Poll: Most don’t
want Con Con

Those opposed hold a
10-point lead over those
in favor of a Con Con

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

While their ranks have thinned, there are still more isle voters opposed to convening a constitutional convention than those in favor, according to the latest Honolulu Star-Bulletin/NBC Hawaii News 8 Poll.

The statewide survey found that 44 percent of registered voters are against having a convention to consider changes to the Hawaii Constitution, while 34 percent are in favor. Twenty-two percent are undecided.

Those opposed to a Con Con hold a 10-point lead over those in favor, compared to a 15-point lead two months ago.

In August, 48 percent were against a Con Con, compared with 33 percent in favor.

The August results reflected a shift in public opinion, as in March registered voters favored a Con Con, 48 percent to 32 percent.

The latest poll is based on telephone interviews of 425 registered voters conducted Oct. 16-19 by Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research Inc. of Columbia, Md. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Voters by a 2-to-1 ratio said they understand the purpose of a constitutional gathering.

Women are more inclined to oppose a Con Con, 49 percent to 27 percent. Men are about evenly split: Forty-one percent favor having a Con Con; 40 percent do not.

Isle residents of Japanese and Hawaiian ancestry lean heavily against having a constitutional parley, as do Caucasians.

By lesser margins, Filipino-Americans and isle voters of mixed ancestry said they were for a Con Con.

Con Con opponents, such as the semiautonomous Office of Hawaiian Affairs, argue that it would be too costly at a time when the state is coping with a sluggish economy. The League of Women Voters has estimated that a Con Con could carry a price tag of $12 million.

Union leaders and Hawaiian activists are generally opposed to a Con Con, fearing it would be used to roll back public workers' benefits and abolish OHA.