Albany, N.Y. (WBEN) - A majority of New Yorkers think a ban on single use plastic bags will be good for the state. That's according to a Siena College poll of registered New York State voters.
"Overwhelmingly, by a 62% to 33% margin, voters approve of a plastic bag ban," said pollster Steven Greenberg. "It's got support across the board. 67% of Democrats, 58% of Independents and 56% of Republicans support it". Geographically, Greenberg said 62% of New York City voters and 60% of upstate voters support it. He said self-identified Conservatives are evenly divided. 45% support it and 47% oppose it.
There was overwhelming opposition to state pay raises. By a nearly two-to-one margin, voters oppose the Governor's salary. Another issue that voters don't like is banning the release of mug shots by police. "Only 31% of voters think that's good, 58% think it's bad," said Greenberg.
When it comes to New York State's fiscal condition, the mood has soured. "30% of New Yorkers think it's poor," said Greenberg. "Only 19% think it has gotten better over the last five years, while twice that number, 38%, say it's gotten worse, and 37% say it's about the same.
Regarding the ability of businesses to succeed in New York, only 11 percent say it's gotten easier in the last five years, 51% say it's gotten harder.
The poll was conducted April 8-11, 2019. 735 registered New York State voters were sampled. It has an overall margin of error of 4.1 percentage points.
Read the entire Siena Poll here