• Akaka support weak Akaka support weak The results of a recent poll on the Akaka Bill (S-147) turn assumptions about public opinion in Hawai‘i on their head. The poll was commissioned by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, an opponent
• Akaka support weak
Akaka support weak
The results of a recent poll on the Akaka Bill (S-147) turn assumptions about public opinion in Hawai‘i on their head. The poll was commissioned by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, an opponent of the Akaka Bill, and conducted by FEC Research between June 29 and July 1. Counting negative responses over the total of yea and nay together, poll results find 67.1percent of respondents answer “no” when asked, “Do you want Congress to approve the Akaka Bill?”
The Advertiser also calculated the poll results on a different basis than Grassroot by including the ‘no response” respondents in the total and writing, “Of the 980 respondents, 198 (20 percent) said they support the Akaka bill, 404 (41 percent) said they do not and 378 (39 percent) gave no response.”
Grassroot’s poll results contain several other surprises. The result from the 151 respondents identifying themselves as Native Hawaiians is that only 59 (39 percent) indicate support for Akaka, 43 (28.5 percent) indicate opposition and 49 (32.5 percent) did not respond to the automated polling question. 151 contacts eliciting only 102 responses is not a large sampling, but the results are in stark contrast to a 2003 poll of 303 Native Hawaiians which is often pointed to by Akaka supporters.
Grassroot’s decision to allow full transparency of its polling data allows Akaka supporters to pick at the results, but it also shines the light on their choice to withhold their own polling data. Clearly more polling is needed with larger samples which can resolve the sharp discrepancy between Grassroot’s result and Akaka supporters’ claims of public support for their bill. Stay tuned.
