Plurality
(41%) Says We Should Keep the Electoral College;
More
Bush supporters favor Keeping It
Microsoft Word Version
Loudonville, NY – In
New York State, Democrat John Kerry continues to maintain a substantial lead in
his bid to replace Republican George Bush as the next president of the United
States, according to the latest statewide poll by the Siena (College) Research
Institute (SRI).
“Unlike certain neighboring states which are part of the
campaign battleground, New York remains a strongly ‘blue’ state which John
Kerry will easily carry,” notes Joe Caruso, director of polling for the
Siena Research Institute. “However, he will likely not do so by as large a
margin as Al Gore won four years ago, with 60% of New Yorkers’ votes, and a
margin of victory of 25 percent.”
The Siena poll of 1,062 likely registered voters in New York State found:
|
Should
we keep or abolish the Electoral College? |
|||
|
|
keep |
abolish |
don’t
know/ no
opinion |
|
Bush supporters |
55% |
21% |
24% |
|
Kerry supporters |
30% |
43% |
26% |
|
ans.
“don’t know/no op.” to Pres. question |
37% |
20% |
43% |
|
All respondents |
41% |
32% |
27% |
“While only two of
five New Yorkers support keeping the Electoral College, it is still a plurality
of voters since only one-third think it should be abolished,” Caruso says.
“More than a quarter of New Yorkers had no opinion. Considering that in
fact, our current presidential election system puts big states like New York at
a disadvantage, I would say New Yorkers are in dire need of a civics lesson
about the Electoral College.”
This SRI survey was conducted October 25-28, 2004 by random telephone calls to 1,062 likely registered voters in New York State. It has an overall margin of error of + 3.0. For more information or comments, please contact Joe Caruso, SRI Director of Polling, at 518-783-2901 (office) or 518-542-7814 (mobile). Survey data can be found at: www.siena.edu/sri/surveys.asp.