SIENA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

SIENA COLLEGE, LOUDONVILLE, NY

www.siena.edu/sri
For Immediate Release: Contact: PDF version; crosstabs; website: Monday, September 30, 2013 Steven Greenberg, 518-469-9858 www.Siena.edu/SRI/SNY

Siena College Poll:

New York Voters Support Casino Gaming Constitutional Amendment with the Language that Appears on the Ballot By a Small Majority, Voters Believe the Ballot Wording is Fair
Cuomo Slips a Little with Voters; Has His Lowest Job Performance Rating Advice from New Yorkers to Spitzer: Dont Run for Another Office in 2014
Loudonville, NY. When asked whether they support or oppose passing an amendment to the state constitution to allow non-Indian, Las Vegas style casinos to be built in New York, voters are evenly divided, 46-46 percent, down from 49-42 percent support last month, according to a new Siena College Poll of New York voters released today. However, when given the specific wording of the amendment on the ballot in November and asked whether they would vote yes or no to approve an amendment to allow the Legislature to authorize up to seven casinos in New York State for the legislated purposes of promoting job growth, increasing aid to schools, and permitting local governments to lower property taxes through revenues generated, 55 percent said yes they would approve it, compared to 42 percent who say no they would not. A majority of voters, 51 percent, says the language on the ballot for the proposed amendment is fair it describes the amendment, highlighting the benefits for New Yorkers while 43 percent say it is unfair it only includes arguments in support, ignoring arguments in opposition. Governor Andrew Cuomo saw a slight drop in his favorability rating, a small drop in his re-elect number, and a small drop in his job performance rating, bringing him to his lowest level, 49-50 percent (down from 52-46 percent in August) since hes been governor. More than two-thirds of voters say they do not want former Governor Eliot Spitzer (with a 30-64 percent favorability rating) to run for any political office in 2014. Clearly, the wording on the ballot for the casino amendment matters. When voters are asked a generic casino gambling amendment question they are evenly divided, with New York City voters opposed and downstate suburban voters and upstaters mildly supportive. However, when voters were provided the specific wording they will see on the ballot, a majority of voters from every region and from every party say yes, they would approve the casino amendment, said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg. more

Siena College Poll September 30, 2013 Page 2 Is the way the amendment is described on the ballot fair? A small majority says it is. But it largely depends on whether voters support or oppose the amendment. More than two-thirds of amendment supporters say the wording is fair, while two-thirds of opponents say it is not, Greenberg said. A majority of Democrats, Republicans, downstaters, and men think the wording is fair. Independents, upstaters and women are closely divided. While more voters support the amendment and think its fairly worded, there is more intensity on the opposition side, Greenberg said. Only seven percent of supporters say they will be very upset if the amendment fails, while 22 percent of opponents say they will be very upset if it passes. Overall, 40 percent of supporters will be at least somewhat upset if it fails but more than two-thirds of opponents will be at least somewhat upset if it passes. By a 74-24 percent margin, voters agree that legalizing casinos will create thousands of jobs. They agree casinos will generate new revenues for the state and localities, 65-31 percent. They agree, 57-42 percent, New York has enough gambling outlets already. And they agree casinos will increase societal problems, 55-44 percent. Although a majority of voters agree with two arguments against casinos, they more strongly agree with two arguments in support of casinos jobs and new revenues, Greenberg said. Given the importance voters place on jobs and revenues, its no surprise that tying them to the amendment increases support and overcomes meaningful concerns about the sufficiency of existing gambling outlets and potential societal problems from casinos. Cuomo Ratings Slip a Little; Still Viewed Favorably Two-to-One; Lowest Job Performance Rating for Him Cuomo is viewed favorably by 64 percent of voters and unfavorably by 32 percent (down slightly from 65-30 percent in August). He has a 49-50 percent job performance rating (down from 52-46 in August). Fifty-two percent say they are prepared to re-elect him, while 39 percent would prefer someone else (down from 55-35 percent last month). Cuomo, with a two-to-one favorability rating statewide, is viewed favorably by three-quarters of Democrats and a majority of Republicans and independents. Three-quarters of New York City voters view him favorably, as do two-thirds of downstate suburban voters and 50 percent of upstaters, Greenberg said. And while he is seen as doing an excellent or good job as governor by more than 60 percent of Democrats and New York City voters, his job performance is rated as only fair or poor by at least 60 percent of Republicans, independents and upstaters. It is the lowest his job performance rating he has had been since becoming Governor. More than 60 percent of Democrats and New York City voters are prepared to re-elect Cuomo, as are a majority of downstate suburbanites. However, a plurality of Republicans and independents and a majority of upstaters would prefer someone else, Greenberg said. more

Siena College Poll September 30, 2013 Page 3 Two-Thirds of Voters Say Spitzer Should Refrain from Running for Political Office Next Year An overwhelming majority of voters do not want to see Spitzer run for office again next year, Greenberg said. On the heels of his political comeback attempt earlier this month, narrowly losing a Democratic primary for City Comptroller, voters are urging Spitzer to eschew any new comeback attempts in 2014. Only one-quarter of voters want to see him run for statewide office next year, nearly evenly divided among State Comptroller and his previous positions of Governor and Attorney General. At least 62 percent of voters from every region and party agree, although more than 40 percent of African American and Latino voters think he should run. If It Becomes Either/Or, Voters Prefer Increased Spending on Education Over Income Tax Cut By a 53-41 percent margin, voters say they would rather see an increase in state spending in areas such as education in the 2014 state budget rather than a broad based tax cut, such as the income tax. However, threequarters of voters say that a state income tax cut in next years budget is at least somewhat important. Democrats and New York City voters overwhelmingly prefer spending increases to tax cuts in next years budget, as do a clear majority of independents. Republicans are the virtual mirror-image of Democrats, strongly supporting tax cuts, along with a majority of downstate suburbanites. Upstaters are closely divided, Greenberg said. At the same time, at least 70 percent of voters from every party and region say a state personal income tax cut is important, with more than one-third of statewide voters saying its very important. Good luck, Governor and Legislature, in reconciling the voters views as you craft the next state budget. Largest Plurality Ever Says No to Fracking Forty-five percent of voters oppose fracking and 37 percent support it, up from 42-41 percent opposition last month, the largest anti-fracking sentiment ever in a Siena College poll, Greenberg said. A majority of upstaters and Democrats, and a plurality of independents and New York City voters oppose fracking, which is supported by a plurality of Republicans and downstate suburbanites. Men narrowly support it; women more strongly oppose it. More Voters Say State is Headed in Wrong Direction for First Time in Nearly Two Years By a 46-43 percent margin, voters say New York is headed in the wrong direction rather than on the right track. Last month right track beat out wrong direction 47-40 percent. For the first time since November 2011, more voters now say the state is headed in the wrong direction, Greenberg said. Downstaters continue to see the state on the right track, however, upstaters have turned even more negative, now saying the state is headed in the wrong direction by an almost two-to-one margin. ###
This Siena College Poll was conducted September 22-26, 2013 by telephone calls to 807 New York State registered voters. It has an overall margin of error of + 3.4 percentage points. Data was statistically adjusted by age, party, region and gender to ensure representativeness. Sampling was conducted via random digit dialing to landline and cell phones weighted to reflect known population patterns. The Siena College Research Institute, directed by Donald Levy, Ph.D., conducts political, economic, social and cultural research primarily in New York State. SRI, an independent, non-partisan research institute, subscribes to the American Association of Public Opinion Research Code of Professional Ethics and Practices. For more information, call Steve Greenberg at (518) 469-9858. For survey cross-tabs and frequencies: www.Siena.edu/SRI/SNY.

SIENA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

SIENA COLLEGE, LOUDONVILLE, NY
www.siena.edu/sri

Siena College Poll Trends September 2013

Q. 4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about Andrew Cuomo? DATE September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER Q. 16 FAVORABLE UNFAVORABLE 64 32 65 30 58 35 64 32 62 33 64 30 67 29 71 24 77 (2/11) 42 (10/06) 44 (8/06, 10/06) 14 (8/09) DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 4 5 6 5 4 6 4 5 24 (1/06, 2/06, 9/07) 3 (10/20/10)

How would you rate the job that Andrew Cuomo is doing as Governor? Would you rate it excellent, good, fair, or poor? DATE September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER EXCELLENT GOOD FAIR POOR DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 11 38 36 14 1 9 43 33 13 2 9 41 34 15 1 10 42 31 16 1 11 41 31 16 1 12 42 31 13 1 16 42 28 13 1 16 44 28 10 1 17 (1/12) 47 (4/12, etc.) 36 (9/13, 9/11, 5/11) 16 (5/13, 4/13) 28 (1/11) 8 (3/11) 34 (1/11) 24 (1/11) 4 (2/11, 1/11) 1 (many)

Q. 15

I know its a long way off, but if Andrew Cuomo runs for re-election as Governor in 2014, as things stand now, would you vote to re-elect him or would you prefer someone else? DATE September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER RE-ELECT CUOMO 52 55 52 55 53 54 56 60 62 (12/12) 52 (9/13, 6/13) PREFER SOMEONE ELSE 39 35 41 36 39 37 36 32 41 (6/13) 29 (12/12) DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 10 9 7 9 7 9 8 8 10 (9/13) 7 (6/13, 4/13)

Q. 17

Based on what youve seen of him as Governor so far, would you describe Andrew Cuomo as a liberal, a moderate or a conservative? DATE September 2013 March 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER LIBERAL MODERATE CONSERVATIVE DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 36 46 12 6 35 47 10 8 36 (9/13) 60 (3/11) 15 (4/11, 2/11) 10 (4/11, 1/11) 21 (2/11) 46 (3/13) 8 (7/11) 6 (9/13)

Siena College Poll Trends September 2013

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Q. 9 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about the New York State Assembly? DATE September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER Q. 6 FAVORABLE 38 37 36 39 39 44 45 45 (1/13) 25 (7/10) UNFAVORABLE 49 48 51 45 49 42 42 61 (7/10) 40 (12/12) DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 14 15 13 16 12 14 13 19 (12/12) 12 (4/13, 1/10)

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about Sheldon Silver? DATE September 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER FAVORABLE UNFAVORABLE DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 21 43 37 20 43 37 23 34 43 28 39 33 24 38 38 28 (4/13, 7/05) 43 (9/13, 6/13) 50 (4/05) 19 (2/11, 4/05) 30 (4/05) 33 (4/13)

Q. 10

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about the New York State Senate? DATE September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER FAVORABLE 40 40 41 43 40 45 45 46 (5/12) 20 (7/09) UNFAVORABLE 51 48 49 48 53 46 45 74 (7/09) 41 (12/12) DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 10 12 11 9 7 9 10 14 (12/12, 6/11) 6 (7/09)

Q. 7

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about Dean Skelos? DATE September 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER FAVORABLE UNFAVORABLE 14 23 15 23 14 16 15 24 16 20 16 (1/13, 12/12) 24 (4/13) 9 (12/10) 8 (7/08) DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 63 63 70 61 65 82 (11/08) 61 (4/13)

Q. 8

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about Jeff Klein? DATE September 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER FAVORABLE 13 12 13 17 12 17 (4/13) 9 (11/09) UNFAVORABLE 12 12 10 15 14 15 (4/13) 7 (11/09) DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 74 76 76 68 73 84 (11/09) 68 (4/13)

Siena College Poll Trends September 2013

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Q. 18 Do you support or oppose passing an amendment to the state constitution to allow non-Indian, Las Vegas style casinos to be built in New York? NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION/ DATE SUPPORT OPPOSE DONT KNOW/NO OPINION September 2013 46 46 8 August 2013 49 42 9 June 2013 49 40 11 May 2013 53 37 10 April 2013 49 44 7 March 2013 46 43 11 February 2013 48 42 10 January 2013 52 43 5 HIGHEST EVER 53 (5/13, 1/12) 49 (3/12) 11 (6/13, 3/13) LOWEST EVER 46 (9/13, 3/13) 37 (5/13) 3 (3/12) While the proposed constitutional amendment would allow for seven casinos to be built in New York, Governor Cuomo has proposed that initially only three casinos all in upstate New York be built. Do you support or oppose the Governors proposal to initially build only three casinos, all upstate? DATE September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER Q. 28 SUPPORT 52 54 54 53 51 50 51 57 57 (1/13) 50 (3/13) OPPOSE 43 38 40 41 44 43 42 40 44 (4/13) 38 (8/13) DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 5 8 6 6 5 8 7 3 8 (8/13, 3/13) 3 (1/13)

Q. 22

The State Department of Environmental Conservation is expected to soon issue a decision on whether or not to allow hydrofracking that is the proposed method to recover natural gas from parts of upstate New York to move forward. How much have you heard or read about it a great deal, some, not very much, or nothing at all? DATE September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER A GREAT DEAL SOME NOT VERY MUCH NOTHING DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 30 32 17 21 0 34 31 17 19 0 35 34 13 19 0 32 29 20 19 0 32 32 18 19 0 32 32 21 15 0 26 34 22 18 0 31 33 18 17 0 35 (6/13) 39 (10/12) 22 (2/13, 8/12) 21 (9/13) 1 (8/12) 27 (12/12, etc.) 29 (5/13) 13 (6/13) 12 (10/12) 0 (many)

Q. 29

Do you support or oppose the Department of Environmental Conservation allowing hydrofracking to move forward in parts of upstate New York? NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION/ DATE SUPPORT OPPOSE DONT KNOW/NO OPINION September 2013 37 45 18 August 2013 41 42 17 June 2013 37 44 18 May 2013 39 41 20 April 2013 40 45 15 March 2013 39 43 18 February 2013 40 40 20 January 2013 40 44 16 HIGHEST EVER 42 (12/12, 10/12) 45 (9/13, 4/13) 27 (5/12) LOWEST EVER 37 (9/13, 6/13, 5/12) 36 (12/12, 10/12, 5/12) 12 (8/13)

Siena College Poll Trends September 2013

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Q. 11 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about Eric Schneiderman? DATE September 2013 August 2013 April 2013 March 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER Q. 12 DATE September 2013 August 2013 March 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER Q. 13 FAVORABLE UNFAVORABLE DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 23 18 60 25 15 60 27 18 55 19 17 65 29 (10/31/10) 27 (10/31/10) 86 (11/09) 8 (11/09) 6 (5/10, 11/09) 44 (10/31/10) FAVORABLE UNFAVORABLE DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 26 20 55 26 18 57 22 15 63 30 (11/10, 10/20/10) 36 (10/31/10) 80 (6/07) 7 (6/07, 5/07) 10 (12/09, 11/08) 37 (10/31/10)

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about Thomas DiNapoli?

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about Eliot Spitzer? DATE September 2013 August 2013 April 2010 April 2009 April 2008 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER FAVORABLE 30 33 33 25 13 75 (1/07) 13 (3/08) UNFAVORABLE 64 59 59 72 79 79 (3/08) 10 (1/07) DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 6 8 8 4 7 34 (2/05) 4 (4/09)

Q. 14

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about Hillary Clinton? DATE September 2013 August 2013 March 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER FAVORABLE 69 67 73 75 (12/12) 48 (4/08) UNFAVORABLE 27 31 25 46 (4/08) 23 (12/12) DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 3 2 3 8 (3/05, 6/06, 3/07) 2 (8/13, 12/12, 10/08)

Q. 5

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about Barack Obama? DATE September 2013 August 2013 May 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER FAVORABLE 57 56 58 56 66 66 81 (1/09) 48 (11/06) UNFAVORABLE DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 40 3 41 3 40 2 41 3 32 2 33 1 46 (10/31/10) 40 (11/06) 10 (1/09) 1 (1/13, 8/12)

Q. 2

Is the United States on the right track, or is it headed in the wrong direction? DATE September 2013 August 2013 May 2013 March 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER RIGHT TRACK WRONG DIRECTION 34 58 37 54 41 56 32 60 46 49 62 (5/09) 74 (8/11) 19 (10/08) 24 (12/09) DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 7 9 4 8 5 17 (9/08) 5 (1/13)

Siena College Poll Trends September 2013

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Q. 3 How would you describe the fiscal condition of New York State right now? Would you describe it as excellent, good, fair, or poor? DATE September 2013 August 2013 May 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 HIGHEST EVER LOWEST EVER Q. 1 EXCELLENT GOOD FAIR 1 20 47 3 20 43 1 19 44 1 16 47 0 19 44 1 18 47 3 (8/13) 20 (9/13, 8/13) 49 (8/12) 0 (many) 6 (3/22/10, etc.) 25 (3/22/10) POOR DONT KNOW/NO OPINION 30 2 30 4 33 2 35 2 35 2 32 2 67 (3/22/10) 4 (8/13, 9/08) 30 (9/13, 8/13) 0 (4/11, etc.)

Is New York State on the right track, or is it headed in the wrong direction? DATE RIGHT TRACK WRONG DIRECTION DONT KNOW/NO OPINION September 2013 43 46 11 August 2013 47 40 13 June 2013 48 42 10 May 2013 49 44 7 April 2013 48 42 10 March 2013 50 42 8 February 2013 55 35 9 January 2013 57 33 10 HIGHEST EVER 57 (1/13) 76 (10/31/10) 30 (1/07) LOWEST EVER 14 (10/10) 26 (1/07) 7 (5/13)

Poll Trend Notes:

All surveys are of registered voters except for the polls of August and October 2012, October 2010, September and October 2008, and September and October 2006, which are polls of likely voters. Trends reflect questions asked at least twice since the first Siena College Poll in February 2005. Results listed here include all times questions have been asked since January 2013. Highest Ever and Lowest Ever is provided at the bottom of each question.