WFLA and Survey USA released a poll of likely voters late on Tuesday night which shows only 51 percent plan to vote for Amendment 2. A third of those surveyed -- 33 percent -- plan to vote against it while the remainder are undecided.
In a WFLA/Survey USA poll taken last week, support for Amendment 2 stood at 52 percent while opposition was 33 percent. Previous WFLA/Survey USA polls from September showed Amendment 2 losing steam as it dropped from a high of 56 percent. To pass on the November ballot, 60 percent of voters need to support the measure.
The poll finds 54 percent of men and 49 percent of women support Amendment 2 while 36 percent of men and 31 percent of women oppose it. But 20 percent of women are undecided on Amendment 2 while only 10 percent of men are.
According to the poll, there is a major age gap on the matter. Only 20 percent of voters 34 and younger oppose Amendment 2 while 62 percent support it. Voters 35-49 also back Amendment 2 with 61 percent supporting it and 26 percent opposing it. A majority of voters 50-64 -- 56 percent -- support the proposal while 28 percent are against it. A majority of seniors -- 52 percent -- oppose Amendment 2 while only 34 percent plan to vote for it.
There is also a major partisan divide on Amendment 2 according to the poll. Democrats overwhelmingly support Amendment 2 by 64 percent and only 19 percent stand against it. Voters outside the two major parties also break for Amendment 2 with 62 percent supporting it and a quarter of them -- 25 percent -- opposing it. But a majority of Republicans surveyed -- 52 percent -- oppose Amendment 2 while only a third of them -- 33 percent -- back it.
While the Panhandle might be one of the most conservative parts of the Sunshine State, Amendment 2 runs stronger there than it does anywhere else, with 59 percent of voters in Northwest Florida supporting the measure and 33 percent opposing it. Amendment 2 also polls well in populous Southeast Florida where 57 percent support it and 27 percent oppose it. Northeast Florida might generally lean to the right but Amendment 2 does well there as 55 percent support it and 29 percent oppose it.
But Amendment 2 is struggling badly in Central Florida where only 47 percent support it and 39 percent oppose it. Amendment 2 also lags in Southwest Florida where 46 percent say they plan to vote for it while 36 percent are against it.
The poll of 594 likely voters was taken from Oct. 2-6, including during Yom Kippur, and had a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshiinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
