In addition to budget issues and the HOPE scholarship funding, three concerns have loomed large in the current legislative session: (1) redistricting, (2) same-sex marriage and (3) the child endangerment act. According to UGA’s Peach State Poll, of these three issues, the public is most engaged in the debate over same-sex marriage.
When asked to name the most important issue for the legislature to address this session, 9 percent cited same-sex marriage; this is more than the percent citing state budget issues (7 percent). Only 2 percent of respondents cited child endangerment, and less than 1 percent cited redistricting. In comparison, education was cited by 24 percent of respondents, jobs and the economy by 21 percent, and the HOPE scholarship by only 3 percent.
While 49 percent of Georgians say they are following news about same-sex marriage very closely, only 11 percent say they are following news about redistricting very closely. When asked which party the current districting maps favor, 31 percent cited the Democratic party; 20 percent believe current maps favor the Republicans, 19 percent believe current maps favor neither party, and 30 percent say that they don’t know.
