11/01/12 11:00 AM PST
By Mark DiCamillo and Mervin Field

While support for Proposition 30, the income and sales tax increase initiative advanced by Governor Jerry Brown, has fallen below the majority needed for passage, Yes voters continue to outnumber No voters 48% to 38%. Another 14% of likely voters are undecided.

By contrast Proposition 38, the competing income tax increase initiative supported by civil rights attorney Molly Munger, now trails among likely voters by a double-digit margin, 34% to 49%. This represents a significant decline in voter support from mid-September when 41% were on the Yes side and 44% on the No side.

Supporters and opponents of Prop. 30 hold very different opinions about a wide range of matters relating to state government and taxes, as well as the governor’s job performance. Supporters tend to approve the job Brown is doing, believe the amount they pay in state taxes is about right, and are very concerned about the potential impact of the automatic spending cuts that would be imposed if voters reject Prop. 30. Opponents are more likely to disapprove of the governor’s performance, believe they pay too much in state taxes, are less concerned about spending cuts and think the state can provide roughly the same level of services even if it had to reduce its budget by $6 billion, the approximate amount of Prop. 30′s proposed tax increase.

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