League of Conservation Voters Education Fund: Vote Environment: Polling Information: State Polls

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FINDINGS FROM THE CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE SURVEY CONDUCTED FOR THE LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND ^[1]

The results of this statewide survey of voters likely to participate in November’s general election demonstrates that voters in California care a great deal about the environment, especially clean water and clean air, and want their elected officials to do more to protect the state’s air, land and water. Among the principal findings of the survey are the following:

• Clean air and water rank as one of voters’ top issues.

• Voters indicate that issues involving clean air and water are crucial to deciding how they vote.

• In a head-to-head match-up, a pro-environment candidate easily defeats a candidate who favors fewer regulations.

• Nearly all California voters are unsatisfied with current environmental laws and how they are enforced. Voters want either tougher enforcement of current environmental laws or stronger laws.

• Voters firmly believe that it is possible to have both a clean environment and a healthy economy.

• In terms of specific environmental issues, issues revolving around growth, air, and water, especially drinking water, emerge to the forefront.

• Growth takes on several different forms for voters, including traffic, uncontrolled growth and sprawl, and the loss of farmland and open space.

The balance of this summary reviews some of these findings in more detail.

Click here to download the PDF version of the California poll summary!

[1] From July 23 to 30, 2000, Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates conducted a telephone survey among 600 registered California voters who indicated they are likely to vote in the November 2000 general election. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 4.0 percent. The margin of error among subgroups will be larger.