Tucson, Arizona  Wednesday, 22 November 2000
Arizonans favor abolishing Electoral College, early tallies
By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES

PHOENIX - Arizonans appear ready to scrap the Electoral College.

Half of those questioned in a recent poll said they would support electing presidents strictly on the national popular vote.

Only 32 percent seek to retain the current system, with the balance undecided.

Support for direct election appears much stronger among Democrats than Republicans. The statewide survey also shows that the more liberal someone describes himself or herself the more likely that person is to support direct election.

The issue has come to the fore as the nation waits to see the outcome of the Florida vote and whether that state's 25 electoral votes go to George W. Bush or Al Gore.

The statewide survey by KAET-TV, the Phoenix PBS outlet, also shows widespread frustration with TV networks for reporting results in some Eastern states even as voters are still going to the polls elsewhere.

In fact, 78 percent of those asked said they would support a national law blocking the release of vote tallies in any state until all votes were cast.

The telephone survey of 831 registered voters conducted in the last week has a margin of error of 3.4 percent.