5 Eyewitness News Story on the current Minnesota Marriage and Voter ID Amendments
The following video was a recent news story on abc 5 Eyewitness News Station (Full story here)
KSTP, a transmitter affiliate for ABC in the twin cities metro region. KSTP recently took a survey on what outcomes Minnesota residents will be in favor for in regards to the two amendments proposed in this year's election season. The results were rather close to each other; with the marriage amendment being opposed by survey takers by 50%, favored by 43%, and 8% showing an undecided opinion. The voter ID amendment however, although showing relatively even percentages as well, shows more signs of passing with 62% in favor, and 31% who oppose, and 7% undecided.
I recently posted this video on my Facebook page which sparked a couple of comments, including a post from a New York resident who was surprised by these statistics. The commenter was surprised because their perception of the Minnesota legislation had apparently been fairly progressive in the past.
What do you think about these percentages? How do you think the media has affected the opinions of these amendments in regards to what you may have seen yourself on TV or heard on the radio, read in the news paper, etc.? Do you think is it possible that there is bias in this survey? Think about the neighborhoods or communities you have seen or been to in Minnesota, do you believe it is an accurate representation of Minnesota voters?
posted by Jordan Paul @ 8:47 PM
5 Comments:
From looking at the sample ballot given to us, the voter I.D. law to me seems reasonable and favorable. However, after doing research and finding out the consequences, I am undecided. I believe that as we come more closely to the elections, people will become more aware of these decisions prompting the percentages to be more dispersed. I also believe that based on the signs around the St. Paul area and the buttons and T-shirts worn, more people will become aware of the marriage amendment and those percentages will also become more dispersed. I believe that the media will play an important factor as we become closer to election day.
I thought the percentages were rather shocking. Like your New York friend, I too always thought of Minnesota as a more progressive state. Like Allissa said, the brief overview of the voter I.D. sounds okay, but after more research there are more consequences. The lack of information circulating about the fine details of the amendment is what causes the close percentages. In reference to the marriage amendment, I think once there are more ads and attention to the amendment, as stated at the end of the video, more people may realize that this could be viewed as a civil rights issue and less as a religious issue, and compare it to past civil rights movements. So yes, I believe the media will be a huge part in changing the percentages of voters for and against both amendments.
Addressing the bias question, I don't believe the survey has a considerable amount of bias. They interviewed and showed clips from both sides of the story and kept things rather neutral/even.
I am really surprised by the numbers because, like you have said, Minnesota is supposed to a "progressive state." But I am also surprised because I have seen so much more campaign efforts by the "Vote No" people than the supporters of the amendment: from pledge signing to stickers and yard signs. Perhaps it has to do with the school we go to or the people I find I am mainly surrounded by. Until now, I assumed that the amount of support I have seen for voting no was a sign that this amendment was going down the tubes. But instead, maybe the great and obvious campaign efforts of the "Vote No" side is because they know they will have a harder battle to fight in order to win over the majority of voters. It baffles me because I have seen no efforts on the part of the amendment supporters to gain voters. What do you guys think? What is the cause for the obvious disparity between the apparent support for voting no and these percentages in this report?
Meghan, I think that because we are in such a big city with so much diversity, that people are more accepting of one another thus voting no to the amendment. However, back home (I live in a town of 1,000 people.) people are not so accepting. There are many "Vote Yes" signs around the surrounding towns, and I haven't seen a "Vote No" sign at home. Vice versa, I haven't seen a "Vote Yes" sign up here. I think the demographics have a lot to do with the opinions of people.
I too was very shocked by the percentages like many of you who have posted. As, although I come from a small town, it is also fairly liberal and I've seen about as many Vote No signs there as I have here around the St. Paul community. My belief is that the percentages may be shocking because perhaps 5 Eyewitness news has more conservative viewers, or there was a a majority of them who took the survey instead of more liberal viewers.
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