Breaking: Final KSTP/SurveyUSA poll finds NO side leading
In 4 SurveyUSA tracking polls going back 8 weeks, SurveyUSA has never shown the Minnesota Marriage Amendment being defeated. Until today.
ABC Affiliate, KSTP, Minneapolis
Source: kstp.com
Last night, Public Policy Polling released polling numbers showing that 52% of Minnesotans opposed the amendment with 45% in support.
Tonight, KSTP/SurveyUSA release their final poll before the election and the NO side leads with 48% of voters opposed to amending the constitution to limit the rights of committed same-sex couples.
That’s right: A second independent poll has found that Minnesotans oppose amending the constitution to limit the rights of a subset of citizens.
With that said, it’s going to be nail-biting close. According to KSTP:
The margin is small, and could just be statistical noise, but at the wire, SurveyUSA has “No” at 48%, “Yes” at 47%, well within the survey’s possible sources of error, but significant enough to warrant a mention. In SurveyUSA’s two most recent polls, Yes led No by a single point. Now the dress shoe is on the other foot, with No leading Yes by a single point.
With less than 48 hours until Minnesota polls close, we can’t let up. If you can help with get-out-the-vote efforts, please sign up here.
Minnesota, this is going to be close. EVERY single vote is going to matter in this election. Help make history by saying NO on Tuesday!
Less than 48 hours
It’s hard to believe that Minnesota polls will be closed in less than 48 hours. And just like that, we will know whether or not all of the hard work has paid off. Will enough voters stand up for equality and vote No on the mean-spirited marriage amendment?
If you can help out tomorrow or Tuesday with get out the vote efforts, please sign up today.
Time is running out. Let’s make sure we do everything we can to help voters realize why it is so very important to just say No!
Another small business stands up for equality: pacifier
Recently, one of my colleagues snapped this picture and emailed it to me:
Of course, I was excited to jump online and recognize pacifier for standing up for equality. As I was getting ready to write this post, I searched for their Facebook page so that I could link to it here, and what I saw shocked me:
Not only is this business taking a visible stand for equality in their stores, they also offered to donate all proceeds of sales during the above weekend to Minnesotans United for All Families. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is!
- Patronize the business online or in store. Let the owners know that you appreciate their support of equality for all Minnesotans
- Like the business on Facebook. As of today, the business has over 4,500 likes. Let’s show them some more love!
- Send the owners a personal note of thanks.
- Reblog this post or share a link on Facebook to build awareness and support for this local business.
Telling your story has impact
Way back in June, I shared an inspiring video about the impact each of us has in telling our story. 67% of voters are more likely to vote against this mean-spirited amendment if they’ve heard from someone they know.
If you have any doubt, just take a look at the breakdown of numbers from the recently completed Star Tribune poll:
Do you have family members or friends who are gay or lesbian?
KNOW GAY OR LESBIAN?
YES
NO
UNDECIDED
Yes 40%
54%
6%
No 65%
32%
3%
Just knowing someone that is gay or lesbian has a huge influence on how someone chooses to vote on this amendment! Then add in the telling of personal stories and making real connections with fellow Minnesotans and you can see why Minnesota has a real chance at defeating this thing!
So with 6 days to go, take action now. Get out there. Tell your stories. Volunteer with the campaign. Do whatever you can to make real, personal connections between now and election day. Who knows, your personal connection could make the difference between whether or not this mean-spirited amendment is defeated!
Final poll before the election
Just over a month ago, I blogged, “Breaking: Amendment may not have enough support to pass!” as the Star Tribune had just released the results of polling they conducted in September around the marriage amendment. At that time, this is what the numbers looked like:
49% Approve | 47% Oppose | 4% Undecided
Fast forward a month later, and the latest Star Tribune’s latest poll had this to say:
48% Approve | 47% Oppose | 5% Undecided
Support for the amendment has continues to decline as more Minnesotans tell their personal stories and make personal connections with voters. However, it’s clear that Minnesota’s churches are still playing a key role in keeping support higher:
The sampling also found that Minnesota’s faith leaders are enormously influential.
Fully 70 percent of supporters say their religious leader helped inform their decision on the question; 26 percent say their faith leader had little or no impact.
Of course, with a 3.5 percentage point margin of error, this vote could go either way. With that said, if we could move more undecided voters to our side in the last days, we could be the first state to defeat one of these measures!
Don’t stop talking to friends and telling your story to neighbors, relatives, fellow church goers… YOU are making a difference every single day!
Social media images
Over the past couple of months, I’ve shared a bunch of Facebook cover graphics for you to display on your profile. This one is simple and contrasts quite nicely with your profile picture.
Of course, you can always go with the classic orange Vote No Facebook cover image. Or if you’d prefer, you can go with one of four different Let Your Friends kNOw Facebook timeline graphics.
And if you really want to deck out your profile, be sure to check out yesterday’s post where I shared nearly 20 different images that you can use for your Facebook profile image!
Vote No Wristband
If you don’t already have one of these wristbands, consider picking one up today! I can’t tell you how many questions and compliments I’ve received on my wristband over the past month. A cool way to show your support in the final days of the campaign!
Voting Information: Take Action!
Even if you’ve voted before in Minnesota, take action and spend one minute to confirm that you are registered to vote and you know where to go on November 6.
The State of Minnesota makes it so easy; simply enter your name, date of birth and address and the site will tell you whether or not you’re registered. It even gives you the address of your polling place!
If you would like general information on voting in Minnesota (registering to vote, absentee voting, overseas voting, etc.) check out the State of Minnesota Elections and Voting page.
Facebook profile graphic: I would personally be harmed
Here’s another graphic for those that are looking to replace your Facebook profile picture in the last two weeks before the election.
Let your friends kNOw that this mean-spirited amendment impacts you, your family and/or your loved ones.
With so little time left, please take action now!
sixty-seven percent
It’s true. 67% of voters are more likely to be on our side after having a conversation. Check out this inspiring video if you need a reminder.
With 18 days until Minnesota votes on marriage, please be sure that you’re amping up the conversations you’re having!
Local small business opposes amendment
While I probably won’t be visiting Peapods in St. Paul anytime soon (no need for baby supplies for this blogger!), I want to make sure I recognize the owners for taking a stand against the mean-spirited amendment.
Owners Dan Marshall and wife Millie Adelsheim have a “Vote NO” sign in their window that faces Como Avenue and sell rainbow flags in the store.
When asked, Dan had this to say about supporting equality in Minnesota:
[Opposing the marriage amendment] speaks so clearly to the values we’ve chosen as a store. We want to treat all families equally and be a friendly, embracing store.
When other local businesses have come out in support of equality, I’ve encouraged readers of this blog to do one of four simple things to express appreciation:
- Patronize the business online or in store. Let Dan and Millie know that you appreciate their support of equality for all Minnesotans
- Like the business on Facebook. As of today, the business has nearly 2,500 likes. Let’s show them some more love!
- Send the owners a personal note of thanks.
- Reblog this post or share a link on Facebook to build awareness and support for this local business.
Together, let’s send a message to Minnesota-based businesses: Standing up for equality is indeed good for business!
Note: For those that may be in the market for baby supplies or alternative toys, here’s a little more about the business from their website:
Our store is an alternative toy and baby supply store. We offer a huge selection of great products. We offer baby slings, cloth diapers and wraps, wooden toys, puzzles, silk toys, toys made from recycled plastic, dress up wear, stuffed animals, finger puppets, dolls, dollhouses, toy trains, and a lot more really really neat stuff. Nearly everything is made of natural woods and fibers–no batteries or vinyl toys.
Do you believe marriage is for all?
If you were out for the Big Gay Race last weekend, you may have seen little orange rings making their way through the crowd. These rings are a simple way that allow you to show your support for marriage equality.
If you didn’t get a ring at the race, you can still pick one up or order yours online for free. Check out www.VoteNOForAll.com for more information and to find out how you too can show your support for marriage equality.
Hell’s Kitchen Vote No Rally
In case you didn’t already know about how I feel about Hell’s Kitchen supporting equality…
Well now the restaurant has done it again! They’ve announced a Vote NO Rally on Thursday, November 1st via their Facebook page. As you can see, this Minneapolis business not only supports equality, they’re actively standing up to help make positive change in the community!
Mark your calendars now for this event. And if you can’t make it on November 1st, stop by Hell’s Kitchen between now and then to say “thank you” for the owners’ continued work to help us defeat this mean spirited amendment! Thanks, Hell’s Kitchen, for voting NO!
Breaking: Amendment may not have enough support to pass!
On a day when Minnesotans around the state are gathering for One Day United parties to continue the conversation and raise funds to defeat the mean-spirited marriage amendment, the Star Tribune has provided a much-needed boost of hope into the discussion.
This morning, the Tribune published a poll they conducted from September 17-19. In it, amendment supporters still lead opponents by 2 percentage points, however, they fall short of the needed majority to pass the amendment by ONE small percentage point.
But let’s not break out the bubbly quite yet. There are still 4% of respondents who are undecided and the poll has a +/-3.5 margin of sampling error. If other states are any indication, “yes” voters are usually under-represented in polling by several percentage points.
Not only that, but the other side hasn’t started to bombard the airwaves and internet with their scare tactics – a strategy that has proven effective in every single state where these amendments have passed.
Today’s polling should call each and every single one of us to take action. We are so very close and the numbers continue to move in our favor. Whether you can donate some time calling potential voters, talk to coworkers and friends about why you’re voting no or put a yard sign up to proclaim your stance – all of these things are helping.
With defeat of this anti-marriage amendment so close, we cannot afford to stop now. Thank you to everyone that has stood One Day United today. May we continue to encourage the conversation right up until election day.
Together, we can defeat this. Stand with me, Minnesota and let’s tell the world that we are voting NO!
Note: For detailed polling breakdown data, check out this link.
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Tweets
- Check out what a visitor to the site asked me to pass along to Father Mike Tegeder. RT if you agree. #minnesota #voteno
http://t.co/4iqhrFX211/09/2012 - #Minnesota nice? Yeah, we #voteno twice! Congratulations to to Minnesota for standing on the right side of history!11/07/2012
- #Minnesota #marriageamendment 78% reporting. #voteno at 50%; yes side has 49%. It's going to be a while before we call this one...11/07/2012
- #Minnesota #marriageamendment 47% reporting. Spread narrows. #voteno side still at 49%; yes side has increased their support to 47%.11/07/2012
- Check out what a visitor to the site asked me to pass along to Father Mike Tegeder. RT if you agree. #minnesota #voteno
