New Wason Center Poll: Virginians Support Medicaid Expansion, Marijuana Decriminalization, Gun Control, Raising Minimum Wage, Non-Partisan Redistricting

The Wason Center of CNU is out with a new poll this morning looking at Virginia voter attitudes. Here are a few highlights (note that, as usual, I’m in the majority on all these questions (with the one exception of “represent their own party’s voters on issues” question), showing for the gazillionth time that progressive values are majority Virginia values.

P.S. It’s important to note that the sample on this poll appears to be far too Republican, given results in the 2017 elections. If so, then the results presented below are, if anything, UNDERestimates of the support for these items. Also, on the Medicaid question specifically, the way the question is asked is rather odd, as it doesn’t fully/completely characterize who’s covered by this program. Also, other polls, such as PPP, have showed Republican voters even split, not opposed…

• “Voters say they support Medicaid expansion [by a margin of] 58% to 38%… Republicans oppose expansion 66% to 30%, but in House of Delegates and Senate districts represented by Republicans, support for expansion stands at 54%. Democrats strongly support expansion, 85% to 11%, and in House of Delegates and Senate districts held by Democrats, support stands at 61% and 62% respectively.”
• “Voters are very supportive of decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana…and increasing the dollar threshold at which a theft is a felony…Support for decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana stands at 76% overall and crosses all demographic and partisan categories, dropping to its lowest level (60%) among self-identified Republicans. Overall, 59% of voters support increasing the threshold at which theft is a felony from the current $200 to 1,000. Self-identified Democrats support the proposal at 72% while 59% of self-identified Republicans oppose the proposal.”
• “Voters are very supportive of reducing legislators’ power to draw their own districts. Only 29% of voters say they want to leave redistricting as it currently is done, with legislators drawing the district lines..while 65% support the creation of an independent advisory commission to propose redistricting plans to the General Assembly…and 61% support amending Virginia’s Constitution to put a non-partisan commission in charge of redistricting. When asked to choose between the three options…48% of voters say amend the Constitution, while 26% say create an advisory commission and 18% say leave the process like it is.”
• “A strong majority (69%) of voters support the idea of allowing a 21-day no-excuse absentee voting period before Election Day…Support is highest among women (72%), African Americans (87%), younger voters (76%), and Democrats (88%), and lowest but still a majority among Republicans (55%) and residents of Southwest/Southside (57%). Interestingly, voters who live in House and Senate districts held by Democrats support this proposal only about 10% more than voters who live in House and Senate districts held by Republicans.”
• “A strong majority of 84% of voters support background checks for private gun sales…Support for this measure is strong across the board, with even 76% of self-identified Republicans saying they support it.”
• “Nearly two-thirds (65%) of voters say they support banning assault-style weapons…Republicans are evenly split, with 49% supporting a ban and 49% opposing it. Just over three-fourths (76%) of voters oppose allowing anyone who owns a gun legally to conceal-carry that gun without a permit…Opposition is highest among women, Richmond/Central Virginia voters and Democrats, and lower but still a strong majority among men, residents of Southwest/Southside, and Republicans.”
• “Virginia voters say they generally think it is more important to control who can buy guns than it is to protect the rights of Virginians to own guns…Just over a majority (54%) say it is more important to control who can buy a gun, with 31% saying they feel that way strongly, while 41% say it is more important to protect the rights of Virginians to own guns, with 29% saying they feel that way strongly. A majority of men, residents of Southwest/Southside, and Republicans say that it is more important to protect the right to own guns.”
• “Virginia voters strongly support raising the minimum wage gradually from its current $7.25 per hour to $10.10 per hour by 2020…Support stands at 74% overall, with women, African Americans, and Democrats the strongest supporters. A majority of Republicans and men support the proposal, but not as strongly. Voters who live in Democratic-controlled House and Senate
  districts support raising the minimum wage by an average of 12% more than voters who live in a Republican-controlled House or Senate district.”
• “Virginia voters are very optimistic about Governor Ralph Northam’s term…with more than twice as many saying they are optimistic (63%) than pessimistic (27%). “
• “By an overwhelming margin, voters say that despite the
  dramatic gains by Democrats in the House of Delegates in last November’s election, they want Republicans and Democrats in the closely divided House…to work across party lines (79%) rather than represent their own party’s voters on issues (18%).”