Poll shows offshore-drilling ban not rock solid with state voters
TALLAHASSEE — It has been almost an article of faith in Florida politics: People do not want oil drilling off the state’s coasts.
But poll results released Thursday suggest that a drilling ban might not have enough voter support to go into the Florida Constitution.
The poll, conducted by the Tallahassee-based firm Clearview Research, found that 54 percent of voters support a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban offshore oil and gas drilling in state waters, while 42 percent oppose the idea. Constitutional amendments require 60 percent voter approval to pass.
This month, Clearview polled 750 likely general-election voters about a series of proposals being considered by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, including a proposed drilling ban.
“Somewhat surprisingly, a ban on offshore oil drilling does not poll as high as one might have guessed given Florida’s history on this issue,” Clearview President Steve Vancore said in comments released with the results.
The Constitution Revision Commission, which meets every 20 years and can put measures directly on the November ballot, will start a series of sessions Monday in Tallahassee to take up the drilling ban and nearly three-dozen other proposed amendments. It will decide this spring which proposals will go before voters.
Florida law has long prevented oil and gas drilling in state waters, but the proposed constitutional amendment would create a morepermanent ban. Republican and Democratic politicians have fought drilling, arguing that it could endanger the state’s beaches. Drilling supporters say it should remain an option, at least in part to help meet energy needs.
Clearview conducted the poll March 1 through March 7 and has released a series of results this week. The poll has a margin of error of 3.58 percentage points.
Other results released Thursday included a poll question that showed overwhelming support for a proposed constitutional amendment that would expand the rights of crime victims.
The proposal, which is part of a national drive, is known as “Marsy’s Law,’ after a California woman who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983.