NE supports awarding Electoral College votes by congressional district

Raleigh, N.C. – Yesterday PPP released numbers showing Barack Obama in position to again take an electoral vote in Nebraska despite losing the state badly by winning one of Nebraska’s three congressional districts. PPP asked voters if they would prefer to keep the current system of awarding their electoral votes by congressional district or switching to a winner-take-all system. By a 51-38 margin,voters said they’d like to keep the current system. Democrats (66-18) and Independents (60-23) support the current system while only Republicans (38-42) want to switch to a winner-take-all model.

With former Senator Bob Kerrey moving back to Nebraska from New York City to run for U.S. Senate, PPP asked Nebraskans if they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Big Apple. A plurality of voters (42%) had a favorable view of NYC, compared to 27% who viewed it unfavorably and 32% not sure. Democrats viewed it favorably by a 54-16 margin, indepenendents were almost as favorable at 45-17, but Republicans dislike New York by a slight margin at 32-37.

Governor Dave Heineman sees a strong approval rating at 60% favorable and 27% unfavorable. Senator Mike Johanns also gets goodwill from the voters – he’s at 55-30. Outgoing Senator Ben Nelson does less well, he’s at 36-53.

Warren Buffett is also liked by a strong majority of his fellow Nebraskans, garnering a 63-22 favorability rating.  Even more Republicans like him (46%) than dislike him (35%) despite Buffett’s frequent calls to raise taxes on the rich.

Nebraskans strongly support the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, supporting it 60-27.

Nebraskans say they are glad that the University of Nebraska moved to the Big 10 from the Big 12, supporting that change by a 55-16 margin. They have favorable views of Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne (79-10) and football coach Bo Pelini (58-17), and support Osborne’s firing of basketball coach Doc Sadler by a 53-11 margin.

PPP surveyed 1,028 Nebraska voters from March 22^nd  to 25^th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.1%.  This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
Dave Heineman’s job performance?
Approve .......................................................... 60%
Disapprove...................................................... 27%
Not sure .......................................................... 13%

Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Mike
Johanns' job performance?
Approve .......................................................... 55%
Disapprove...................................................... 30%
Not sure .......................................................... 15%

Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Ben
Nelson’s job performance?
Approve .......................................................... 36%
Disapprove...................................................... 53%
Not sure .......................................................... 11%

Q4 Do you support or oppose construction of the
Keystone XL pipeline?
Support ........................................................... 60%
Oppose ........................................................... 27%
Not sure .......................................................... 14%

Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of New York City?
Favorable........................................................ 42%
Unfavorable .................................................... 27%
Not sure .......................................................... 32%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Warren Buffett?
Favorable........................................................ 63%
Unfavorable .................................................... 22%
Not sure .......................................................... 15%

Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Tom Osborne?
Favorable........................................................ 79%
Unfavorable .................................................... 10%
Not sure .......................................................... 11%

Q8 Do you support or oppose Tom Osborne’s
decision to fire Doc Sadler as basketball
coach?
Support ........................................................... 53%
Oppose ........................................................... 11%
Not sure .......................................................... 36%

Q9 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Bo Pelini?
Favorable........................................................ 58%
Unfavorable .................................................... 17%
Not sure .......................................................... 25%

Q10 Are you glad that Nebraska moved to the Big
10, or do you wish it had remained in the Big
12?
Glad it moved to the Big 10............................. 55%
Wish it had remained in the Big 12 ................. 16%
Not sure .......................................................... 29%

Q11 Which system would you prefer for dispensing
Nebraska’s electoral votes: giving all of them to
the statewide winner or giving one to the
winner of each individual Congressional
district?
The electoral votes should all go to the
statewide winner .............................................30%
One should be given to the winner of each
individual Congressional district......................51%
Not sure .......................................................... 18%

Q12 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ...................................................... 6%
Somewhat liberal ............................................ 13%
Moderate......................................................... 31%
Somewhat conservative.................................. 29%
Very conservative ........................................... 22%

Q13 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ........................................................... 53%
Man................................................................. 47%

Q14 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ........................................................ 34%
Republican...................................................... 52%
Independent/Other.......................................... 15%

Q15 If you are white, press 1. If other, press 2.
White .............................................................. 94%
Other............................................................... 6%

Q16 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29........................................................... 9%
30 to 45........................................................... 28%
46 to 65........................................................... 39%
Older than 65.................................................. 24%

Comments

[toto]

A PPP survey of Nebraska voters conducted on January 26–27, 2011, showed 67% overall support for a national popular vote for President.

In a second question presenting a three-way choice among various methods of awarding Nebraska’s electoral votes,

16% favored the statewide winner-take-all system (i.e., awarding all five of Nebraska’s electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most votes statewide);
27% favored Nebraska’s current system of awarding electoral votes by congressional district; and
57% favored a national popular vote.

In a third question, 39% of voters think that changing the method by which Nebraska awards its electoral votes should be a high priority for the Nebraska Legislature in 2011, while 61% said that it should not.

The first question was: "How do you think we should elect the President: Should it be the candidate who gets the most votes in all 50 states, or the current Electoral College system?"

On the first question, support for a national popular vote, by political affiliation was 78% among Democrats, 62% among Republicans, and 63% among others.
By congressional district, support for a national popular vote was 65% in the First congressional district, 66% in the Second district (which voted for Obama in 2008); and 72% in the Third District.
By gender, support for a national popular vote was 76% among women and 59% among men.
By age, support for a national popular vote, 73% among 18–29 year-olds, 67% among 30–45 year-olds, 65% among 46–65 year-olds, and 69% among those older than 65.

The second question was: "Do you prefer a system where the candidate who gets the most votes in all 50 states on a nationwide basis is elected President, or one like in Nebraska where electoral voters are dispensed by Congressional district, or one in which all of Nebraska's electoral votes would be given to the statewide winner?"

In the second question, support by political affiliation was as follows:

Candidate who gets the most votes in all 50 states
65% 53% R 51% Other
Nebraska’s current district system 26% 27% 32%
Statewide winner-take-all system 9% 20% 17%
In the second question, support by congressional district was as follows:

First district Second district Third District
Candidate who gets the most votes in all 50 states
53% 58% 59%
Nebraska’s current district system 26% 31% 26%
Statewide winner-take-all system 21% 12% 15%

The third question was "Do you think that changing the method by which Nebraska awards its electoral votes should be a high priority for the Nebraska Legislature in 2011?"

On the third question, by political affiliation, the percentage of voters who thought that changing the method by which Nebraska awards its electoral votes should be a high priority for the Legislature in 2011 was 38% among Democrats, 42% among Republicans, and 30% among others.
By congressional district, the percentage of voters who thought that changing the electoral method should be a high priority for the Legislature was 37% in the First congressional district, 42% in the Second district (which voted for Obama in 2008); and 38% in the Third District.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 1/2%.

http://nationalpopularvote.com/resources/NE-Poll-Results-Jan-2011.pdf