Florida Poll Data
Non-Citizen Voting
Florida voters support Governor Rick Scott’s efforts to purge non-citizens from state voting rolls 60% to 35% (Quinnipiac, June 2012).
SB 1070
A Suffolk University Poll of 600 registered voters conducted April 10-12, 2011 found that:
- A majority of Florida voters said that they supported an immigration law similar to the one in Arizona for their own state. 51% supported such a law, 33% opposed, and 15% were undecided. 59% of whites, 62% of blacks, and 47% of Hispanics supported an Arizona-style law, while 50% of Independent voters were in support.
- 52% of Florida voters believed that immigration laws in the state were too lenient. Only 8% believed that the laws were too strict, while 18% believed the laws were “about right.” 21% were undecided.
Rasmussen Poll: Arizona Law SB 1070 | July 2010
Suppose the new Arizona immigration law was being considered for your state. Would you favor or oppose passage of that law in your state?
A Rasmussen poll of likely Florida voters conducted July 6, 2010 found:
- 62% support an immigration law for Florida similar to the recent law passed in Arizona. Only 24% oppose such a law. 60% disagree with the Justice Department’s suit to block Arizona SB1070. Only 28% agree with the suit.
Florida Zogby Polling Results, March 2009:
A Zogby International poll of 801 likely voters across the state found that, by an overwhelming margin, Floridians believe that illegal immigration is harming their state.
- 71.3% of Florida voters say illegal immigration has a negative impact on the state. Only 14.4% believe it has a positive impact on Florida.
- 83.5% of Florida voters believe illegal aliens have a negative impact on the state budget, versus only 7.9% who believe their impact is positive.
- 57.5% believe illegal immigration should be reduced through better enforcement of immigration laws. Only 36% of Florida voters favor amnesty or legalization for current illegal aliens.
- 68.6% of Florida voters want worksite immigration enforcement to continue. Only 21.1% support the Obama administration’s decision to curtail worksite enforcement.
Read FAIR’s press release and illegal immigrant cost study for Florida released with this poll.
Breakdown of Florida Zogby polling data on impact of illegal immigration
Poll of 801 Florida Likely Voters 3/27/09 — 3/31/09 (MOE +/- 3.5 Percentage Pts.)
As a resident of Florida, what impact, if any, do you believe illegal immigration is having on the state?
| Negative | 37.9% | |
| Somewhat Negative | 33.4 | |
| Somewhat Positive | 11.8 | |
| Very Positive | 2.6 | |
| No Impact | 7.8 | |
| Not Sure | 6.5 |
What impact, if any, do you believe the nearly 1 million illegal immigrants living in Florida have on the state budget?
| Negative | 44.7% | |
| Somewhat Negative | 38.8 | |
| Somewhat Positive | 3.8 | |
| Very Positive | 4.1 | |
| No Impact | 5.5 | |
| Not Sure | 3.2 |
Which of the following statements best represents your thoughts
| Statement A: | I oppose legalization, or amnesty, for illegal immigrants. Instead, the government should enforce and strengthen existing laws to convince illegal immigrants to return home and open up jobs for unemployed American workers. |
| Statement B: | I support granting legalization, or amnesty, to current illegal immigrants, allowing them to keep their jobs, coupled with a commitment on the part of the government to enforce our immigration laws in the future. |
| Statement A | 57.5% | |
| Statement B | 36.0 | |
| Neither | 6.0 | |
| Not Sure | .5 |
An immigration reform bill supported by the president and congressional leaders promises that the government will take steps to prevent illegal immigration in the future. How much confidence do you have that those promises would be fulfilled?
| Very Confident | 9.1% | |
| Somewhat Confident | 29.0 | |
| Somewhat Unconfident | 17.5 | |
| Not confident at all | 42.8 | |
| Not Sure | 1.6 |
Which of the following statements best represents your thoughts
| Statement A: | Legalizing, or granting amnesty to, the nearly 1 million illegal immigrants now living in Florida would harm American workers, add to the state’s fiscal crisis, and lead to more illegal immigration. |
| Statement B: | Legalizing or granting amnesty to, the nearly 1 million illegal immigrants now living in Florida would benefit all workers in the state, ease the state’s fiscal crisis, and solve the problem of illegal immigration once and for all. |
| Statement A | 62.1% | |
| Statement B | 18.1 | |
| Neither | 17.5 | |
| Not Sure | 2.3 |
Which of the following statements best represents your thoughts on illegal immigration and the job market in Florida?
| Statement A: | Illegal immigrants are taking jobs that should be available to legal residents of Florida. |
| Statement B: | Illegal immigrants, for the most part, are taking jobs American workers don’t want. |
| Statement C: | Illegal immigrants have little or no impact on the labor market in Florida. |
| Statement A | 49.8% | |
| Statement B | 41.2 | |
| Statement C | 5.7 | |
| Neither | 3.0 | |
| Not Sure | 0.3 |
Which of the following statements best represents your thoughts
| Statement A: | It is important that Congress reauthorize E-Verify and preserve this protection for American workers. |
| Statement B: | Employers should be allowed to hire whomever they want, whether they are authorized to work in the U.S. or not. |
| Statement A | 82.7% | |
| Statement B | 11.1 | |
| Neither | 5.6 | |
| Not Sure | 0.7 |
Which of the following statements best represents your thoughts
| Statement A: | The government must have safeguards, like E-Verify, in place to make sure that only legal U.S. workers can fill jobs created with taxpayer money. |
| Statement B: | It makes no difference who fills jobs created with taxpayer money and no special effort should be made to ensure that only legal U.S. workers take those jobs. |
| Statement A | 82.0% | |
| Statement B | 9.8 | |
| Neither | 7.9 | |
| Not Sure | 0.4 |
A number of state governments have adopted policies that require all employers to use E-Verify to ensure the workers they hire are legally allowed to work in America. Do you agree or disagree that similar policies should be adopted in Florida, or not?
| Agree | 84.4% | |
| Disagree | 13.0 | |
| Not Sure | 2.6 |
Which of the following statements best represents your thoughts
| Statement A: | Worksite enforcement against companies that employ illegal immigrants is effective and should be maintained, or increased, and illegal workers should be removed. |
| Statement B: | Worksite enforcement against companies that employ illegal immigrants is ineffective and should be decreased or eliminated. |
| Statement A | 68.6% | |
| Statement B | 21.1 | |
| Neither | 7.8 | |
| Not Sure | 2.5 |
Which of the following statements best represents your thoughts
| Statement A: | Immigration enforcement should never separate families. Illegal immigrants who have family members who are citizens or legal residents should be allowed to remain. |
| Statement B: | All law enforcement potentially separates families. People who violate laws, including immigration laws, are responsible for any hardship it causes their families and they should be held accountable. |
| Statement A | 37.8% | |
| Statement B | 49.4 | |
| Neither | 11.1 | |
| Not Sure | 1.7 |
2008 Presidential Election
A Rasmussen Report poll conducted of 685 likely Republican voters in Florida on December 11th found:
- 28% (a plurality) rank immigration as the most important issue in determining their vote in the presidential election.
A Quinnipiac University Poll conducted of 1,124 Florida voters from November 26-December 03, 2007 found:
- 66% favor stricter immigration laws and are opposed to amnesty.
- 25% would not vote for a candidate if they completely disagree with him or her on immigration, but agree on other issues
A Rasmussen Report poll conducted 508 Likely Republican Primary Voters in Florida on November 18th found:
- 90% oppose granting drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens.
- 83% say that when police officers pull someone over for a traffic violation, they should routinely check to see if that person is in the country legally.
- 78% believe that if an illegal immigrant is discovered in this manner, they should be deported.
A Rasmussen Report poll conducted 529 LikelyDemocratic Primary Voters in Floridaon November 18th found:
- 73% oppose granting drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens.
- 72% say that when police officers pull someone over for a traffic violation, they should routinely check to see if that person is in the country legally.
- 51% believe that if an illegal immigrant is discovered in this manner, they should be deported.
Other polls
A South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Florida Times-Union poll taken in April, 2006 (of 600 adults, including of 138 non-voters) found that:
- 88% believe that illegal immigrants drain social services.
- 72% believe that illegal immigrants should be denied driver’s licenses.
- 60% believe that illegal immigrants are driving down wages and hurting the economy.
A Research 2000 poll conducted among likely voters at the end of February 2005 with a +/- 4%age point margin of error found the following (per the March 5 South Florida Sun-Sentinel):
- “Two-thirds…would oppose a plan to allow some undocumented immigrants to live and work legally [the Bush plan] in the US.”
- “…voters oppose — by more than a 3-to-1 margin — letting states issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants…”
- “Only two in 10 Hispanics favored a law allowing undocumented immigrants to work legally in the country. Only two in 10 favored issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. And only 38% of Florida’s Hispanics…said they thought immigration helped the United States.”
- 81% said that the country should place more restrictions on immigration. (South Florida Sun Sentinel, Sept. 2001)
According to a Sun-Sentinel poll of 807 registered voters reported in the Sept. 25, 2001 issue of the newspaper, 81 percent of the respondents agreed that the country should place more restrictions on immigration. The expansion of federal police powers to “indefinitely detain legal immigrants suspected of crimes during a national emergency,” was supported by 70 percent of respondents. The poll showed that minorities favor restrictions by larger percentages than whites, and that women are slightely more favorable than men.
The Polling Company conducted a poll, for Negative Population Growth, September 23-27, 1999 (500 likely Florida voters, margin of error 4.4%). The findings were:
- Nearly 60 percent of Florida voters say adding another 5 million residents to Florida’s population [the amount of increase now projected by 2025] is either an “extremely serious” or “serious” problem.
- Over 70 percent believe Florida’s overcrowding and overpopulation is a major problem.
- 68 percent agee that “Florida would be better-off in the long term with a smaller population to maintain a sound economy and a healthy environment.”
- A similar number want immigration scaled back.