Athens, Ga. – Eighty-nine percent of Georgians who voted in the 2006 general election are either very confident (61 percent) or somewhat confident (28 percent) in regards to the touch-screen voting machines. Although the Peach State Poll still finds a wide disparity between the confidence level of whites and nonwhites, a majority of nonwhites are still either very confident (45 percent) or somewhat confident (38 percent) about touch-screen voting.
A majority of Georgians (52 percent) say that the single greatest advantage of touch-screen voting over the old system of casting votes is that the new machines are fast and easy to use, while only 8 percent of the public expressed the opinion that there are no advantages to the new machines. When asked to cite the greatest problem with the touch-screen machines, one in four Georgians (25 percent) said that there are no problems with the touch-screen machines.
The length of time waiting to vote did not vary to any significant degree whether one voted in advance or on Election Day. Both those who voted on Election Day and those taking advantage of advance voting experienced an average wait in line of 13 minutes.
The Peach State Poll is a quarterly survey of public opinion conducted by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Peach State Poll results on other topics:
* Of those with access to public transportation, 59 percent say that they never use it, and 40 percent of those who do not have access to public transportation say that they would be very unlikely to use it if they did have access.
* Nearly half of the public (48 percent) say that they would not object to a one cent per gallon tax increase on gasoline; 50 percent say that they would object. Of those who would not object to a one cent increase, 28 percent say that they would not object to a five cent per gallon increase.
* A majority of Georgians believe that public spending should be increased a lot on K-12 education (59 percent) and on public health (53 percent). In addition, 46 percent believe that public spending on higher education also should be increased a lot.
* Georgians are largely positive about the state’s economy. A majority of Georgians (53 percent) rate the economy as either excellent (7 percent) or good (46 percent). The November 2006 poll marked the first time since the Peach State Poll began asking this question that Georgians were more likely to rate the economy as excellent or good than to rate it as fair or poor.
These data were taken from a Peach State Poll survey conducted between November 18-28, 2006. The poll included 801 telephone interviews of randomly selected adults in Georgia. For a sample of this size, the margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/-3.5 percent.
The Carl Vinson Institute of Government, a public service and outreach unit of the University of Georgia, has as part of its mission to provide policymakers with systematic, objective research to inform policy decisions. In accordance with that mission, the Peach State Poll aims to give voice to the public on important policy matters and issues pertaining to political, social, and economic life in Georgia.
For more information on this survey or other Peach State Poll results, see www.vinsoninstitute.org/peachpoll
