Has Support for Marriage Equality Declined?

Exit poll numbers from this month's election indicated less support than other surveys — but maybe because the electorate skewed Republican.

Exit polls from November 4’s midterm election show less support for marriage equality than numerous other surveys have indicated. That may be, The Washington Post reports, because of Republican predominance among those who voted.

Under the headline “The 9 Most Fascinating Numbers From National Exit Polls,” the Post’s Chris Cillizza has this to say about the marriage equality numbers:

48. That’s the percentage of people who said same-sex marriage should be legal in their state, the same number that said it should be illegal. That even split is a significant break from most polling on the issue; Gallup’s most recent poll, in May, on same-sex marriage showed 55 percent of Americans supporting it while 42 percent opposed it. What explains the discrepancy? Maybe the difference between asking whether same-sex marriage should be legal in your state versus asking, more broadly, about its legality. Or maybe that people are less willing to tell someone over the phone what they really feel about a divisive social issue than in person. (That seems odd.) Maybe the difference between “legal” (the exit poll language) and “valid” (Gallup’s language). Or that this midterm electorate was a Republican-friendly one.

The national exit poll numbers also have revelations about the race and religiosity of those voting, their beliefs about government’s proper role, and more. Read the full article here.

