Arizona border ballot measure has strong support from voters, new poll finds

PHOENIX – An Arizona border ballot measure that would criminalize entering the state from Mexico outside a legal port of entry has strong support among voters, according to poll results released Tuesday.

Proposition 314, aka the Immigration and Border Law Enforcement Measure, would give state and local law enforcement officers the power to arrest violators and authorize state judges to issue deportation orders.

In addition, the Arizona border measure would make it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison for selling fentanyl that leads to a person’s death and require some government agencies to use a federal database to verify a noncitizen’s eligibility for benefits.

What does poll say about support for Arizona border measure?

According to a recent Noble Predictive Insights (NPI) poll, 63% of registered voters said they would vote yes on Prop 314. Only 16% of respondents opposed the measure, with 16% unsure and 6% saying they wouldn’t vote on it.

NPI, a Phoenix-based research firm, conducted the survey of 1,003 registered voters Aug. 12-16. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.09%.

The poll showed majority support for Prop 314 regardless of political affiliation, with 77% of Republicans, 57% of independents and 52% of Democrats saying they would vote yes on the measure in the Nov. 5 general election.

“Prop 314 is popular across party lines, and that is a difficult trend to disrupt with only a couple of months until Election Day,” Mike Noble, NPI founder and CEO, said in a press release Tuesday.

Republicans in the state Legislature referred the Arizona border measure to the ballot after Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that covered some of the same ground in March. The resolution that put the measure on the ballot, HCR2060, was known as the Secure the Border Act.

Opponents have compared Prop 314 to SB1070, Arizona’s controversial “show-me-your-papers” law that passed in 2010 and was partially struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

New poll also asked voters about two other ballot measures

While Prop 314 seems to be on a path to victory, the same can’t be said of two other measures covered in the findings released Tuesday by NPI: Props 135 and 137.

Prop 135 would put limits on the governor’s emergency powers. Also known as the Emergency Declarations Amendment, it would end a governor’s emergency declaration after 30 days unless the Legislature votes to continue it, with exceptions for emergencies related to war, fire or flood.

The measure is opposed by 32% of voters and supported by 29%, according to the new NPI findings, with 30% undecided and 9% abstaining.

The opposition is even stronger for Prop 137, which would eliminate retention elections for state Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals judges and Superior Court judges in counties with more than 250,000 residents.

The measure is opposed by 38% and supported by 31%, with 24% undecided and 8% abstaining.

“While about 1 in 10 voters say they wouldn’t vote on Prop 135 or 137, the large shares of voters who are still unsure how they will vote on each measure will determine whether or not these measures pass come November,” Noble said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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