According to a new University of South Florida poll, just 22% of Floridians feel they’re well informed about the constitutional amendments on the ballot this November.
The USF poll shows 60% of Floridians feel they aren’t getting enough information about the proposed constitutional amendments. And that number is on the rise since 2012. This year voters in the state can weigh in on measures relating to medical marijuana, solar power and tax exemptions. Florida State University political scientist Carol Weissert says the presidential campaign is overshadowing down-ticket issues.
“I still think a lot of this is the nature of this election. And the fact that constitutional amendments do tend to be more complicated, a little less interesting than the other elections,” Weissert said.
And Weissert says the survey results don’t bode well for any of the measures.
“Well it will be interesting to see whether that translates into no votes. Because we do have a 60% requirement on the state constitution. So each of these four measures will have to get 60%. Traditionally people if they don’t get enough information will vote no, so this may be a bad sign for all of the measures,” she said.
The survey also shows 70% of Floridians believe well-funded special interest groups are usually behind the measures, as opposed to average citizens.
