A controversial ballot initiative that would put an end to preferential treatment based on race, sex, or ethnicity by public entities received further validation from the voting public Tuesday.
A telephone survey conducted in "presidential swing states" Oct. 8-12 by Quinnipiac University shows that the majority of Colorado voters, Democrat and Republican alike, say they will vote yes on Amendment 46, also known as the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative.
The poll showed that 62 percent of all voters surveyed were supportive of the initiative's language, with just 19 percent saying they were opposed. The numbers represent only a slight decline since June when the Quinnipiac found that 66 percent of all voters supported the measure.
Ward Connerly, president of the American Civil Rights Institute and active supporter of the Colorado campaign, said he is glad but unsurprised to see the amendment maintain its support among Colorado voters.
“The poll results indicate that the principles of fairness and equality run deep in the Colorado electorate,” he said. “We are confident these poll results will be sustained and manifest themselves on Nov. 4.”
The only significant drop-off seen was among Democrats. In the June poll, 71 percent of Democrats said they support the measure, whereas last week their numbers dropped to 57 percent.
The poll, conducted in cooperation with the Wall Street Journal and WashingtonPost.com, surveyed 997 likely voters in Colorado and has a margin of error of three percentage points.
The results follow two other recent polls on the measure. An August Rasmussen poll found that 55 percent of likely voters approved of Amendment 46, while a Mason-Dixon poll sponsored by The Denver Post last month found that 44 percent of likely voters were supportive. The numbers were enough for the Post to predict a victory for Amendment 46.
Connerly added should the measure pass, he will be glad to see another state cast off the shackles of racial preferences. “Colorado will join California, Michigan, and Washington as states that will pursue diversity without the use of racial preferences,” he said.