COLUMBUS – Ohio voters support a constitutional amendment to reduce penalties for some drug crimes and make other criminal justice reforms, according to a new poll released on the first day of early voting.

Issue 1 has the support of 43 percent of likely midterm voters surveyed in a Suffolk University/Enquirer poll; 38 percent oppose the measure. Nearly one in five said they had not yet decided how to vote.

The poll surveyed 500 likely Ohio voters by landline and cell phone from Oct. 4 to 8. The poll has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

It showed an electorate more Democratic than the one that voted in 2016; If the voters surveyed had decided 2016 election, Ohio would have gone to Hillary Clinton by 6 points instead of to Donald Trump by 8.

"Different voters show up in different elections," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "The poll tells us that Democratic leaning independents are more energized this year."

Issue 1 a partisan issue now

Issue 1 backers didn’t intend for the measure to become partisan but it has become a dividing line in the race for governor.

Democrat Rich Cordray supports it as a way to reduce overcrowded prisons and funnel more money toward drug addiction treatment. His Republican opponent, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, has said Issue 1 will allow drug dealers to avoid prison time and lead to more drug overdose deaths.

Among likely Cordray voters, 53 percent said they also support Issue 1 compared to only 33 percent of DeWine voters.

Issue 1 would make fourth- and fifth-degree felony drug possession offenses misdemeanors, and offenders could not be sent to jail until the third conviction in three years. It would also allow prison inmates to earn up to a 25 percent reduction in their sentences for completing educational, work or rehabilitative programs. Sentence reduction would not apply to those convicted of murder, rape or child molestation.

The measure is similar to changes approved by California voters in 2014 and Connecticut lawmakers in 2015. Ohio's measure is backed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's advocacy organization and other out-of-state philanthropists.

More:What is Ohio Issue 1? Separating fact from fiction on divisive drug ballot initiative

A Baldwin Wallace University Community Research Institute poll released Tuesday found greater support for Issue 1, with 48 percent of likely voters supporting the measure and 31 percent opposing it. The poll also reported a closer governor’s race, with DeWine leading Corday 42 to 39 percent, within the poll’s margin of error.

Governor's race

In the Enquirer/Suffolk poll, Cordray led DeWine 46 to 40 percent, about the same margin as a June Suffolk University/Enquirer poll that had Cordray ahead by 6 points.

Libertarian Party candidate Travis Irvine and Green Party candidate Constance Gadell-Newton polled at 2 and 1 percent, respectively.

Other races

In the latest poll, down-ticket Democrats all led their races. Incumbent U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, led his Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci 54 to 36 percent.

Other poll highlights:

Attorney General: Democrat Steve Dettelbach leads Republican Dave Yost 42 percent to 36 percent.

Auditor: Democrat Zach Space leads Republican Keith Faber 36 percent to 33 percent.

Secretary of State: Democrat Kathleen Clyde leads Republican Frank LaRose 43 percent to 33 percent.

Treasurer: Democrat Rob Richardson leads Republican Robert Sprague 42 percent to 35 percent.

Read full results from this section of the poll here.

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Early voting starts Wednesday in Ohio for the Nov. 6 midterm election. Ohioans will elect a new governor and statewide executive officeholders for the first time in eight years and choose a U.S. Senator, representatives to Congress and two state Supreme Court justices, as well as myriad local issues.

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