Poll: Ohioans united on most immigration issues


Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - 11:54 AM EST
Courier of Cincinnati
www.bizjournals.com


Ohio might be a swing state for next year's presidential election, but its voters are decidedly less split on the immigration controversy, a new poll indicates.

The latest Quinnipiac University Poll, which surveyed 1,231 Ohio voters between Nov. 6 and 11, found that 84 percent believe the government should not issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, while 86 percent of surveyed voters oppose providing illegal immigrants with government-subsidized health insurance. The strongest majority in the poll, 88 percent, came from support for the government requiring employers to verify the validity of Social Security numbers used to gain employment.

Voters were only slightly less united on issues such as a proposed U.S./Mexican border fence and immigrant education, but results never played out in a dead heat as seen in recent presidential election polls. Sixty-one percent of respondents opposed providing a free public education to the children of illegal immigrants, while 60 percent said they support a fence along the Mexican border to reduce illegal immigration.

When given the hypothetical power to retain or deport an immigrant who has worked in the United States for at least two years, 55 percent of respondents said they'd allow the immigrant to work toward obtaining legal status while 38 favored deportation.

While a third of surveyed Ohio voters said they come into everyday contact with illegal immigrants, 40 percent said they don't while another 27 percent were unsure.

In the same poll, Gov. Ted Strickland's approval rating hit 61 percent for the second time this year, the current high for his term. The most recent poll showed that 15 percent of respondents disapproved of the way Strickland is handling his job. Along party lines, Republicans were split 51 percent to 21 percent in favor of the governor while Democrats were split 74-9. Voters' approval of Ohio's legislature hit its highest point this year with 41 percent approval and 32 percent disapproval. Democrats and Republicans responded almost identically.