MPR, Humphrey Institute poll suggest outdoor and arts amendment faces challenges
A Minnesota Public Radio News and Humphrey Institute poll of likely Minnesota voters indicates the proposed constitutional amendment to raise the state sales tax to fund the outdoors and the arts faces tough odds.
According to the poll, 46 percent of voters favor the amendment while 36 percent do not. Nine percent of voters are not planning to vote on it, while ten percent are undecided.
The pollsters point out that because those voters who are not planning to vote on the amendment are in effective voting against it — blank ballots are counted as no votes on amendments — the opposition is really 45 percent.
Moreover, the pollsters note that four out of ten Democrats, who might be seen as more likely to support the amendment, do not.
Beyond this, the pollsters suggest that the current economic woes are deterring a strong majority of support for the amendment.
Among the 83 percent of Minnesotans who worry that the country is on the wrong track, about half are not supporting the amendment with only 34 percent supporting it.
A similar pattern exists among voters who identify the economy and jobs as the state’s most important problem, the pollsters note.
It’s generally believed that constitutional amendments need about a 60 percent majority to win.
The poll was conducted between Sept. 29 and Oct. 5.
