THE INDEPENDENT AND NON-PARTISAN SURVEY

OF PUBLIC OPINION ESTABLISHED IN 1947 AS

THE CALIFORNIA POLL BY MERVIN FIELD


Field Research Corporati on
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THE
FIELD
POLL
Release #2474 Release Date: Friday, June 27, 2014
VERY PARTISAN VIEWS OF THE
DIRECTION OF THE STATE AND
THE JOB PERFORMANCE OF THE
LEGISLATURE.
IMPORTANT: Contract for this service is subject to
revocation if publication or broadcast takes place
before release date or if contents are divulged to
persons outside of subscriber staff prior to release
time. (ISSN 0195-4520)
By Mark DiCamillo and Mervin Field
Slightly more voters believe California is generally on the wrong track (46%) than say it is moving
in the right direction (41%). In addition, more voters disapprove (47%) than approve (35%) of the
job performance of the state legislature.
Opinions about both matters are directly related to the party registration of voters. Democrats offer
a much more optimistic assessment of the direction of the state and hold more positive views of the
job the state legislature is doing than Republicans.
In addition, voters living in the states inland counties are more negative in their views than coastal
county voters.
These are the findings from the latest Field Poll completed last week.
Slightly more voters believe the state is moving in the wrong direction, but views are highly
partisan
A slightly larger proportion of voters (46%) feel the state is on the wrong track than feel it is
moving in the right direction (41%).
However, views about this are highly partisan. Democrats are much more optimistic and maintain
that the state is moving in the right direction by a nearly two-to-one margin (57% to 30%). By
contrast, Republicans are overwhelmingly of the view that the state is seriously off on the wrong
track, with 70% saying this compared to just 21% who see the state heading in the right direction.
Non-partisans offer a somewhat more negative than positive assessment, with 37% believing the
state is moving in the right direction and 47% on the wrong track.
There are also differences in opinions between voters living on the coast and those living inland. By
a nearly two-to-one margin (59% to 33%) inland county voters believe the state is seriously off on
the wrong track. By contrast, a slightly larger proportion of coastal county voters feels the state is
moving in the right direction (44%) than thinks it is on the wrong track (41%).
The Field Poll #2474
Friday, June 27, 2014 Page 2

Table 1
Trend of the direction that California is heading
(among registered voters)
Right direction Wrong track No opinion
June 2014 41% 46 13
2013 (average) 44% 44 12
2012 (average) 30% 59 11
2011 (average) 24% 66 10
2010 (average) 13% 80 7
2009 (average) 17% 75 8
2008 (average) 22% 69 9
2007 (average) 45% 43 12
2006 (average) 37% 49 14
2005 (average) 31% 58 11
2004 (average) 39% 48 13
2003 (average) 20% 72 8
2002 (average) 37% 52 11
2001 (average) 43% 50 7
2000 (average) 58% 35 7
1999 (average) 52% 34 14
1998 (average) 48% 42 10
1997 (average) 36% 54 10
1996 (average) 39% 49 12
1995 (average) 32% 57 11
1994 (average) 21% 70 9
1993 (average) 11% 83 6
1992 (average) 7% 90 3
1989 (average) 50% 42 8
1988 (average) 52% 43 5

Party registration (June 2014)
Democrats 57% 30 13
Republicans 21% 70 9
No party preference/others 37% 47 16
Area (June 2014)
Coastal counties 44% 41 15
Inland counties 33% 59 8
Note: Surveys prior to 1996 conducted among all California adults, not just registered adults.

More voters disapprove than approve of the legislatures performance
More California voters disapprove (47%) than approve (35%) of the job the state legislature is
doing, but there are big partisan differences in opinion about this as well.
Democrats approve of the job the legislature 50% to 35%. By contrast, Republicans overwhelmingly
disapprove of the Democratically-controlled legislature 68% to 18%. Non-partisans also hold more
negative than positive views of the legislatures performance overall (45% to 28%).
The Field Poll #2474
Friday, June 27, 2014 Page 3
Significantly more inland county voters (59%) than coastal county voters (42%) hold negative
views of the job the legislature is doing.

Table 2
Trend of voter appraisals of the job the state legislature is doing
(among registered voters)
Approve Disapprove No opinion
June 2014 35% 47 18
2013 (average) 38% 48 16
2012 (average) 22% 62 16
2011 (average) 20% 65 15
2010 (average) 14% 76 10
2009 (average) 15% 75 10
2008 (average) 24% 62 14
2007 (average) 38% 43 19
2006 (average) 30% 50 20
2005 (average) 28% 55 17
2004 (average) 28% 53 19
2003 (average) 25% 59 16
2002 (average) 40% 40 20
2001 (average) 43% 37 20
2000 (average) 48% 25 27
1999 (average) 45% 28 27
1998 (average) 45% 33 22
1997 (average) 38% 40 22
1996 (average) 41% 49 10
1995 (average) 34% 59 7
1993 (average) 28% 64 8
1992 (average) 32% 64 4
1990 (average) 45% 48 7
1988 (average) 57% 36 7
1983 (average) 43% 49 8
Party registration (June 2014)
Democrats 50% 35 15
Republican 18% 68 14
No party preference/other 28% 45 27
Area (June 2014)
Coastal counties 37% 42 21
Inland counties 30% 59 11
Note: Surveys prior to 1996 were conducted among all adults. In addition, response scales from these surveys were converted from
their original five-point scales to the current two-point approve/disapprove scales for comparative purposes.


30
The Field Poll #2474
Friday, June 27, 2014 Page 4
Information About The Survey
Methodological Details
The findings in this report are based on a Field Poll completed J une 5-22, 2014. The survey was conducted
among a random sample of 2,013 California adults, of whom 1,382 reported being registered to vote. In order
to cover a broad range of issues and still minimize respondent fatigue, the registered voter sample was
divided into two random subsamples on different topics. The findings in this report are based on random
subsamples of either 724 or 658 registered voters statewide.
To capture the diversity of the California adult population, the survey was administered in six languages and
dialects English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Korean, depending on the preference of
the voter.
The sample was developed using dual frame random digit dial landline and cell phone listings covering the
state of California. For this survey, a total of 1,402 interviews were conducted via cell phone and 611
conducted on a landline or other type of phone. The combined landline and cell phone sample was weighted
to match demographic, geographic and voter registration estimates of the overall California adult population.
The weighting process also takes into account the higher probability of reaching respondents who receive
calls on both a landline and cell phone.
Sampling error estimates applicable to the results of any probability-based survey depend on sample size and
the percentage distributions being examined. The maximum sampling error for results from the subsamples
of registered voters reported in this release is about +/- 4.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
The maximum sampling error estimates are based on survey findings in the middle of the sampling
distribution (i.e., results at or near 50%). Percentages at either tail of the distributions (i.e., results closer to
10% or 90%) have somewhat smaller margins of error. There are other potential sources of error in surveys
of public opinion besides sampling error. However, the overall design and execution of this survey sought to
minimize these other possible errors.
The Field Poll was established in 1947 as The California Poll by Mervin Field, who is still an active advisor.
The Poll has operated continuously since then as an independent, non-partisan survey of California public
opinion. The Poll receives funding from media subscribers, from California foundations and independent
not-for-profit organizations, and from the University of California and California State University systems,
who receive the data files from each Field Poll survey shortly after its completion for teaching and secondary
research purposes.
Questions Asked
(ASKED OF A RANDOM SUBSAMPLE OF 658 REGISTERED VOTERS)
Do you think things in California are generally going in the right direction or do you feel things are seriously
off on the wrong track?
(ASKED OF A RANDOM SUBSAMPLE OF 724 REGISTERED VOTERS)
Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way the California state legislature is doing its job?