A new poll shows strong support for four of the five ballot questions facing Massachusetts voters this November, with the question on legalizing psychedelics is a toss-up.
In a UMass Amherst/WCVB poll released Tuesday, 43% of voters say they would vote yes on Question 4, with the same percentage against. The proposal would allow adults to purchase or grow natural psychedelic substances, like magic mushrooms.
An additional 14% of those surveyed say they're still not sure.
"So this opens the door to a high likelihood of increased bombardment by supporters of this change and opponents of this change in the remaining weeks," said Tatishe Nteta, director of the UMass Poll.
Other ballots questions — to increase the base minimum wage for tipped workers (Question 5), to let rideshare drivers unionize (Question 3), and to give the state auditor the power to examine the Legislature (Question 1) — all have about 60% support.
Less popular but still with a double-digit lead is a proposal (Question 2) to let students graduate high school without passing the state's standardized test, known as the MCAS.
Confusion over MCAS question
Polling results related to the MCAS question reveal some confusion.
Most poll respondents do not know what Gov. Maura Healey or state Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler think of the proposal.
Of the voters who said they do know, a majority wrongly believe Healey and Tutwiler support the question.
"You can make a case that the most prominent opponent of Question 2 is Gov. Healey, but voters don't know that," Nteta said. "Only 16% of voters know that Healey opposes Question 2," compared to 25% who think Healey supports it.
Just 17% of voters correctly said Tutwiler opposes the ballot question, with 19% believing he's supportive.
"Over the course of these next few weeks, I think one of the central political questions is whether or not Healey will put her political capital on the line and mobilize opposition to Question 2," Nteta said.
The poll found a much larger share of voters, 44%, knows the Massachusetts Teachers Association supports the proposal.
Large margin in Senate race
The poll also shows a large lead for incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her campaign for a third term.
The Democrat leads attorney John Deaton by 22 percentage points in the UMass poll.
Participants picked Warren over Deaton on who they would trust more to handle a range of issues — from the economy to reproductive rights to immigration. And more respondents said Warren would better handle the regulation of crypto-currency, a main issue Deaton advocated around before his campaign.
But many voters likely don't know Deaton's background. Speaking to pollsters, among the most popular words respondents used to describe the challenger were "unknown," "unsure" and "Republican."
For Elizabeth Warren, top responses included "smart," "strong" and "liberal."
Deaton and Warren are meeting for two debates this week — on Tuesday in eastern Massachusetts on CBS News Boston, and on Thursday in Springfield at the NEPM studios.
