Support for a constitutional convention has dried up among likely voters, the most recent poll from the Siena Research Institute shows.
The poll released Wednesday morning shows the long, slow slide of support has finally resulted in a majority of New Yorkers in opposition to the process with only 25 percent of voters saying they will vote “yes” on November 7, down from 44 percent earlier this month.
The month of October also saw opposition swell from 39 percent saying they would vote “no” to 57 percent in the most recent poll, conducted between October 25 and October 29.
“If history is any guide, the turnout in next week’s elections figures to be very light. In 2013, fewer than one in three registered New York voters cast their ballots. So, the decision of whether or not New York should hold a Constitutional Convention in 2019 will likely be decided by a small minority of New Yorkers,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg. “With less than a week till election day, those likely voters are decidedly negative about supporting a ConCon. In fact, only one-quarter of likely voters say they’re prepared to vote ‘yes.’”
A majority of likely voters also said they believe the process “will be an expensive waste of time,” rather than a “once in a generation opportunity to bring our State Constitution into the 21st Century,” according to the Siena Research Institute’s press release.
The poll also showed overwhelming support for Proposal Two, which would amend the Constitution to allow for the stripping of pensions for long-serving lawmakers found guilty of abusing the public trust, by a margin of 82 to 14.
Rounding out the back of the ballot, support has narrowed for Proposal Three, which would allow for the creation of a land bank of 250 acres in the Catskill and Adirondack parks to allow municipalities to undertake infrastructure projects without having to seek statewide approval. A plurality of voters still supports the measure, but support has slid from 52-to-33 percent in favor at the beginning of October to 46-to-35 percent in favor now.
The poll has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
