Times Poll : Law and Order, Spending, Bird Top the Issues

Three dominant issues in the minds of Orange County voters Tuesday were government spending, law and order, and Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird’s death penalty rulings, according to an exit poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times.

And among the items on the statewide ballot, the gubernatorial race and confirmation of Supreme Court justices were of preeminent importance for county voters, according to the poll.

More than 80% of voters questioned as they left polling places Tuesday said they support the death penalty. Not surprisingly, they voted against confirming Bird and state Supreme Court Justices Joseph R. Grodin and Cruz Reynoso--all of whom were attacked during the campaign for their votes against the death penalty while serving on the court.

Gubernatorial Race Cited

To those who voted in the race for the U.S. Senate, the issue of Bird’s fate was more important than government spending. By a wide margin, the voters surveyed also said the governor’s race was more important than the U.S. Senate contest, and Gov. George Deukmejian’s level of support outpaced that for the Republican Senate candidate, U.S. Rep. Ed Zschau.

Voters surveyed said the leading factor in casting their votes in the U.S. Senate race was government spending.

When asked about the personal characteristics of the Senate candidates for whom they had voted, voters cited political party and philosophy more often than other factors.

Zschau supporters listed government spending, Bird and the death penalty as the issues that attracted them to the Republican candidate.

Backers of Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston cited his positions on the statewide toxics initiative, support for Israel and negative commercials as reasons for their support.

The Times poll was conducted at 11 selected precincts in Orange County. A total of 438 voters were questioned. After casting their ballots, the voters were handed two-page questionnaires, which were filled out by hand privately and deposited in a sealed box.

Among the voters surveyed, almost one-third identified themselves as moderates, more than a quarter identified themselves as liberals, and the remainder identified themselves as conservatives.

Predictably, most of those identifying themselves as conservatives supported Zschau and most of those identifying themselves as liberals backed Cranston.

Moderates for Cranston

However, those classifying themselves as moderates supported Cranston over Zschau by a wide margin.

When the voters surveyed were divided into categories based on annual earnings, Zschau narrowly led Cranston in all income groups except those making between $10,000 and $30,000.

On the statewide ballot initiatives, Orange County voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition 63, designating English as the state’s official language. To lesser but substantial degrees, voters opposed Proposition 64, the AIDS initiative, and supported Proposition 65, the toxics initiative.

ATTITUDES AMONG ORANGE COUNTY VOTERS

Figures are based on responses to the Los Angeles Times Poll by voters leaving 11 precincts in Orange County compared to voters at 151 precincts statewide.

Most important vote in Tuesday’s election: Percent Governor’s Race Orange County 29 Statewide 26 Rose Bird Orange County 20 Statewide 19 Senate Race Orange County 16 Statewide 14