Between October 1997 and June 1998, there were thirteen statewide California public opinion polls by non-partisan organizations on Proposition 227, the “English for the Children” initiative against bilingual education. All showed the measure with a wide lead, but the results varied considerably based on the question asked and the sample size.
(1) Los Angeles Times Poll, Oct. 4-7, 1997, 1092 registered voters
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“There is a new initiative trying to qualify for the June primary ballot that would require all public school instruction to be conducted in English and for students not fluent in English to be placed in a short-term English immersion program. If the June 1998 primary election were being held today, would you vote for or against this measure?”
| ? | All | DEM | REP | IND | Whites | Latinos |
| Vote for | 80 | 73 | 89 | 80 | 80 | 84 |
| Vote against | 18 | 23 | 10 | 17 | 18 | 16 |
| Don’t know | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | * |
(2) California Field Poll, Nov. 12-23, 1997, 696 registered voters (101 Latinos, 49 Asians, 44 blacks).
(9) Public Policy Institute of California/Baldassare Poll, May. 1-6, 1998, 960 likely voters: “Proposition 227, the ?English Language in Public Schools? initiative on the June ballot, requires that all public school instruction be conducted in English. It provides short-term placement, usually for not more than one year, in English immersion programs for children not fluent in English. The measure would also provide 50 million dollars per year for ten years for English tutoring. If the election were being held today, would you vote yes or no on Proposition 227?”
“This initiative requires that all public school instruction be conducted in English. It provides for initial short-term placement, not normally exceeding one year, in intensive, sheltered English immersion programs for children not fluent in English. It would also appropriate 50 million dollars per year for ten years to fund English instruction for individuals pledging to provide personal English tutoring to children in their community. If the election were being held today, would you be inclined to vote YES or NO on this initiative?”
? All DEM REP Others Whites Latinos Black Asian Vote YES 69 62 76 71 71 66 71 55 Vote NO 24 28 20 24 22 30 22 35 Undecided 7 10 4 5 7 4 7 10
(3) California Field Poll, Jan. 29-Feb.2, 1998, 729 registered voters (48 Latinos, 29 Asians, 30 blacks).
“This initiative requires that all public school instruction be conducted in English. It provides for initial short-term placement, not normally exceeding one year, in intensive, sheltered English immersion programs for children not fluent in English. It would also appropriate 50 million dollars per year for ten years to fund English instruction for individuals pledging to provide personal English tutoring to children in their community. If the election were being held today, would you be inclined to vote YES or NO on this initiative?”
? All DEM REP Others White Latino Black Asian Vote YES 66 60 73 61 68 46 63 79 Vote NO 27 34 18 30 24 45 37 10 Undecided 7 6 9 9 8 9 * 11
(4) San Francisco Examiner Poll, Feb. 19-21, 444 likely voters
“Proposition 227, titled `Education, Public Schools, English as Required Language of Instruction Initiative Statute,’ will appear on the June primary ballot. If approved, it would require all public school instruction to be conducted in English with certain exceptions and appropriate $50 million per year for 10 years to fund English instruction programs for persons who pledge to provide personal English tutoring to children in their community. If you were voting on Proposition 227 today, would you vote YES or NO?”
? All Vote YES 67 Vote NO 24 Undecided 9
(5) California Field Poll, Mar. 5-15, 1998, 727 likely voters (71 Latino, 40 Black, 59 Asian).
“Proposition 227 requires that all public school instruction be in English, unless parents request otherwise and show certain circumstances. It provides English immersion programs for children learning English and funds community English instruction. Fiscal impact on individual school districts could vary significantly by district, but total state spending on education probably would not change. If the election were being held today, would you vote YES or NO on proposition 227?”
? All DEM REP Others White Latino Black Asian Vote YES 70 57 84 67 71 61 63 75 Vote NO 20 29 10 20 18 34 30 14 Undecided 10 14 7 13 11 5 7 11
(6) Public Policy Institute of California/Baldassare Poll, Apr. 1-8, 1998, 1,623 registered voters.
“Proposition 227, the `English for the Children” initiative on the June ballot, requires all public school instruction to be conducted in English. It provides short-term placement, usually not for more than one year, in English immersion programs for children not fluent in English. If the election were being held today, would you vote yes or no on Proposition 227?”
? All Latinos Vote YES 76 57 Vote NO 20 40 Undecided 4 3
(7) Los Angeles Times Poll, Apr. 4-9, 1998, 1,105 registered voters.
“Proposition 227, the English Language in Public Schools Initiative Statute, would require all public school instruction to be conducted in English. The requirement may be waived if parents show that the child already knows English or has special needs, or would learn English faster through an alternate technique. It would also provide short-term placement not normally exceeding one year in intensive sheltered English immersion programs for children not fluent in English. And the measure would also provide 50 million dollars per year for ten years to provide English instruction for individuals pledging to provide English tutoring to children in their community. Having heard more, if the primary election were being held today, would you vote for or against this initiative?
? All DEM REP Others White Latino Black Vote YES 63 62 63 65 66 50 67 Vote NO 24 23 24 25 23 32 19 Undecided 13 15 13 10 11 18 14
(8) California Field Poll, Apr. 20-28, 1998, 649 likely voters
“Proposition 227 requires that all public school instruction be in English, unless parents request otherwise and show certain circumstances. It provides English immersion programs for children learning English and funds community English instruction. Fiscal impact on individual school districts could vary significantly by district, but total state spending on education probably would not change. If the election were being held today, would you vote YES or NO on proposition 227?”
? All DEM REP Others White Latino Black Asian Vote YES 71 61 82 68 73 58 66 74 Vote NO 21 29 11 24 19 41 18 23 Undecided 8 10 7 8 8 1 16 3
? All Latinos Vote YES 67 48 Vote NO 28 48 Undecided 5 4
(10) Los Angeles Times Poll, May 16-20, 1998, 1097 registered voters:
“Proposition 227, the English Language in Public Schools Initiative Statute, would require all public school instruction to be conducted in English. The requirement may be waived if parents show that the child already knows English or has special needs, or would learn English faster through an alternate technique. It would also provide short-term placement not normally exceeding one year in intensive sheltered English immersion programs for children not fluent in English. And the measure would also provide 50 million dollars per year for ten years to provide English instruction for individuals pledging to provide English tutoring to children in their community. Having heard more, if the primary election were being held today, would you vote for or against this initiative?
| ? | All | Likely | DEM | REP | Others | White | Latino |
| Vote YES | 63 | 63 | 61 | 66 | 59 | 64 | 62 |
| Vote NO | 25 | 23 | 28 | 19 | 31 | 23 | 26 |
| Undecided | 12 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 12 |
(11) California Field Poll, May 20-26, 1998, 714 likely voters (86 Latino, 49 Black, 53 Asian):
“Proposition 227 requires that all public school instruction be in English, unless parents request otherwise and show certain circumstances. It provides English immersion programs for children learning English and funds community English instruction. Fiscal impact on individual school districts could vary significantly by district, but total state spending on education probably would not change. If the election were being held today, would you vote YES or NO on proposition 227?”
| ? | All | DEM | REP | Others | White | Latino | Black | Asian |
| Vote YES | 61 | 44 | 78 | 65 | 63 | 52 | 48 | 60 |
| Vote NO | 33 | 48 | 16 | 27 | 31 | 38 | 37 | 32 |
| Undecided | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 8 |
(12) San Francisco Examiner Poll, May 26-27, 688 likely voters:
“Proposition 227, titled ‘Education, Public Schools, English as Required Language of Instruction Initiative Statute,’ will appear on the June primary ballot. If approved, it would require all public school instruction to be conducted in English with certain exceptions and appropriate $50 million per year for 10 years to fund English instruction programs for persons who pledge to provide personal English tutoring to children in their community. If you were voting on Proposition 227 today, would you vote YES or NO?”
| ? | All | Men | Wom | DEM | REP | Others |
| Vote YES | 62 | 65 | 59 | 54 | 72 | 65 |
| Vote NO | 27 | 25 | 33 | 33 | 20 | 23 |
| Undecided | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 12 |
(13) Los Angeles Times/CNN Exit Poll, June 2, 1998, 5143 voters at 100 polling places.
Voters willing to be surveyed outside polling places were asked to provide their ballot choices by questionnaire. The undisclosed raw results were then adjusted using an undisclosed methodology to produce the final published results.
| ? | All | Men | Wom | DEM | REP | Others | White | Latino | Black | Asian |
| Vote YES | 61 | 64 | 57 | 47 | 77 | 59 | 67 | 37 | 48 | 57 |
| Vote NO | 39 | 36 | 43 | 53 | 23 | 41 | 33 | 63 | 52 | 43 |
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