SAN FRANCISCO, July 9 (UPI) -- California voters oppose a referendum to legalize marijuana and another to suspend a state law on greenhouse gas reduction, a poll released Friday indicated.
The Field Poll found 48 percent of those surveyed June 22-July 5 said they opposed Proposition 19, a question on the November ballot that would legalize marijuana, while 44 percent said they support the initiative, the polling firm said on its Web site Friday.
The poll, which surveyed 1,005 likely California voters, found 48 percent oppose Proposition 23 -- which would suspend the law intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions until the state unemployment rate drops to 5.5 percent for one year -- while 36 percent support the initiative.
Proposition 25, which would require only a simple majority vote to adopt a state budget, rather than the supermajority currently required in Sacramento, has broad support among voters, with 65 percent in favor and 20 percent opposed. The measure would retain the requirement for a two-thirds majority vote to raise taxes.
The poll results on Proposition 19 suggest the measure to legalize pot could be in trouble, the Los Angeles Times reported. As a rule, ballot initiatives that do not have support in the mid- to high-50s at this stage of a campaign season have a difficult time winning in November, the newspaper said.
White non-Hispanic voters and younger voters were more likely to favor Proposition 19, while Latinos, African-Americans and Asian-Americans expressed strong opposition, the Times said.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
