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As expected, voters generally responded to the negative arguments with a reduction in their sup- <br />port for the sales tax measure when compared with the levels recorded at the Interim Ballot Test. <br />However, the general trend over the course of the entire survey (Initial to Final Ballot Test) was <br />one of stability, averaging -1% overall. Support for the proposed sales tax measure at the Final <br />Ballot Test (63%) remained 1 3% above the simple majority (50%+1) required for passage. <br />Whereas Table 6 displays changes in support for the measure over the course of the interview at <br />the subgroup level, Table 7 displays the individual -level changes that occurred between the Ini- <br />tial and Final Ballot tests for the measure. On the left side of the table is shown each of the <br />response options to the Initial Ballot Test and the percentage of respondents in each group. The <br />cells in the body of the table depict movement within each response group (row) based on the <br />information provided throughout the course of the survey as recorded by the Final Ballot Test. <br />For example, in the first row we see that of the 30.9% of respondents who indicated that they <br />would definitely support the measure at the Initial Ballot Test, 23.7% also indicated they would <br />definitely support the measure at the Final Ballot Test. Approximately 5.5% moved to the proba- <br />bly support group, 1.2% moved to the probably oppose group, 0.4% moved to the definitely <br />oppose group, and 0.1 % stated they were now unsure of their vote choice. <br />To ease interpretation of the table, the cells are color coded. Red shaded cells indicate declining <br />support, green shaded cells indicate increasing support, whereas white cells indicate no move- <br />ment. Moreover, within the cells, a white font indicates a fundamental change in the vote: from <br />yes to no, no to yes, or not sure to either yes or no. <br />TABLE 7 MOVEMENT BETWEEN INITIAL & FINAL BALLOT TEST <br />Final Ballot Test (Ql 1 ) <br />Definitely <br />Probably Probably <br />Definitely <br />Initial Ballot Test (Q5) <br />support <br />support oppose <br />oppose Not sure <br />Definitely support <br />30.9% <br />23.7% <br />5.S7 1.2% <br />0.4% 0. 1 ' <br />Probably support <br />32.9% <br />6.6% <br />21.Arm 2.6% <br />1 <br />Probably oppose <br />1 1.0% <br />7.0% <br />Definitely oppose <br />13.4% <br />2.1% <br />10.7% <br />Not sure <br />' 1.8% <br />NESIVIONWIRMV7.4% <br />As one might expect, the information conveyed in the survey had the greatest impact on individ- <br />uals who either weren't sure about how they would vote at the Initial Ballot Test or were tentative <br />in their vote choice (probably yes or probably no). Moreover, Table 7 makes clear that although <br />the information did impact some voters, it did not do so in a consistent way for all respondents. <br />Some respondents found the information conveyed during the course of the interview to be a <br />reason to become more supportive of the measure, whereas a similar percentage found the <br />same information to be a reason to be less supportive. Despite 14% of respondents making a <br />fundamental shift in their opinion about the measure over the course of the interview, the net <br />impact is that support for the measure at the Final Ballot Test (63%) was just one percentage <br />point different than support at the Initial Ballot Test (64%). <br />4. This is, they changed from a position of support, opposition, or undecided at the Initial Ballot Test to a dif- <br />ferent position at the Final Ballot Test. <br />6W 1�0_4140fa Ana 8 fir e North Research, Inc.-V _ W <br />