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Socially
liberal Orange County doesn't fit conservative stereotype,
UC Irvine Annual Survey finds
In
surprising findings, residents favor abortion access, gun control,
gays serving openly in military and strict environmental laws
Irvine, Calif.,
June 26, 2000 — Often stereotyped as a bastion of conservatism,
Orange County does not fit the profile when it comes to social issues,
according to UC Irvine's 2000 Orange County Annual Survey.
Though most county residents describe themselves as moderate (31 percent)
to conservative (43 percent) politically, many hold liberal views on
social issues:
Two in three Orange
County residents say government should not interfere with a woman's
access to abortion.
Sixty-two percent
say gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military.
Sixty-three percent
say the government does not do enough to regulate access to guns.
Sixty-two percent
say stricter environmental laws are worth the cost.
Respondents are divided
on whether to spend a federal budget surplus for a tax cut or social
programs.
"These are striking
findings that once again show Orange County residents are not stereotypical
conservatives," said research associate Cheryl Katz, co-director with
UCI Professor Mark Baldassare of the Orange County Annual Survey.
Baldassare said: "This is a political trend we've followed in the past
in Orange County, consistent with everything we've seen in previous surveys.
Orange County is conservative on fiscal issues, but liberal on social
issues. What this indicates is that many people distrust government, and
they want as little government as possible in their daily lives. Thus,
they're both reluctant to raise taxes and to have government involved
in regulating abortions."
Orange County residents are more likely than all Californians to call
themselves conservatives (43 percent to 35 percent), according to the
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Survey conducted
in January, but one in four local residents say they are somewhat or very
liberal. However they describe their political orientation, Orange County
residents don't have a tremendous amount of interest in politics. Fewer
than one in five has a great deal of interest, about half say they have
a fair amount of interest and one in three has little or no interest in
politics, with Republicans more interested than Democrats (78 percent
of Republicans have at least a fair amount of interest in politics, compared
with 67 percent of Democrats). Latinos are more likely than non-Hispanic
whites to have little or no interest in politics (47 percent to 31 percent).
Following are highlights of the survey's findings on the Orange County
political profile:
Abortion
Sixty-five percent of Orange County residents believe government should
not interfere with a woman's access to abortion. Among Democrats and
non-Hispanic whites, the proportion is even higher-74 percent and 71
percent, respectively. Latinos are about evenly divided, with 46 percent
saying government should not interfere and 49 percent wanting the government
to pass more laws that restrict the availability of abortion.
Orange County opinions on abortion are similar to all Californians',
with 71 percent in the state saying government should not interfere
and 27 percent saying government should restrict availability of abortion,
according to the January PPIC survey.
Gay rights
Most residents-62 percent-support allowing gay men and women to serve
openly in the military. Support is stronger among Democrats (77 percent),
but a slim majority of Republicans (51 percent) also support gays and
lesbians serving openly in the military. Sixty-nine percent of women
and 56 percent of men favor gays serving openly. There are no significant
differences between Latinos and non-Hispanic whites.
Gun control
Like most Californians, Orange County residents want stricter gun controls.
Sixty-three percent in the county agree that the government does not
do enough to regulate access to guns, while only 31 percent think the
government goes too far in restricting the rights of citizens to own
guns. In the PPIC survey, a similar 62 percent said the government does
not do enough to regulate access to guns and 35 percent said the government
goes too far.
Seventy percent of Democrats support increased gun regulations, but
a majority of Republicans, 52 percent, also want tighter gun controls.
Women favor increased gun regulation more than men do (68 percent to
59 percent) and Latinos favor gun controls more than non-Hispanic whites
do (72 percent to 60 percent).
"Orange County is consistent with most Californians and most Americans
in saying there is just too much access to guns. Concerns about gun
proliferation are part of the reason they're fearful of crime at a time
when crime rates are going down," Baldassare said.
The environment
Commitment to environmental conservation trumps conservative politics
in Orange County. Almost two-thirds of residents agree that stricter
environmental regulations are worth the cost, while less than a third
say stricter laws cost too many jobs. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats
and 57 percent of Republicans say stricter laws are worth the cost.
"We've seen through the years in Orange County that residents are very
concerned about growth, traffic and pollution affecting their lives,
and would like to see government take a role," Baldassare said.
Immigration
and race issues
A majority of Orange County residents agree that "immigrants are a benefit
to California because of their hard work." Fifty-eight percent in the
county see immigrants as a benefit, with 61 percent of Democrats, 78
percent of Latinos and 52 percent of non-Hispanic whites agreeing. Republicans
are more divided, with 49 percent saying immigrants are a benefit and
40 percent saying they are a burden because they use public services.
"Orange County residents are rethinking their position on immigrants
in light of the fact that the unemployment rate is very low and labor
is in scarce supply. People begin to think more positively about the
impact of immigrants on the economy and on the ability of the county
to function in this kind of labor market," Baldassare said.
Nearly half of Orange County residents also believe racial profiling-the
practice of police officers stopping motorists of certain racial and
ethnic groups because they believe these groups are more likely to commit
certain crimes-is widespread. Forty-seven percent in the county and
59 percent of Latinos say racial profiling is widespread.
Federal tax
cuts
"Orange County, with its mythical antipathy toward taxes, is about evenly
divided on whether to use a federal budget surplus for a tax cut or
social programs-another indication that Orange County residents are
not lock-step conservatives," said Katz.
Forty-eight percent in the county prefer to use the surplus to cut taxes,
while 44 percent prefer using it to pay for social programs. Republicans
are more likely than Democrats to prefer a tax cut (69 percent to 32
percent), and Latinos are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to want
the surplus used for social programs (62 percent to 39 percent).
The 19th Orange County Annual Survey was conducted by telephone May
3 to 14, using a computer-generated random sample of telephone numbers.
Interviews of 1,005 randomly selected adult household members were conducted
in English and Spanish. The survey has a margin of error of plus or
minus 3 percent at the 95-percent confidence level. It is the most comprehensive
study of the political, social and economic attitudes of Orange County
residents. Baldassare, the Roger W. and Janice M. Johnson Endowed Chair
in Civic Governance and Public Management in UCI's
School of Social Ecology, has conducted the survey since 1982.
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