POLL: Prop 8 Losing 40-54% Of Likely Voters

A poll released today from the Public Policy Institute of California shows that voters are still equally divided on support for marriages for same-sex couples but are also rejecting amending the Constitution to remove that fundamental freedom.

A majority of likely voters, 54 percent, oppose Proposition 8, which would amend the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage, compared to 40 percent who support it, according to the Public Policy Institute of California survey.

The result is similar to the findings of a survey released in July by the Field Poll, which found that 51 percent of likely California voters opposed Proposition 8 while 42 percent said they would vote for it.

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The Public Policy Institute began asking voters how they feel about gay marriage in 2000, the year voters approved Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage but did not enshrine it in the Constitution. That year, the poll found 55 percent opposed to gay marriage and 38 percent in favor.

The poll released Wednesday found the state's likely voters are evenly split on the question—at 47 percent for and against—as they have been for the past three years.

As usual, there is a large partisan divide apparent in the poll, which has a margin of error +/- 3 percentage points. Democrats (66%) and Independents (59%) are opposed to Proposition 8, while Republicans (60%) support it.