Cronkite-Eight Poll

Voters evenly divided over Napolitano's veto of immigration reform bill

Other Findings:

• Support found for ruling that illegal immigrants can be charged with a felony for paying smugglers to bring them into the United States illegally.

• President Bush's approval rating increases in Arizona

• Sen. Jon Kyl keeps lead over businessman Jim Pederson

• Gov. Janet Napolitano continues to receive high marks in Arizona

• Support for change in who controls Congress may be in the making

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona's registered voters are evenly divided on whether Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano should have vetoed the most recent immigration reform bill passed by the state Legislature. Forty-seven percent agreed with her veto, 43 percent were opposed and 10 percent had no opinion, according to the latest Cronkite-Eight Poll.

Even though voters were divided on the veto, they supported most provisions of the reform bill. Seventy-seven percent supported spending $160 million in funding to send more National Guard troops to the border, help fight border-related crime and construct a “smart fence” to detect border crossers. Sixty-seven percent supported sanctions against employers who hire undocumented workers if the state could prove the employers knew they were hiring undocumented workers. In addition, 65 percent supported classifying illegal immigrants as trespassers who could be arrested and jailed.

According to Dr. Bruce Merrill, who conducted the poll, “The fact that people were divided on the governor's decision to veto the reform bill, even though they strongly support most of its provisions, shows both that Arizonans are adamant about doing something about stemming the tide of illegal immigrants coming into Arizona and that they have considerable respect for the job the governor is doing. Just how strongly they feel about stopping illegal immigration is demonstrated by the fact that two-thirds of all registered voters in Arizona support a recent decision by a judge to charge illegal immigrants with trespassing and to jail them.”

The poll also found that President George Bush received a small “bounce” likely based upon his recent trip to Baghdad and the death of al Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq . Fifty percent of voters in Arizona now give the president a favorable job performance rating, compared to 43 percent last month.

Little change was found since April in the campaign for the U.S. Senate in Arizona. In April the Republican incumbent, Sen. Jon Kyl, was leading his challenger, businessman and former Democratic state chairman Jim Pederson by 11 percentage points (42 percent to 31 percent). This month Kyl is leading Pederson by 14 percent (43 percent to 29 percent).

The survey also found that Napolitano continues to receive high marks for her performance as governor of Arizona. Seventy-two percent approve of the job she is doing, 23 percent disapprove and 5 percent say they have no opinion.

Finally, more voters in heavily Republican Arizona now say they would prefer to see the Democratic rather than the Republican party control Congress after the elections this November. Forty-five percent said they would like to see the Democrats control Congress, 39 percent prefer the Republicans and 16 percent were not sure which party they would prefer.

The statewide telephone poll of 384 registered voters conducted by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and Eight/KAET-TV was conducted June 15-18, 2006, and has a sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. Sixty percent of the interviews were conducted in Maricopa County, 16 percent in Pima County, and 24 percent in the less populated counties. The sample was 40 percent Republican, 35 percent Democrat and 25 percent independent. Fifty-one percent of voters interviewed were males and 49 percent females.

Question wording:

Overall, how would you rate the job George Bush is doing as president? Do you:

Overall, how would you rate the job Janet Napolitano is doing as governor of Arizona? Do you:

We would like to know how you feel about an immigration reform bill recently passed by the legislature. First, the bill classified illegal immigrants as trespassers who could be arrested and jailed. Do you:

The bill also provided $160 million in funding to send National Guard troops to the border, to help local communities fight border-related crime, and to construct a ground-based radar system to detect border crossers:

Under this bill, employers would be fined or penalized for hiring illegal immigrants only if the state could prove that employers knew they were hiring an undocumented worker. In addition, businesses would avoid fines or penalties if they fire the undocumented worker within 10 days of receiving proof of illegal status. Do you:

The governor vetoed this bill primarily because of the employer sanction provisions, saying that these sanctions essentially provide amnesty for employers who hire undocumented workers. Do you:

A Maricopa County judge recently ruled that illegal immigrants can be charged with a felony for paying a smuggler to bring them into the country. Do you

Republican U.S. Senator Jon Kyl is running for re-election this fall. His opponent is businessman and former Democratic state chairman Jim Pederson. Will you probably vote for:

The Republican Party has controlled both houses of the U.S. Congress for several years. After this fall's elections would you prefer to see the Republicans or the Democrats have control of Congress?

Eight/KAET-TV is a member-supported service of Arizona State University.

For information contact: Dr. Bruce Merrill at (480) 965-7051.