October 28, 2004

Props 60 and 62
Orange County Survey Respondents Slightly Favor Status Quo Versus Open Primary, But Many Remain Undecided

Orange County survey respondents slightly favor Proposition 60, the status quo on primary elections, over Proposition 62, the Voter Choice Open Primary Act, according to the quarterly Orange County Business Council/Cal State Fullerton Center for Public Policy survey that included 374 respondents.

A total of 32 percent of the respondents said they would likely vote for Prop. 60, and 50 percent said they were undecided. Thirty-five percent of residents said they would likely support Prop. 62, 39 percent said they would not, and 24 percent said they did not know.

According to the Field Poll, California residents polled statewide on both propositions held very similar views with Orange County residents on Prop. 60, with 34 percent likely voting in favor and 50 percent undecided. For Prop. 62, Californians as a whole indicated modest support, with 44 percent in favor and 25 percent undecided. Field Poll surveyed 586 residents during mid-October.

“The public’s views on Prop. 60 are clearer than those on 62, though with many respondents still undecided,” said Phil Gianos, professor of political science at Cal State Fullerton and director of the Center for Public Policy. “Support for the status quo — Prop 60. — is fairly strong, while opinion on Prop. 62 appears to be less focused. It’s interesting that at the state level, opinions are contradictory, with support for both measures despite they’re being contradictory. In Orange County, our results indicate that respondents are a little more consistent in that they affirmatively support the status quo by supporting Prop. 60 and they reinforce that view by very slightly opposing Prop. 62. This is a classic case of dueling propositions that require even more than the usual care for voters in thinking through their positions.”

Julie Puentes, executive vice president, public affairs for the Orange County Business Council, said the contradictory survey results are more likely due to confusion over which of the initiatives would give the voters the most choice.

“If the voters still want the choices they supported by passing Prop. 198 by such a large margin in 1996, the campaign for Prop. 62 must get its message out that Prop. 62 gives voters more discretion at the polls and more control over the outcomes of elections,” she said.

Voters approved Prop. 198, a version of the open primary, in 1996 by 60 percent, but the measure was invalidated by the courts after 2000.

The Orange County Business Council is on record in support of Prop. 62 and against Prop 60. Puentes is one of the signatories to the rebuttal to the argument against Prop. 62. Cal State Fullerton does not take positions on ballot measures.

The current Orange County survey was conducted for the CSUF Center for Public Policy/ Orange County Business Council team by the Social Science Research Center at California State University, Fullerton (SSRC). The SSRC Director is Gregory Robinson.

Telephone interviews were conducted utilizing Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) equipment and software. The CATI system is an information-gathering protocol that contributes to the accuracy of data and to preserving the random nature of the sample.

A draft survey instrument was provided by the Center for Public Policy and refined by the Social Science Research Center for comprehensiveness, flow, length and factors that influence respondent cooperation and interest. Sample design and technical assistance with data analysis was provided by the SSRC.

Interviews were conducted Monday through Thursday from 4-9 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 2-8 p.m. between Sept. 30 and Oct. 20. Calculated conservatively, survey items to which 374 randomly selected respondents reply are associated with a confidence interval of plus or minus 4.94 percent.

The Orange County Business Council is the leading business organization in Orange County, Calif. OCBC is a private-sector alliance of companies and public-sector partners that represents hundreds of local enterprises from small shops to giant multinational companies. OCBC provides a forum for businesses to join together, often in conjunction with government and educational institutions, to invest in the growth and prosperity of the fifth largest county in America.

Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Public Policy seeks to enhance public policy dialogues in the Orange County community by encouraging faculty research on current local issues. Analysis of Orange County infrastructure is a continuing interest, with such focuses as coastal water cleanliness, transportation, schools, sanitation and housing.