Poll shows 52 percent of voters rejecting R-51 package

Poll shows 52 percent of voters rejecting R-51 package

10/24/02

Washington State - Referendum 51, the statewide package of transportation taxes and projects, is not proving popular with voters, a new poll indicates.

The poll, conducted by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Seattle television station KOMO, found that 36 percent of voters would support the tax increase but 52 percent are opposed and 12 percent are undecided.

R-51 is failing largely because of continuing voter distrust over how government spends its tax dollars, according to the poll.

R-51 would raise the gas tax by 9 cents a gallon, boost trucking fees by 30 percent and put an additional 1 percent tax on vehicle sales to raise $7.8 billion for transportation projects over the next decade.

The poll indicated the measure was unpopular in almost every part of the state. In the Seattle-Tacoma area, where observers say R-51 needs to win big if it is to have a chance to pass, it was favored by only 45 percent to 42 percent. That's actually a dead heat, considering the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The telephone survey of 602 registered voters statewide was conducted between Saturday and Tuesday.

(Published 12:30AM, October 25th, 2002)

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