Poll: Voters Oppose License Plan

ALBANY — A majority of New York voters who know of Governor Spitzer's plan to allow illegal aliens to get driver's licenses oppose the idea, according to poll results released today.

Only 22% of voters supported the plan, while 72% are opposed, the Siena Research Institute reported.

The poll asked voters if the "change would allow illegal aliens to obtain a New York driver's license, posing a national security risk." Of voters, 64% agreed.

Siena also asked voters if they think "this change will significantly reduce the number of unlicensed drivers, resulting in lower auto insurance costs for all New Yorkers." Only 25% agreed, while 66% disagreed and 10% didn't know or had no opinion.

"The voters' message to the governor is clear: 'No, no, no,'" a Siena spokesman, Steven Greenberg, said. "Opposition to the Spitzer proposal is intense, with 41% strongly opposing it and only 7% strongly supporting it."

The poll also found that Mr. Spitzer's approval rating is the lowest it's been since he took office, but overall it's still positive. Of those polled, 54% said they had a favorable opinion of the governor, while 36% view him unfavorably and 10% didn't know or had no opinion.

When he took office in January, Mr. Spitzer had a 75% approval rating, while 10% of voters disapproved of him.

When asked to consider a 2010 election for governor between Mr. Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg, the poll found that Mr. Bloomberg would win 50% of the vote and Mr. Spitzer would have only 37% if the election was held today.

Siena polled 620 registered voters by phone between October 7 and 10. The poll has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.