Siena College Poll: NYers Still Closely Divided on Fracking

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Hey, it’s another week, so that must mean it’s time for another New York opinion poll. We can’t seem to let a week go by without taking the temperature of the Empire State on the issue of hydraulic fracturing. This poll is an ongoing monthly poll done by Siena College. The actual questions and percentage responses are embedded below.

About half of voters say they are paying at least some attention to the debate over hydrofracking, while about one-quarter say they are paying not very much attention to the issue and about one-quarter paying no attention. About two-thirds of upstaters are paying at least some attention to the debate. By a 51-33 percent margin, voters say they trust opponents more than supporters of hydrofracking, little changed from 54-33 percent in July.

“More than half of all voters, including a plurality or majority from every region, say they trust opponents of hydrofracking – who argue about the risks to the environment – rather than the supporters – who argue that it’s safe and creates jobs and new energy,” Greenberg said. “Pluralities of Republicans and conservatives are more likely to trust supporters.

“Right now, 44 percent of voters say they favor DEC?s recommendation to allow hydrofracking, while 40 percent are opposed,” Greenberg said. “This is virtually unchanged from July when it was 45-43 percent. A majority of Republicans, independents, conservatives, men and suburban voters favor the DEC recommendation, while the only group with majority opposition is liberals.”*

*Siena College Press Release (Sep 27, 2011) – NYers Still Closely Divided on Hydrofracking; Trust Opponents More (PDF)