'Right To Survive': New Poll Shows Initiative 300 Losing By 2-1 Margin
DENVER (CBS4) - A new survey on Initiative 300 shows the 'Right To Survive' measure losing in next week's Denver election by nearly a two to one margin. The measure would effectively overturn Denver's urban camping ban and allow the homeless to camp in outdoor public spaces like parks, sidewalks and vehicles.
CBS4 obtained poll results from mid-April survey commissioned by Together Denver, the well-funded coalition opposing 300. The survey show 61% of the 500 likely voters surveyed said they would either definitely or likely vote against the measure. Thirty-two percent said they would definitely or likely vote in favor of 'Right To Survive.'
Those numbers are a dramatic swing from polling numbers several months ago which showed the measure succeeding by a 56% to 32% margin.
Raffi Mercuri, the campaign manager for Initiative 300, told CBS4 he's "not terribly surprised" by the new numbers.
"We knew this was going to be a difficult battle. They have spent a lot of money to try to mislead Denver voters and that certainly shows," Mercuri said.
Responding to an inquiry from CBS4, Alvina Vasquez, a spokesperson for Together Denver said of the poll results, "The most important poll is the election, and we have not tapped the brakes on our work educating voters. We knew once voters become educated about Initiative 300 they would understand it wasn't the right solution for those experiencing homelessness or the city as a whole. What we have been hearing is this is an issue that many people in Denver care about and more could and should be done, but 300 is not the answer."
The tracking poll, which was conducted by phone from April 15-17, also showed that 79% of those surveyed had seen or heard information about Initiative 300. The margin of error for the poll was pegged at 4.4 percent by the company that did the polling.
Regardless of how they planned to vote, 59 percent of those surveyed said they believed the measure would fail, with 18 percent believing it would pass. The balance said they didn't know or were not sure.
