ALBANY — Support for holding a state constitutional convention continues to slide as the percentage of voters who say they've heard about the convention process increases, a new poll shows.

A Siena College poll released Friday shows that 44 percent of registered voters statewide say they'll vote yes on holding a convention (down one percentage point from last month), while 39 percent say they'll vote no (a 6 percent increase over September).

The month-over-month drop in support for holding a convention — which was at 63 percent in favor in February, with 24 percent opposed — has correlated with an increase in voter knowledge about a convention. In this month's poll, 49 percent say they have heard nothing about the upcoming convention vote, down from 58 percent who had heard nothing in September and a peak of 71 percent who hadn't heard a thing about a convention in February.

While Democratic and independent voters are more likely to support for a convention, 54 percent of Republicans are opposed (36 percent support it), the poll shows. Upstaters are virtually split on whether to hold a convention, with 43 percent in support and 44 percent opposed.

Unsurprisingly, one of the most convention-averse subgroups of voters are those who live in union households: 54 percent say they would vote no. Some of the state's most powerful unions have lined up in opposition to holding a convention.

The vote on whether to hold a convention will take place at the general election next month. (It automatically appears on the ballot every 20 years.) If a convention process is triggered, delegates would be picked in November 2018, the convention would be held in 2019 and any amendments approved by delegates would go before the voters for final ratification in November 2019.

Though voters statewide are showing only tepid support, if a convention were to occur there are some changes they favor.

Eighty-one percent of voters statewide say they support subjecting state lawmakers to term limits, and 69 percent support an amendment prohibiting any law that "unreasonably restricts the rights of a woman to full and free control over reproductive decisions."

But 53 percent say they oppose any proposal to limit the collective bargaining rights of public employees, a major concern of the public sector unions. Similarly, a plurality (49 percent) of voters oppose revising conservation policies that limit development in the Adirondacks.

The convention question will appear alongside two others on the November ballot. One is a constitutional amendment that would allow judges to reduce or revoke the pension of a public official convicted of a felony related to their duties. The other would create a 250-acre forest preserve land bank that could be tapped into for certain development projects along existing right-of-way tracts.

Eighty-one percent of voters are on board with the pension-stripping amendment, and 52 percent support creating the land bank, according to the poll.

Siena polled 789 registered voters statewide. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent.

mhamilton@timesunion.com • 518-454-5449 • @matt_hamilton10