From March 23- 25, 2010, Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. conducted a survey of registered voters in Florida who say they vote regularly in state elections.
Florida Democrats, Republicans and Independents have indicated that not only have they not been aware of taxpayer-funded pretrial release, but they are opposed to it. They were asked several questions about their awareness of and feelings towards pretrial release. The results are staggering:
• 94% felt criminal defendants who have failed to appear in court should not be allowed to be released from jail using tax dollars.
• 87% felt that if a criminal defendant can afford to pay their own bail for release from jail, they should not be allowed to be released from jail using tax dollars.
• 86% felt a criminal defendant who has been previously convicted of a violent crime should not be allowed to be released from jail using tax dollars, even if the court rules that they are indigent.
• Only 15% were aware that 28 Florida counties allow criminals to be released from jail using taxpayer dollars instead of paying for their own release while they await trial.
This was a completely unbiased survey: Mason-Dixon is not a party-affiliated or ideology-oriented polling firm. A total of 625 registered voters were interviewed statewide by telephone. Those interviewed were selected by the random variation of the last four digits of telephone numbers. The margin for error is no more than plus or minus 4 percentage points, meaning if this poll was conducted 100 times, 95 of those times the percentage of people giving a particular answer would be within 4 points of the percentage who gave that same answer in this poll.
POLL RESULTS
QUESTION: Were you aware or not aware that 28 Florida counties allow criminals to be released from jail using taxpayer dollars instead of paying for their own release while they await trial?
| STATE | MEN | WOMEN | DEM | REP | IND | |
| AWARE | 15% | 14% | 16% | 16% | 12% | 19% |
| NOT AWARE | 85% | 86% | 84% | 84% | 88% | 81% |
QUESTION: Would you support or oppose enacting a statewide law that would limit the use of your tax dollars to only pay for the release of indigent defendants who have been charged with a non-violent crime?
| STATE | MEN | WOMEN | DEM | REP | IND | |
| SUPPORT | 71% | 77% | 65% | 65% | 77% | 72% |
| OPPOSE | 22% | 19% | 25% | 31% | 12% | 23% |
| UNDECIDED | 7% | 4% | 10% | 4% | 4% | 5% |
QUESTION: If a criminal defendant can afford to pay their own bail for release from jail, do you feel they should or should not be allowed to be released from jail on your tax dollars?
| STATE | MEN | WOMEN | DEM | REP | IND | |
| SHOULD | 7% | 6% | 8% | 9% | 5% | 9% |
| SHOULD NOT | 87% | 89% | 85% | 86% | 88% | 84% |
| NOT SURE | 6% | 5% | 7% | 5% | 7% | 7% |
QUESTION: Do you feel criminal defendants who have failed to appear in court on a previous offense should or should not be allowed to be released from jail on your tax dollars?
| STATE | MEN | WOMEN | DEM | REP | IND | |
| SHOULD | 2% | 1% | 3% | 3% | 1% | 2% |
| SHOULD NOT | 94% | 96% | 92% | 91% | 98% | 91% |
| NOT SURE | 4% | 3% | 5% | 6% | 1% | 7% |
QUESTION: If a criminal defendant has been previously convicted of a violent crime, but the court finds that they are indigent, should they or should they not be allowed to be released from jail on your tax dollars?
| STATE | MEN | WOMEN | DEM | REP | IND | |
| SHOULD | 6% | 3% | 9% | 9% | 4% | 5% |
| SHOULD NOT | 86% | 91% | 81% | 79% | 93% | 88% |
| NOT SURE | 8% | 6% | 10% | 10% | 3% | 7% |
DEMOGRAPHICS
PARTY REGISTRATION:
Democrat 269 (43%)
Republican 238 (38%)
Independent or Other 118 (19%)
AGE:
18-34 95 (15%)
35-49 163 (26%)
50-64 167 (27%)
65+ 197 (32%)
Refused 3 –
RACE/ETHNICITY:
White/Caucasiam 460 (74%)
Black/African American 76 (12%)
Hispanic or Cuban 74 (12%)
Other/Refused 15 (2%)
SEX:
Male 303 (48%)
Female 322 (52%)
REGION:
North Florida 120 (19%)
Central Florida 130 (21%)
Tampa Bay 115 (18%)
Southwest Florida 70 (11%)
Southeast Florida 190 (30%)