A poll released Tuesday found an overwhelming majority of Arizona voters back the effort that would allow state law enforcement to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, which will appear on the November ballot as a referendum titled Proposition 314.
The survey, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, found that 63 percent of Arizona voters support the referendum while just 16 percent said they were opposed. An additional 16 percent of respondents said they would not vote on the referendum, while 6 percent said they were unsure.
Support for Proposition 314 was consistent across political parties, however, with the highest level of support coming from Republicans.
Pollsters reported that 77 percent of Republicans said they would vote on the measure, while just 9 percent said they would vote against. Similarly, 57 percent of voters registered independent said they would support the issue, while just 16 percent would vote against.
Even a slim majority of Democrats, according to the data gathered by Noble Predictive Insights, support the referendum, with 52 percent in favor and 23 percent against.
In addition to empowering local law enforcement to deport illegal immigrants, the referendum contains provisions that are designed to strengthen E-Verify, prevent non-citizens from participating in Arizona welfare programs designed for U.S. citizens, and impose harsher penalties for fentanyl dealers if someone dies because of their product.
Pollsters found opponents are most concerned with restrictions preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining welfare, with 64 percent of those opposed to the referendum highlighting it as their primary reason. The survey additionally found that 47 percent were opposed to the efforts to strengthen E-Verify, and 31 percent were opposed to increased punishments for fentanyl dealers.
