A new Quinnipiac poll found that New York voters largely agree with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. New York Republicans, however, do not support the movement. The poll also found New York voters support the so-called “millionaire’s tax” and are divided on natural gas drilling.
Overall, Quinnipiac’s pollsters said 58% of New York voters agree with the views of the protesters. However, support for Occupy Wall Street came mostly from Democrats. Only 12% of Democrats in the poll said they disagreed with Occupy Wall Street compared to 74% who viewed the movement favorably. In contrast, 53% of New York Republicans in the poll said they disagreed with Occupy Wall Street. Nearly one third of Republican voters, 32%, said they agreed with the movement.
New Yorkers overwhelmingly support Occupy Wall Street’s right to protest with 82% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans saying they’re “OK that they are protesting.”
Quinnipiac found 66% of New York voters support extending the so-called “millionaire’s tax,” which provides higher tax rates for wealthy residents. Interestingly, Quinnipiac found 66% of New Yorkers making over $100,000 per year supported the tax. Governor Cuomo has steadfastfly refused to extend the tax, which has drawn the ire of Occupy Albany protesters who are camped outside his main office in the State Capitol Building
The poll also showed voters remain divided about hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale with 44 percent supporting the natural gas drilling because of the economic benefits and 43 percent in opposition. Support for hydrofracking is down ever so slightly from the past three months.
because of environmental concerns..
Though the majority of New York voters seems to have an opinion of Occupy Wall Street, they’re not all clear on what exactly is going on. Quinnipiac’s poll also found just 60% of city voters said they “understand” the views of the protesters “fairly well” or “very well.”
