WMUR Survey: Voters Oppose Two GOP Initiatives

The latest WMUR Granite State Poll surveyed Granite State adults on several high profile issues being debated in the legislature. The results show an electorate at odds with two of the key initiatives being promoted by the House Republican leadership.

• Opposition to repeal of same-sex marriage is overwhelming

New Hampshire adults oppose repeal of same-sex marriage by a 59 percent to 32 percent margin. Among those who feel strongly about the issue, opponents of repeal outnumber supporters by a 2-to-1 margin with 48 percent strongly opposing repeal compared to just 23 percent who strongly support it. These figures have remained remarkably constant over the past year in earlier surveys from WMUR and Voter Consumer Research.

• Support for a constitutional amendment to prohibit a state income tax is far short of the required two-thirds majority

New Hampshire voters are evenly divided on a a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit a state tax on income. 39 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for the amendment, 41 percent would oppose it. The House-passed amendment requires Senate approval before being presented to the voters. A two-thirds majority vote would then be required to amend the state constitution.

• Granite Staters support voter photo ID legislation

One Republican issue that does appear to have broad support is requiring voters to present photo identification in order to vote. 68 percent expressed support for a voter ID law compared to 24 percent who oppose it. The support crosses partisan lines with majorities among Republicans (87 to 10 percent), Independents (69 to 22 percent) and Democrats (52 to 37 percent ).

The Granite State Poll is sponsored by WMUR-TV and conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. 527 New Hampshire adults were interviewed between January 25 and February 2, 2012 for the survey, which has a +/- 4.3 percent margin of error.

Barker and Bosse Agree on Income Tax Amendment

Dean Barker, founder of the state’s leading progressive blog, and Grant Bosse, lead investigator for a free-market think tank, rarely agree — on anything. So it’s notable that they both made the same point about the proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit an income tax: it has more to do with influencing the November elections than about how we fund state government.

Barker: So today the Republican supermajority House voted to enshrine the prohibition of raising revenue through income into New Hampshire’s state constitution. I have a bridge I’d like to sell to anyone who doesn’t think this is an obvious, partisan, Get-Out-The-Vote move.

Bosse: Putting CACR 13 on the ballot this fall likely won’t keep New Hampshire from ever adopting an income tax. But it will ensure that every candidate for office will be talking about the income tax. And most voters will have the income tax on their minds when they go to the polls.