 4.”
The poll shows that a supermajority of Floridians from each political party support the amendment. According to the survey, 61 percent of Republicans, 78 percent of Independents, and 88 percent of Democrats are in support. In terms of ideology, 92 percent of those who call themselves liberal support the amendment as do 59 percent who identify as conservative.
“In an added indication of the measure’s strength, there are very few undecided voters on the amendment,” said Dave Beattie of EMC Research. “Only 3 percent of voters surveyed said they didn’t know about or had no opinion about the issue.”
EMC Research and North Star Opinion Research conducted a live telephone survey of 1,303 likely November 2018 general election voters in the state of Florida from March 22 – April 2, 2018. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish, and both landlines and mobile phones were included. The margin of error for overall results is ±2.7 percentage points.
Amendment 4 restores the eligibility to vote of Floridians with felony convictions only after they complete all terms of their sentence and pay their full debt to society – including parole, probation, and restitution, if imposed by a judge. Those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses will not be eligible under Amendment 4.
“These poll results reflect what our grassroots movement has found after literally hundreds of thousands of conversations,” said campaign manager Jackie Lee. “Floridians believe in second chances and support the ability of people who have made a mistake to earn back their eligibility to vote. They strongly support Amendment 4 because it impacts people and families from every community and all walks of life. Vote YES for Second Chances and vote YES on Amendment 4 in November.”
To learn more about the Second Chances Campaign, please visit SecondChancesFL.org.
About North Star Opinion Research
North Star Opinion Research provides strategic guidance to Republican candidates, trade associations, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Located in Washington, D.C., North Star is a full-service research firm offering a broad range of capabilities and expertise. For more information about North Star Opinion Research, visit northstaropinion.com.
About EMC Research
EMC Research is a national public opinion and data analytics firm with offices in Columbus, OH, Irving, TX, Oakland, CA, Orlando, FL, Portland, OR, Seattle, WA and Washington, D.C. EMC Research tailors unique research solutions to complex problems for government agencies, private companies, non-profit organizations, ballot measure campaigns and candidates for public office. For more information about EMC Research, visit emcresearch.com.
