Poll: 48% of New Yorkers Say Spitzer Should Face Charges

More New York State voters say they think Governor Spitzer should be charged with a crime than say they believe resigning was punishment enough for his alleged liaisons with a prostitute, a new poll shows.

Forty-eight percent of New York State voters surveyed for a Quinnipiac University poll said the former governor should be charged with a crime, with 50% of men and 47% of women polled saying he should be charged. Forty percent of New Yorkers said resigning was enough punishment.

Seventy-three percent of voters surveyed said they think people who patronize prostitutes should face the same punishment as prostitutes.

The poll, released yesterday, also found that 75% of the state's voters say they think Governor Paterson will govern effectively and 67% say he will restore trust in state government. Responses to questions about Mr. Paterson shifted slightly on the final night of the survey, March 18, following news reports of his marital infidelity, according to a news release from Quinnipiac.

Eighty-one percent of voters said Mr. Spitzer was right to resign. When it comes to the next governor of New York, voters are split. Twenty-nine percent said they want Mayor Bloomberg elected, 27% said they want Mr. Paterson, 25% said they want Mayor Giuliani, and 11% said they want Attorney General Cuomo.

The poll was conducted March 16–18 and surveyed 1,528 state voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5%.