Support for Tim Eyman’s anti-tax Initiative 1366 has slipped to 42 percent, a new Elway Poll finds. But two-thirds of voters back Initiative 1401 to crack down on trafficking in endangered-animal parts.
A new poll finds that support for Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1366 has slipped as voters start to mail in ballots in the Nov. 3 election.
The Elway Poll released Monday finds the I-1366 contest dead even, with 42 percent of those polled in favor and 42 percent opposed to Eyman’s latest proposal.
That’s down from the 13-point lead the measure had in a July Elway Poll, when 49 percent were in favor and 36 percent opposed.
The initiative would cut the state sales tax by a penny unless lawmakers send a constitutional amendment to the 2016 ballot requiring a public vote or two-thirds supermajority in the Legislature to raise taxes.
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With 16 percent undecided, the measure could still go either way.
But the trend is against I-1366. The most reliable voters tend to be the most opposed, Elway said. In what is forecast to be a low-turnout election, that leaves I-1366 facing an uphill battle to grab enough undecideds to secure a majority.
“A tall order, but not unprecedented,” Elway wrote in a poll memo, noting that past polls have underestimated support for such initiatives.
Meanwhile, Elway’s poll shows support remains strong for Initiative 1401, which aims to crack down on the trade in ivory and other endangered-animal parts. The measure has been largely bankrolled by billionaire Paul Allen.
The poll finds 66 percent support for the initiative, with 23 percent opposed. That’s down from July, when there was 72 percent support.
The Elway Poll of 500 registered voters was conducted Oct. 13-15 and has a 4.5 percentage point margin of error.