If a Colorado Constitutional amendment to limit non-citizen access to state and local government benefits and services remained on the ballot, it would have had minimal support among Denver voters likely to vote in the Aug. 8 primary.  By 48% to 45%, likely primary voters say they would have favored a Constitutional amendment to ban services to illegal immigrants.  The issue was removed from the ballot by the Colorado Supreme Court for violating the single subject rule.  A just concluded special legislative session addressed the issue with statutory remedies, but failed to restore the initiative to the ballot.

 

Democrats, who are the dominate group among Denver primary voters (58% of primary voters), are significantly divided on the issue of benefits for illegal immigrants; 40% support the ban and 55% oppose.  Two-thirds of Republicans (67%) support the ban and one-quarter oppose it.

African American voters in the survey strongly support the ban (65%), but nearly two-fifths of Hispanics (39%) also support it.  Anglo voters offer narrow support, 48% favor to 46% against.

Illegal Immigrant Services and Party and Ethnicity
	Favor	Against	Don’t Know
Total	48%	45%	7%
Democrat	40%	55%	6%
Unaffiliated	38%	47%	15%
Republican	67%	25%	8%
White	48%	46%	7%
Hispanic	39%	56%	4%
Black	65%	24%	12%
Ciruli Associates, N275, 2006

The amendment likely would have passed statewide as of today because in order for it to fail, Denver would have been needed, as a Democratic stronghold, to provide a significant portion of the “no” votes.  Although services for illegal immigration will not be the subject of a ballot measure, the issue continues to be one of the most important in the 2006 election.