|
Polls And The Florida Debacle
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline) - A recent poll conducted by CNN/USA/Today Gallup showed that Americans are still divided over the Florida recount and how it will effect the decision on who will become the next U.S. president.
The poll conducted on Sunday showed that half those surveyed in the sample were skeptical, concerned that the recount outcome would provide a fair result, while the other half stated confidence in the recount being fair.
Of those polled, 51% said they were willing to wait a little longer to get more accurate results, while 48% said it has gone on too long already.
While 58% thought a machine count would be more accurate, 38% preferred a hand count.
When asked on how their perceptions of the ongoing situation in Florida, only 10% said it was a national crisis, compared to 44% who said it was a major problem, with 32% saying it was a minor problem.
On declaring a winner, 86% said they would be ready to accept Republican George W. Bush if he were declared winner and inaugurated, while 80% said they would accept Democrat Al Gore if he were declared winner and inaugurated.
Six in 10 Americans say the hand recounts under way in some Florida counties should be included in the state's final vote tally, but are bothered by the fact that the election could be determined by a court decision.
Also, 46% percent say Gore should concede the election to Bush, while 46% say he should not.
But 59% of those surveyed are bothered by the fact that courts are now involved in the final outcome, possibly explaining why the number of Americans who approve of how the Gore camp has handled the situation in Florida is lower than the number who approve of the Bush campaign's strategy, according to CNN.
The poll was conducted from interviews with 870 adult Americans and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
In another poll conducted by Harris/excite on who is most likely to be the next president at this stage, 16% said Gore and 72% said Bush.
In another forum-like poll conducted by Women.com, 63% said the nation's presidential ballots should not be recounted.
Sixty-five percent of those who responded to the poll said they favored a constitutional convention to be held between now and 2004 to reconsider how the U.S. president is elected and to revise the national system of balloting so that the ongoing problem would not happen again.
But for the meantime, 47% said they would not want the Electoral College to be abolished.
|
