New poll due Monday

Can’t wait until after the Aug. 17 to sample the mood of Washington voters? Then you’ll want to check out the results of a new statewide survey by The Washington Poll concerning important public policy issues and voter preferences.

Results of the survey of 1,000 registered voters, who were interviewed by phone between May 3 and May 21, will be posted online Monday at www.washingtonpoll.org. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Topics covered include the state income tax referred by the Legislature to the November ballot; proposals to privatize the sale of alcohol and decriminalize marijuana; Attorney General Rob McKenna‘s decision to join a multi-state lawsuit to block health care mandates in the national health reform bill; and attitudes toward illegal immigration and same-sex marriage.

The poll also sampled the approval ratings of President Obama, Gov. Chris Gregoire, McKenna, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, the Washington Legislature and Congress. And it will offer the latest information about voter preference in the state’s tumultuous U.S. Senate race.

Kathie Durbin