Snoop on Prop 19: “You Know Where I Stand”

We know what Snoop thinks about Prop 19, but some say weeding out voters' true feelings can be difficult for pollsters

Just in case you weren't sure, Snoop Dogg supports Proposition 19 -- the state's marijuana legalization initiative. He pushed the ballot measure in a get-out-the-vote video released this week.

"I'm urging everybody to get out there on Nov. 2," Snoop said, with about as much urgency as you'd expect from him, in the video for the League of Young Voters. "And also, on Prop 19, you know where I stand on that (puff). Very high."

Not exactly an October surprise.

Last week's Public Policy Institue of California poll showed 44 percent of likely voters supporting Prop 19 and 49 percent saying they're opposed.

But with just a few days before Tuesday's election, Snoop's big announcement brings to mind what national pollster Nate Silver calls "The Broadus Effect?" (Snoop's real name is Calvin Broadus). Pollsters say surveying voters on controversial issues can be difficult because people might not be open about their views.

"Men -- especially younger men -- are less likely to be supportive when they're talking to a live pollster," Ruth Bernstein, the Oakland pollster for Prop. 19, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "The polling we're seeing is telling us that there is something going on here, but we're not quite sure what it is yet."

From the Chronicle:

Bernstein was so curious that on Oct. 13-14, the campaign ran side-by-side polls - one using live questioners, the other using automated voices. When a live person asked, 41 percent of the respondents favored legalizing pot, but when asked by an automated questioner, 56 percent said they supported legalization, according to the internal poll. Among men, 42 percent told a live interviewer they backed legalization -- but 61 percent backed legalizing dope to an automated questioner.

Support in the PPIC poll has dropped over the past month -- down to 44 percent last week from 52 percent last month. 

As for Prop 19 opponents, the California Chamber of Commerce has sponsored a series of radio ads that allege Prop 19 is a threat to workplace safety. The LA Times reports the No on 19 campaign began targeting the Bay Area Thursday with 60-second spots.

The ballot measure would allow people 21 and older to posses up to one ounce of marijuana and grow up to 25 square feet.

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