New poll shows shift on marriage amendment

A new poll indicates Minnesota voters are turning against a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Public Policy Polling's newest sampling indicates that with 49 percent of voters are opposed to the measure and 43 percent support it.

That's a dramatic shift from four months ago when 48 percent supported the amendment and 44 percent rejected it. That was still shy of the 50 percent needed to pass a constitutional amendment.

"Today's poll shows there is a conversation happening across this state about what marriage means and how this amendment would limit the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples," according to a statement from Minnesotans United for All Families, which is the lead group opposed to the amendment."The more people talk about this, the more likely they are to vote no in November, and this poll demonstrates that more and more Minnesotans are coming to the conclusion that this is not the right thing to do for our state."

Chuck Darrell, spokesman for Minnesota for Marriage, said he doesn't believe the polling from the left-leaning group.

"We've been polling the amendment for over a year and our most recent poll has the race unchanged with support for the amendment in the mid-fifties," Darrell said.

Darrell cited a Tweet from the group in May saying it does not "believe polls showing support for gay marriage" because "any time there is a vote, it doesn't back it up."

In Maine, where voters passed a similar measure in 2009, the polls consistently showed it being soundly defeated. On Election Day, it passed 53 percent to 47 percent.

It was unclear whether voters lied to pollsters, had a change of heart in the polling booth or some other political wind took hold of the electorate.

Public Policy Polling said the shift largely occurred with independent voters.

This bloc of voters had strongly favored the amendment 50 percent to 40 percent, but now the same group opposes it 54 percent to 37 percent.

The poll discovered the same, sizable generational gap on the issue as in other states.

A Republican-led constitutional amendment to require photo ID at the voting booth has the support of 58 percent to 34 percent, the poll found.

Gov. Mark Dayton's approval rating is 49 percent to 36, according to the poll. The Legislature has a 21 percent approval rating.