CARSON CITY -- A majority of Nevada voters continue to support a November ballot measure to rein in government spending, but the undecided camp has grown by 5 percentage points since April, a new poll shows.
The Tax and Spending Control for Nevada measure, or TASC, would limit government spending to increases in population growth plus the rate of inflation.
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It was supported by 54 percent of likely voters interviewed by telephone Monday and Tuesday by the Washington, D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research. It is opposed by 20 percent, with 26 percent undecided.
In a poll conducted in April by the same firm, TASC was supported by 59 percent with 21 percent undecided. Opposition was the same in the April poll at 20 percent.
"That one is far from settled," said Brad Coker, managing partner of the polling firm. "The numbers still look decent for supporters, but they have a lot of work to do to sell it."
The poll was commissioned by the Review-Journal, reviewjournal.com and KVBC-TV, Channel 3.
Two other ballot questions that voters were asked about in the poll -- one to raise the minimum wage by $1 an hour, and another to impose restrictions on the ability of government to take private land -- are both strongly favored.
The minimum wage measure, which voters already passed in 2004, is supported by 74 percent of voters with 22 percent opposed. Only 4 percent are undecided. In an April poll, it had support from 77 percent, 20 percent opposed it and 3 percent were undecided.
The measure will take effect if it is approved by voters a second time in November.
The eminent domain measure, called the People's Initiative to Stop the Taking of Our Land, or PISTOL, is supported by 70 percent of those polled, with 11 percent in opposition and the rest undecided. It was the first Review-Journal poll on the issue.
"These two measures should sail through," Coker said.
The poll of 625 registered voters who vote regularly in state elections has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Both the TASC and PISTOL measures are being challenged in court.
State Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, a candidate for governor and the main driver of the TASC constitutional amendment, said the shift to more undecided voters is to be expected.
"We now have people opposed to TASC and they are making some pretty outlandish claims," he said.
Some voters may have switched to undecided to consider the opposition's arguments, Beers said.
"It's a good sign there wasn't a bigger shift to undecided," he said. "It means a lot of people have processed the arguments and dismissed the opponents' doom saying."
Beers said he likes the poll numbers and expects the court challenge, mounted by labor groups and others, to fail. He is also optimistic that voters will endorse the measure in November. It will have to pass a second time, in 2008, before it would take effect.
Danny Thompson, secretary-treasurer of the state AFL-CIO and chairman of Nevadans for Nevada, which is challenging TASC in court, said the more people learn about the measure, the less they like it.
"The 10-second sound bite people heard originally sounded good," he said. "But the more people look into the content and what it will actually do, the more they oppose it."
Thompson said he was encouraged by the poll numbers, but said he expects to win in the court effort to get the measure taken off the ballot. TASC survived a District Court hearing in Carson City on Monday. It will be considered by the Nevada Supreme Court on Aug. 23.
"We believe it violates the single-subject law passed by the Legislature," he said.
The law requiring ballot measures to focus on a single issue is also a basis for the challenge to PISTOL by its opponents, including Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury.
The PISTOL measure won a ruling in Clark County District Court on Tuesday, keeping it on the ballot. It too will be heard by the Supreme Court later this month.
The proposal aims to restrict the ability of a government agency to take private land under eminent domain and give it to another private entity for redevelopment.
Supporters circulated petitions after a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v. New London, in which a Connecticut municipality was allowed to seize property from 15 homeowners who had refused to sell their homes for the construction of private office buildings and housing.
"Well, first off, I'm excited about those numbers," said Don Chairez, a PISTOL backer, former judge and current candidate for the Republican nomination for state attorney general. "I think the people know what is best for them."
Local government representatives say now they want to make reforms to eminent domain as a result of the Kelo case, but where were they when the decision was made last year, he asked.
"I think they are a day late and a dollar short," Chairez said. "Our goal is to take advantage of the momentum to correct the wrongs that have taken place in Nevada over he last 10 or 15 years."
Woodbury said he was not surprised by the poll results.
"The vast majority -- 99 percent of the citizens -- haven't read it yet, have no idea of all the fine print," he said. "They think it's all about reforming the Kelo case. They know nothing about the other 600 words."
PISTOL opponents have claimed the measure is overly broad and would force governments to pay compensation for a wide range of actions such as zoning rulings, not just in eminent domain acquisitions.
Regarding the minimum wage initiative, Thompson, whose group pushed for the measure, said the strong support was expected.
"People understand you can't eat for that kind of money," he said. "The issue cuts across party lines. The minimum wage hasn't been changed in 10 years and it needs to be changed."
In the 2004 election, 68 percent of voters approved the minimum wage increase.
If approved, the minimum wage, now $5.15 per hour, would increase to $6.15 per hour. The proposal also would set up a system where the minimum wage each year would be increased by the rate of inflation as determined by the Consumer Price Index.
Review-Journal writer Omar Sofradzija contributed to this report.
