A new poll shows a proposed amendment to the state constitution expanding medical marijuana in Florida is in solid shape to pass in next week’s election.
St. Leo University released a poll on Monday showing Amendment 2 garners 71 percent support. Less than a quarter of those surveyed--22 percent--are opposed to Amendment 2 while 7 percent remain undecided.
To pass next week, Amendment 2 needs to reach 60 percent at the ballot.
Frank Orlando, who teaches political science at St. Leo University and serves as the director of the Saint Leo University Polling Institute, noted that Amendment 2 was in solid shape, polling well over the 60 percent of threshold through out the summer and gaining more steam in recent weeks. However, he also noted that a similar measure, also titled Amendment 2, polled well during most of the 2014 election cycle only to fall short in the general election. Back in 2014, Amendment 2 garnered 58 percent support.
“We've shown Amendment 2 to be consistently above the 60 percent threshold,” Orlando noted on Monday. “The only important question left there is turnout. Can Amendment 2 backers get their voters to the polls in a way they couldn't in 2014?”
Two other proposed amendments to the state constitution are also in good shape, the poll shows. Amendment 3, which provides property tax exemptions to first responders injured in the line of duty, has the support of 75 percent of those surveyed while 13 percent are against it. Amendment 5, which locks the home values for seniors eligible for property tax cuts, gets the support of 72 percent of those surveyed while 11 percent are against it.
The poll of 1,028 likely Florida voters was taken from Oct. 22 through Oct. 26 and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
