Gov. Rick Scott’s effort to remove non-citizens from voter rolls and the state’s stand your ground self defense law are both overwhelmingly supported by most Florida voters, a poll released Wednesday shows.
Voters who responded in a new Quinnipiac University poll support the Scott administration’s effort to find ineligible voters and remove them, by 60-35 percent, despite a fight over the issue with the federal government.
Voters approve the stand your ground law, which removed the duty to retreat before using deadly force in defense in a public place, by a 56-37 margin, the poll found.
But despite being on the “right” side of those two issues as far as the majority of Floridians is concerned, Scott’s approval rating remained below in the negative. The poll showed 49 percent saying they disapprove of the job he is doing compared to 39 percent saying they approve.
The poll found Scott strongly backed by Republican respondents, and generally supported by independents. Democrats generally oppose his policies, but even there, some agree with him. For example one-in-three Democratic respondents said they agreed with the voter purge. Among Republicans, 90 percent agree with the effort to remove ineligible voters, while independents support it 59-37 percent.
The move to remove ineligible voters is less popular with minorities. Black voters oppose the idea 56-38 percent. But perhaps surprisingly, a large number of Hispanics – 42 percent – agree with the move, while just 49 percent oppose it. White voters back the voter roll clean-up 67-29 percent.
“Gov. Rick Scott may be a lot less popular in Florida these days than President Barack Obama, but on the face-off between the two on the purge issue, Floridians seem to be solidly in Scott’s corner,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement.
Support for the state’s current self defense law, including its “stand your ground” provision is 81-12 percent among Republicans, while 55 percent of independents support it and just 30 percent of Democrats. While majorities of white and Hispanic voters support the law, black voters, by a 59-31 percent margin, oppose it. The law has come into focus in the wake of the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a man who has since said he felt threatened and whose lawyers will likely claim that he was standing his ground as the law allows.
“There is solid support for ‘Stand Your Ground’ among Florida voters, especially Republicans,” Brown said. “Republican lawmakers, who dominate the state Legislature, would be taking on their own base if they were to change the law.”
The poll also found Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson with a 47-32 percent approval rating and Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio with a 51-31 percent approval rating.
Quinnipiac conducted the poll June 12-18, questioning 1,697 registered voters by phone. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.
Full data on the poll, including break downs of responses by various groups is here.
–David Royce, News Service of Florida
NortonSmitty says
This also just in, Floridians approve of changing the slogan on their license plates to “Staring at my plate makes Me Feel Threatened” 68-32, narrowly beating out “Florida, Home of the Gravy-Sweating Cousin-Fucker” 62-48 percentage approval..
question says
We need say no more than:
Rick Scott “was forced to resign as the head of a company [HCA] that pled guilty to massive amounts of systematic fraud, including 14 felonies, leading to a historic $1.7 billion fine.”
and Flori-DUH voted HIM in as their GOVERNOR!!
[but it’s not like it was MEDICARE fraud…where FL is THE Medicare State. ooops, yes it was]
P.S. Rest assured that these are the same people who will vote for the PAUL RYAN Medicare Eliminating Voucher Plan. Lemmings have nothing on the FL ‘Conservative’…just tell them where to go to jump and they’ll line up like it’s the $2.99 Dinner Special.
geessshh!
NortonSmitty says
As an aside, I’ve been home sick all day watching the Fox News orgasmic coverage of the Fast & Furious gun goatrape program started under the Bush administration and the fact that Obama claimed Executive Privilege with regard to his communications with Justice and Holder. Which has never been done before to protect internal communications, except by Bush II sixteen times, Clinton eight, Bush I four and Reagan three times, but then again, they weren’t Muslims.
Anyhoo, the coverage went Non-Stop since noon and seeming excessive even for Fox. So I looked at what else was released today that they might be trying to drown out of the news cycle. And wattyaknow?: http://www.salon.com/2012/06/19/new_nsa_docs_reveal_911_truths/ . The NSA released the tons of documents that show Bush/Cheney ordered the funds withdrawn from the CIA group that had Bin Laden spotted and cornered in the months prior to 9/11 and were screaming he was about to launch a huge attack on the US. Why?
So which of these two stories do you think deserves the 24/7 outrage treatment on the subject of Federal Fuck-Ups?. I know which on get my vote. 2606 death toll to 1 in fact.
Yellowstone says
Boy, that says it all. How intelligent is that??
Just what I was anxiously waiting for . . .
Now when does the next boat leave for Uraguay?
Geezer says
The problem is that the majority of Floridians don’t care.
Nice post anyway.
Outsider says
Yes, it’s bewildering why SO MANY people would want to have the ability to defend themselves if accosted on the street, and ensure that anyone voting actually has that right. What is wrong with people? And Norton, what the hell is a “gravy-weating cousing f^&^er anyway???!!! I think there is a flaw in your research; 62 + 48 = ? Better take another Advil. Hope you’re feeling better!
NortonSmitty says
Now I gotta’ double check the math even when I’m making shit up? This is getting too much like work!
another voice says
Stupid results, except for the answers I like, thank you very much! :)
Isn’t that the whole idea of a poll result report, to encourage “herd mentality”? If so, confusing results make this poll a giant FAIL. These guys could ask respondents who they voted for, for governor, and not one person would say “Rick Scott”. In other words, it’s just another Quinnipiac hack job, at odds with itself simply because of the way the questions are asked.
Rocky Mac says
I would like to know exactly the wording of the poll question. Without doing research does anyone know the wording of the question? Sorry folks, typing with one hand today.