Fairgoers ‘defeat’ marriage amendment in House poll

The House of Representatives has announced the results of its annual state fair poll.

The press release is headlined: "Fairgoers say marriage definition shouldn't be in state constitution."

Of the record 12,549 people participating in the 2011 House of Representatives State Fair Poll, 66.5 percent said the state constitution should not be amended to define marriage as "only a union of one man and one woman," while 29.8 percent believe the constitution should be changed.

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We should hasten to add the very important caveat that this a completely unscientific poll so we can't draw any conclusion about how voters will behave on the real ballot in November 2012.

One thing we do know is that voter turnout at the House of Representatives' fair booth was up by more than a quarter over last year. Barry LaGrave, Director of Public Information Services for the House says the marriage question was certainly one of the drivers. (He also says the longer session/shutdown/special session caught the public's attention, and crowds gathered to interact with record number of House members doing stints at the booth).

Other nuggets in the poll:

* Support weakened for a photo identification voting requirement

* Taxing clothing remains unpopular

* Preschool should be publicly funded for all children

* It should be illegal to use a cellular phone while driving, except in emergency situations

(photo: Fairgoers chat with lawmakers at the House of Representatives state fair booth.)

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