State voters
also want gun laws left alone, oppose a gas tax increase
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Tennessee voters continue to disagree on how
strictly abortion should be regulated, but both sides in the debate agree that
stricter regulation alone isn’t the best way to reduce the number of abortions
performed, according to the latest MTSU Poll.
The statewide
telephone poll of 600 randomly selected registered voters also found that the
biggest segments of state voters want laws on selling and carrying guns left as
they are now, don’t want an increase in the state’s gasoline tax, and oppose
accepting Syrian refugees into the U.S.
Abortion
Asked whether
they thought abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases,
illegal in most cases, or illegal in all cases:
- 36 percent said abortion should be legal either
in most cases (25.6 percent) or all cases (10.1 percent)
- 56 percent said abortion should be illegal either
in most cases (33.3 percent) or all cases (22.2 percent).
- The rest (about 8 percent) didn’t know or
declined to answer.
“Those figures
are essentially unchanged from late October,” said Dr. Ken Blake, director of
the poll at Middle Tennessee State University. “And opposition to legal
abortion in most or all cases remains highest among self-described evangelical
Christians, especially those who are also Republicans.”
But in a
follow-up question asking what would be most likely to reduce the number of
abortions performed: stricter abortion regulations, more access to birth control
and sex education, both, or neither:
- 8 percent chose stricter abortion regulations (3
percent among opponents of abortion regulation vs. 12 percent among
supporters of abortion regulation).
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- 37 percent chose “More access to birth control
and sex education” (61 percent among opponents of abortion regulation vs. 23
percent among supporters of abortion regulation).
- 39 percent chose “Both” (26 percent among
opponents of abortion regulation vs. 49 percent among supporters of
abortion regulation).
- 11 percent chose “Neither” (7 percent among
opponents of abortion regulation vs. 14 percent among supporters of
abortion regulation).
“The findings
may point out a thin strip of common ground between Tennessee voters on
opposite sides of the abortion issue,” Blake said.
“Both sides
think stricter abortion regulations alone would not be the most effective way
to cut the number of abortions performed, and both sides think the most
effective way would at least include, if not rely mainly on, more access to
birth control and sex education. Obviously, though, considerable disagreement
remains over whether the best approach includes or excludes stricter abortion
regulations.”
Gun laws
Meanwhile, 44
percent of Tennessee voters think laws covering the sale of guns should be left
alone, while 34 percent think they should be made more strict, and 17 percent
think they should be made less strict. The rest don’t know or decline to
answer.
Nearly identical
percentages think laws covering carrying guns should be kept as they are (43
percent), made more strict (34 percent) or made less strict (18 percent), with
the rest saying they don’t know or giving no answer.
Support for
tightening laws on both selling and carrying firearms is significantly higher
among Democrats than among independents, and lowest among Republicans. Female
voters are also more likely than male voters to favor increased regulation of
selling and carrying firearms.
Gasoline tax
Despite
plummeting gasoline prices, 50 percent of Tennessee voters oppose “raising the
state's tax on gasoline in order to fund better roads and bridges.” Only 33
percent support an increase, and 16 percent don’t know. The rest give no
answer.
Opposition to a
gas tax increase is highest among voters with only an associate’s degree or
less, while support and opposition is more evenly split among better-educated
voters. The figures are comparable to those in the October 2015 MTSU Poll.
Syrian refugees
A solid 66
percent majority of Tennessee voters oppose “accepting Syrian refugees into the
U.S.,” a figure significantly higher than the 51 percent found in a Quinnipiac
University poll in December of registered voters nationwide. Only 22 percent of
Tennesseans support accepting Syrian refugees, and the rest don’t know or give
no answer.
Methodology
Telephone
interviews for the poll were completed by Issues & Answers Network Inc.
from among a random sample of registered Tennessee voters age 18 and over. Data
were collected using Tennessee statewide voter registration sample of 60
percent landline and 40 percent cell phones. The average interview length was
12 minutes. Quotas by gender and Grand Region were implemented. Data were
weighted based on respondent age to ensure the data represent Tennessee
registered voters. The survey’s error margin of 4 percentage points indicates
one can be 95 percent confident that the actual population figure lies within 4
percentage points (in either direction) of the poll result. Error margins for
subgroups can be larger, depending on the subgroup’s size
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