The Times Poll : State Voters Show Distrust of Politicians

Californians who voted for both “campaign reform” propositions on Tuesday’s ballot believe emphatically that special-interest money has been “corrupting the state Legislature,” the Los Angeles Times Poll found.

But voters gave their biggest support to the less sweeping of the two measures because, the poll indicated, they also adamantly felt that “taxpayers’ money should not be used for election campaigns.”

Prop. 73 Prevails

Proposition 73--which now will prevail because it was the biggest vote-getter on Tuesday--bans use of tax dollars to help finance legislative, state and local political campaigns. Proposition 68 would have made state funds available to match private donations in legislative races--provided that candidates agreed to limit their spending--but the measure received fewer votes than did Proposition 73.

The voters also showed their basic suspicion of Sacramento politicians in another way: They figured that if the state spending limit was raised, the elected officials would just “use the money for whatever they want.” Voters rejected both proposals to raise the limit (Propositions 71 and 72).

As for Tuesday’s closest contest among the ballot measures, there was no evidence that Gov. George Deukmejian’s all-out effort on behalf of his $1-billion transportation bond issue had any significant impact. With the election result still too close to call as of late Wednesday, the Times poll showed that neither the voters’ attitudes toward Deukmejian nor their party affiliations made any difference in how they cast their ballots.

Republicans split down the middle--50-50--on Proposition 74, and so did Democrats. Voters who had a favorable impression of the Republican governor also divided 50-50. So, basically, did people whose impression of Deukmejian was unfavorable.

The Times poll, directed by I. A. Lewis, interviewed 4,705 voters throughout the state after they had cast their ballots. The margin of error was 2% for all those surveyed, 3% for just Democrats and 4% for Republicans.

Based on the interviews, it was clear that Democrats on Tuesday voted in proportionately higher numbers than did either Republicans or independents. This was logical, because there was a contest between Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis and the Rev. Jesse Jackson in the Democratic presidential primary, while Vice President George Bush was unopposed on the GOP ballot. Also, independents could not vote in partisan contests.

In Tuesday’s voting, according to the survey, the electorate consisted of 62% Democrats, 33% Republicans and 5% either independents or members of other parties. But voter registration in California is only 51% Democrat, 38% Republican and 11% independents and other parties.

Tuesday’s final statewide results, however, did not seem to be affected by this bigger-than-usual Democratic bias in the electorate. Proposition 68 came the closest to feeling the impact--because Democrats supported it and Republicans were slightly against--but even if Californians had voted in proportion to their registration, the measure still would have been approved. Nevertheless, with proportionately more Republicans certain to vote in November, the electorate then undoubtedly will be more conservative than it was on Tuesday.

In the primary, Democrats and Republicans alike agreed wholeheartedly--by 5 to 1 combined-- that “campaign contributions from special-interest groups are corrupting the state Legislature.” Of those who voted for “reform” Propositions 68 and 73, roughly 87% agreed with that unequivocal statement. So did about 82% of those who voted against the measures.

But Democrats and Republicans also agreed overwhelmingly--by nearly 3 to 1 overall--that private campaign contributions should not be replaced with public funds. Three-fourths of the people who voted for Proposition 73, which forbids using tax dollars in campaigns, agreed with the statement. And so did two-thirds of those who voted for the rival Proposition 68, which would have allowed the public matching funds.

For the most part, people either voted for both Propositions 68 and 73, or against both. Two-thirds of the electorate voted the same way on each measure, not selectively choosing one over the other.

There was a similar pattern, though less pronounced, with the two measures aimed at raising the state spending limit: Proposition 71, sponsored by state Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig and Proposition 72, backed by the limit’s original author, Paul Gann.

One of the decisive factors in spelling defeat for these two proposals surely was a feeling typified by this statement: “Once they raise the state spending limit, they’ll use the money for whatever they want.” Voters agreed with this assertion by nearly 2 to 1. Three-fourths of the people who voted against Proposition 71, and two-thirds of those who opposed Proposition 72, subscribed to the statement.

People who regarded “the budget deficit” as among the “most important” issues--and it headed the list--were especially opposed to Propositions 71 and 72.

Democrats supported Proposition 71 by 5 to 4, but Republicans opposed it by 3 to 2. Democrats and Republicans alike voted against Proposition 72.

Deukmejian’s proposed transportation bond issue ran into difficulty with voters because they disagreed with him that the state should change its historic “pay-as-you-go” method of building highways, the Times survey indicated. Democrats and Republicans alike agreed by 3 to 1 that “Californians should continue to finance highway construction on a pay-as-you-go basis with gasoline taxes and not by borrowing bond money that costs interest.”

People who voted against Proposition 74 opposed bond financing for highways by 6 to 1. Even about two thirds of those who voted for the measure preferred pay-as-you-go financing, apparently believing that Proposition 74 was the only available option for improving the highway system.

Members of both parties also agreed--by more than 5 to 3 combined--that “with the state treasury a billion dollars short, this is no time to be borrowing more bond money for new programs.” People who thought that way voted almost 3 to 2 against the transportation bonds.

Additionally, only 5% of those surveyed chose “traffic congestion” as one of the “most important” issues. Those who did, of course, voted for the transportation bonds by more than 5 to 3.

By region, voters in the Los Angeles Basin tilted slightly against Proposition 74, while people in the San Francisco Bay Area tended to support it. Throughout the rest of California, voters split down the middle.