Raleigh, N.C. – As time passes since the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, more voters are coming to accept it. Twice as many (60%) believe it should be legal as illegal (30%). That is up from 59-33 when PPP last polled the state in June, with a little movement toward it from Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. Indeed, when asked about the impact of its legalization on their lives, two-thirds of voters say it has had no effect at all, 18% say it has had a positive one, and only 15% a negative one. At 73%, Republicans are most likely to say it has not affected them, joined by 72% of independents and 59% of Democrats. A third of Democrats also say gay marriage being legal has had a positive impact on them.
Massachusetts voters are a little playfully scornful of Texas. 13% think that state should secede from the union, while only 5% think Massachusetts itself should. At 15%, Democrats are most likely to think Texas should leave the country and form its own, followed by 13% of independents and only 8% of Republicans. At 3%, GOP voters are also least likely to think their own state should declare its independence.
Voters give Gov. Deval Patrick high marks for his handling of the recent Hurricane Irene, with 69% approving and 14% disapproving of his performance during that crisis. But his overall approval rating has fallen since June, from 54-36 to 51-40.
Bay Staters have also soured a little on their senior Sen. John Kerry in the last three months. He had a 55-36 approval margin then, and 49-39 now. But for the first time since Scott Brown took office, Kerry is the more popular senator. In fact, 49% of voters say they have a higher opinion of him than Brown, with 45% saying the opposite.
Though the state is so solidly blue a change might not have any impact, more voters (40%) think the state should still allocate its electoral votes in a single bloc than think the votes should be divvied up by congressional district (34%). 26% are not sure.
PPP surveyed 791 Massachusetts voters from September 16th to 18th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.5%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
Deval Patrick’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 51%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 40%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%
Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
Deval Patrick’s handling of Hurricane Irene?
Approve …………………………………………………. 69%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%
Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator John
Kerry’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 49%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 39%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%
Q4 Do you have a higher opinion of Scott Brown or
John Kerry?
Scott Brown ……………………………………………. 45%
John Kerry ……………………………………………… 49%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%
Q5 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 60%
Illegal …………………………………………………….. 30%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%
Q6 Which of the following best describes your
opinion on gay marriage: gay couples should
be allowed to legally marry, or gay couples
should be allowed to form civil unions but not
legally marry, or there should be no legal
recognition of a gay couple’s relationship?
Gay couples should be allowed to legally
marry ……………………………………………………..56%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil
unions but not marry …………………………………30%
There should be no recognition of a gay
couple’s relationship …………………………………12%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%
Q7 Has the legalization of gay marriage in
Massachusetts had a positive or negative
impact on your life, or has it not had any impact
at all?
Positive impact………………………………………… 18%
Negative impact ………………………………………. 15%
No impact at all ……………………………………….. 67%
Q8 Do you think Texas should secede from the
United States and form its own country, or not?
Texas should secede ……………………………….. 13%
It should not ……………………………………………. 77%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 10%
Q9 Do you think Massachusetts should secede
from the United States and form its own
country, or not?
Massachusetts should secede…………………… 5%
It should not ……………………………………………. 91%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 4%
Q10 Which system would you prefer for dispensing
Massachusetts’ electoral votes: giving all of
them to the statewide winner or giving one to
the winner of each individual Congressional
District?
Electoral votes should all go to the statewide
winner …………………………………………………….40%
One should be given to the winner of each
Congressional District ……………………………….34%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 26%
Q11 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 32%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 58%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 10%
Q12 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 15%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 23%
Moderate………………………………………………… 35%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 21%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 6%
Q13 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%
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 ……………………………………………….. 40%
Republican……………………………………………… 15%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 45%
Q15 If you are white, press 1. If other, press 2.
White …………………………………………………….. 87%
Other……………………………………………………… 13%
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………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 41%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 24%
