More polls…

…via Hominid Views.

Another SurveyUSA effort for KING-TV, this time focused on three initiatives facing Washington voters this fall. Darryl emphasizes that "Each initiative was presented as a topic, but without information on what a yes vote means and what a no vote means." Here are the descriptions and outcomes…

Initiative 920 would repeal the Washington State estate tax. When asked if they were certain to vote yes, certain to vote no, or uncertain, 10% said yes, 22% said no, and 68% were undecided.

Initiative 933 would affect the way that Washington State government regulates private property. When asked if they were certain to vote yes, certain to vote no, or uncertain, 8% said yes, 25% said no, and 67% were undecided.

Initiative 937 would require utilities to shift toward green energy sources. When asked if they were certain to vote yes, certain to vote no, or uncertain, 10% said yes, 7% said no, 83% were undecided.

Because of abuses of the initiative system, once a populist reform, now largely a tool of specialized hacks for hire, I have a tendency to reject all of them, regardless of topic or merit, out of hand. I'm not a fundamentalist about it, though, and an enthusiastic endorsement by Jay Inslee is just on factor that may lead to one of my rare yes votes for Initiative 937.

The other two are simply awful and the early negative reaction is encouraging. It's a lot harder to move an undecided toward change via a yes vote on issues that actually affect very few folks. People have to be convinced that the status quo is bad enough for them to risk change. People don't much like change.

It's going to take a doozy of a campaign to convince folks that bilionaires and real estate speculators need their help to get by. Pass the popcorn.