67% of Hawai'i's people oppose the Akaka bill, according to a survey of all 290,000 households in Hawai'i by an out-of-state professional survey company released in two phases in July, 2005. Results of other surveys are also reviewed.

On July 5, 2005 the Grassroot Institute of Hawai'i released the initial report of a sample scientific survey of Hawai'i's people done by an out-of-state professional survey company. The survey showed that out of 10,000 people who were called on the telephone, 67% of those who responded to the question said they are opposed to the Akaka bill. Furthermore, 45% feel strongly enough about this issue that they are less likely to vote for any politician who supports the bill. The results of this survey are provided below, along with a review of other surveys previously conducted.

When opponents complained that a relatively small number of people actually responded to the survey, a decision was made to expand the survey to an additional 280,000 households, thus covering all 290,000 households in Hawai'i who have telephone service.

"Polling was conducted by FEC Research between June 29 and July 10. When asked, “Do you want Congress to approve the Akaka Bill?” only 28.2 percent of registered voters answered “yes,” 56.8 percent said “no,” and 15.0 percent did not answer. Counting noes over only those who responded to the question, 66.8 percent oppose the passage of the Akaka Bill." (Andrew Walden, July 18, 2005; see full article at bottom of this webpage)

Results of the original sample survey of 10,000 households are provided first, including a spreadsheet of results and a list of the actual questions; results of the followup total-coverage survey of 290,000 households is provided at the end.

THE BEST SURVEY WOULD BE A BALLOT QUESTION IN THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION. BUT THE AKAKA BILL DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY REQUIREMENT FOR SUCH A VOTE, AND HAWAI'I POLITICIANS FEAR IT BECAUSE THEY KNOW HAWAI'I'S PEOPLE OPPOSE THE AKAKA BILL.

Link to webpage regarding Star-Bulletin on-line poll where 75% of respondents opposed the Akaka bill

Link to webpage reporting that fewer than 5% of the 401,000 ethnic Hawaiians had signed up on a racial registry sponsored by OHA after 17 months of intensive (and expensive!) advertising and community outreach throughout Hawai'i and the mainland U.S. This racial registry is likely to become the basis for a membership roll for the Akaka tribe if the Akaka bill passes. Fewer than 5% signed up (Kau Inoa) after 17 months of massive advertising. That's a pretty good "survey" showing lack of support for the Akaka bill among ethnic Hawaiians.

Links to webpages reporting results of previous surveys showing that "Hawaiian nationhhood" is at the bottom of priorities for the general population and for ethnic Hawaiians.

FINAL TOTAL-COVERAGE SURVEY THAT CONTACTED ALL 290,000 HAWAI'I HOUSEHOLDS THAT HAVE TELEPHONE SERVICE.

INITIAL SURVEY PRESS RELEASE, TABLE OF SURVEY RESULTS, AND LIST OF ACTUAL QUESTIONS ASKED

The survey was conducted June 29 - July 1, 2005 by Election Research ccAdvertising.

Contact: Gabriel Joseph, President.
Tel: (703) 234-2200
Website: http://www.ccadvertising.biz

The survey called 10,000 homes in Hawaii and received responses from 1,696. It was statistically balanced by population density and recorded other demographic characteristics of respondents such as sex, age and Native Hawaiian heritage.

* 34.42 % of respondents were Republican, 33.56% were Democrat and 32.01% did not affiliate with either major party

* 44.88% of respondents said they would be less likely to vote for an elected official who supported the Akaka bill

We have heard from the Governor, Congressional delegation and OHA that the Akaka bill has the overwhelming support of the people of Hawaii.

Linda Lingle testimony Senate Indian Affairs Committee 3/1/05 "it is supported overwhelmingly by people of all ethnic backgrounds";

Sen. Akaka "enjoys overwhelming support from Native Hawaiians and all the people of Hawaii" Congr. Record S2201;

Ed Case "most people living in Hawaii support federal recognition of Native Hawaiians -- I would say 70, 80 percent, so definitely our mainstream." Maui Weekly 6/19-25/05;

OHA Chair Apoliona "both Hawaiians and non Hawaiians (86% and 78%) in both groups backing the Akaka bill" OHA Press Release 10/22/03.)

This survey establishes that two out of three residents of Hawaii are opposed to the Akaka bill. And that's in spite of the fact that there has been virtually zero education about the bill or the consequences should it pass except from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and other proponents of the bill. With appropriate education and wide open community discussion we believe the support for the Akaka bill will dwindle to one in four.

Is it any wonder that none of the backers of this bill support an open plebiscite of all citizens?

The responses also indicate that an elected official supporting the Akaka bill is in danger of losing a large part of his or her base in the next election. Why?

Because 44.88% of respondents said they are likely to change their vote if their representative votes for the bill.

We challenge Governor Lingle, our Congressional delegation and all proponents to amend the Akaka bill to require an open plebiscite yes or no vote to determine the will of Hawaii's people before any part of this radical and divisive bill becomes effective.

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
1	HI - Akaka Bill - Survey – 1
2	Segment	Total Plays	Yes	No	No Response	Responding Percent "Yes"	Responding Percent "No"
3	Registered?	1696	914	712	70	56.21%	43.79%
4	Anti-Tax?	1688	289	132	1267	68.65%	31.35%
5	Support Racial Preferences?	1243	125	601	517	17.22%	82.78%
6	Support Akaka Bill?	980	198	404	378	32.89%	67.11%
7	Less Likely to Support Akaka Bill Supporter?	878	298	366	214	44.88%	55.12%
8	Native Hawaiian?	800	151	514	135	22.71%	77.29%
9	Republican?	665	200	363	102	35.52%	64.48%
10	Democrat?	465	195	186	84	51.18%	48.82%
11	Male?	663	221	319	123	40.93%	59.07%
12	50+	661	298	221	142	57.42%	42.58%
13
14	Republican	200	34.42%
15	Democrat	195	33.56%
16	No Preference	186	32.01%
17	Totals	581	100.00%
18

THIS IS FEC RESEARCH WITH A 45 SECOND CONSTITUENT SURVEY. ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE IN HAWAII?

CONCERNING TAXES, WOULD YOU PREFER TO HAVE YOUR TAXES NOT RAISED AND IF POSSIBLE, CUT?

DO YOU SUPPORT LAWS THAT PROVIDE PREFERENCES FOR PEOPLE GROUPS BASED ON THEIR RACE?

THE AKAKA BILL, NOW PENDING IN CONGRESS, WOULD ALLOW NATIVE HAWAIIANS TO CREATE THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT NOT SUBJECT TO ALL THE SAME LAWS, REGULATIONS AND TAXES THAT APPLY TO OTHER CITIZENS OF HAWAII. DO YOU WANT CONGRESS TO APPROVE THE AKAKA BILL?

IF YOUR CHOICES ARE LESS LIKLEY OR MORE LIKELY, WOULD YOU BE LESS LIKELY TO VOTE FOR AN ELECTED OFFICIAL WHO SUPPORTS THE AKAKA BILL?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND VIEWS. THIS SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED BY FEC RESEARCH. GOODBYE. 703/857-2152

The survey reported above was the first scientific survey of Hawai'i public opinion on the Akaka bill conducted by an out-of-state professional survey company. An on-line opinion poll was conducted by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on its newspaper website, showing that 75% oppose the bill. Other surveys sponsored previously by OHA have produced opposite conclusions; but still other surveys in the past (including some by OHA) have yielded results that indicate all Hawai'i people, including ethnic Hawaiians, place very low priority on anything related to "nationhood" for ethnic Hawaiians.

It should also be noted that fewer than 5% of the 401,000 ethnic Hawaiians had signed up on a racial registry sponsored by OHA after 17 months of intensive (and expensive!) advertising and community outreach throughout Hawai'i and the mainland U.S. This racial registry is likely to become the basis for a membership roll for the Akaka tribe if the Akaka bill passes. Fewer than 5% signed up (Kau Inoa) after 17 months of massive advertising. That's a pretty good "survey" showing lack of support for the Akaka bill among ethnic Hawaiians. See:

"Ethnic Hawaiians Refusing to Sign Up on a Racial Registry -- Only 18,000 out of 400,000 ethnic Hawaiians signed up after 17 months of intense advertising and community outreach"
https://www.angelfire.com/hi5/bigfiles3/AkakaKauinoa.html

In 2003 two different scientific surveys were done to discover the relative importance of various priorities as ranked by the people of Hawai'i in general, and by ethnic Hawaiians in particular. One survey was paid for by the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper, and conducted by the professional data-gathering and analysis company Ward Research. The other survey was paid for by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs -- it included data gathered both at public long-range planning meetings hosted by OHA in numerous neighborhoods, and also a survey conducted by the professional data-gathering and analysis company SMS Research which is frequently hired by OHA to do in-house surveys.

Both surveys produced remarkably similar results. It is also remarkable that the results were nearly the same for ethnic Hawaiians as for the general public. Top priorities are education, healthcare, housing, the environment, and traffic. The lowest priorities are Native Hawaiian rights, race-based handouts -- and. lowest of all -- ethnic Hawaiian "nationhood" (i.e., the Akaka bill).

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?ce425001-44a8-489d-93cf-8e606f9b6488
Hawaii Reporter (on-line)

The best survey on the Akaka bill would be a yes/no vote on the ballot at the next Hawai'i general election. Such a vote is in the best interests of democracy in Hawai'i; it is essential in view of the extraordinary importance of this issue; and it would put to rest the conflicting results of various surveys which have tried to "read the tea leaves." Why, for goodness sake, do we persist in the hocus-pocus of trying to sample public opinion when there's a very easy way to find out what it really is -- Vote.

Following is valuable information about several surveys by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, OHA, '''The Honolulu Advertiser, and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin,''' over the past several years. A call-to-action is then proposed.

On July 5, 2005, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii released the results of a survey it commissioned on the Akaka bill. Ten thousand people were contacted: 67 percent of those who responded to the question said they oppose the Akaka bill; 45 percent feel strongly enough about this issue that they said they are less likely to vote for any politician who supports the bill.

The press release by GRIH, a spreadsheet showing the results, and the order and wording of all the questions in the survey can be seen at: http://tinyurl.com/cwxgg

In March, 2005 the Honolulu Star-Bulletin conducted an online public opinion poll, which asked "Would you like to see the Akaka bill become law?" The votes were "Yes" 436 and "No" 1301 -- a resounding 75 percent opposed. See: http://tinyurl.com/6e6dx

In June it was reported that fewer than 5 percent of the 401,000 ethnic Hawaiians had signed up on "Kau Inoa," a racial registry sponsored by OHA, after 17 months of intensive (and expensive) advertising and community outreach throughout Hawaii and the mainland U.S. This racial registry is likely to become the basis for a membership roll for the Akaka tribe if the Akaka bill passes. Fewer than 5 percent signed up after 17 months of massive advertising, sign-up rallies in parks and shopping centers, free T-shirts, etc. That's a pretty good "survey" showing lack of support for the Akaka bill among ethnic Hawaiians. See: http://tinyurl.com/d8yzg

In 2003, two different scientific surveys were done to discover the relative importance of various priorities as ranked by the people of Hawaii in general, and by ethnic Hawaiians in particular. The top priorities are education, healthcare, housing, the environment, and traffic; in that order. The lowest priorities are Native Hawaiian rights, race-based handouts -- and, lowest of all -- ethnic Hawaiian "nationhood" (i.e., the Akaka bill). One survey was paid for by The Honolulu Advertiser newspaper, and conducted by the professional data-gathering and analysis company Ward Research. The other survey was paid for by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs -- it included data gathered both at public long-range planning meetings hosted by OHA in numerous neighborhoods, and also a survey conducted by the professional data-gathering and analysis company SMS Research which is frequently hired by OHA to do in-house surveys. Both surveys produced remarkably similar results, and the results were remarkably similar for ethnic Hawaiians and for the general population as a whole.

See: "Ethnic Hawaiians and Non-Hawaiians Rank Priorities Similarly -- Education, Health, Housing, Environment Are Far More Important Than Native Hawaiian Rights, Racial Entitlements, and Ethnic Hawaiian Nationhood" at: http://tinyurl.com/2hc3d

Those who favor the Akaka bill say their own surveys prove the bill has broad and high support. Those who oppose the Akaka bill say their own surveys prove the bill is opposed by large majorities. Each side accuses the other of bias in the way the survey questions are worded and the order the questions are asked. OHA is always very secretive about its surveys -- it required a freedom-of-information action to pry the results out of OHA which is, after all, a state government public agency spending our government money to take its bogus surveys. By contrast, the GRIH survey results were made available to the public, including the order and wording of the questions. And let's give thanks to Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for commissioning this survey, and to those who contribute to GRIH to support its research and public education activities.

There is one right way to take a survey on this very important matter -- Put It On The Ballot. But our politicians are scared to death of letting our people decide this issue -- the most important issue to face Hawaii since Statehood in 1959. Amazingly, the Akaka bill does not require any vote by ethnic Hawaiians or by the people of Hawaii at any time -- not to approve the concept of the bill, not to empower or implement the bill, and not to approve the results of eventual negotiations on how to carve up the land and resources of Hawaii between the new race-based government and the continuing (but greatly shrunken) government of all the people.

We urgently need to phone or fax Senators from other states to beg them to save us from our pork-barrel politicians, and to save America from legislation that will serve as a precedent for racial balkanization throughout our nation. For talking points and documentation, see: http://tinyurl.com/5jp5r

The bill is likely to be debated on the floor of the Senate very soon, with a vote expected between July 12 and Aug. 7. Our politicians tell us they have the votes to pass it. We must not allow that to happen.

In August 2000 the only public hearings ever to be held on the Akaka bill in Hawaii took place at the Blaisdell. For 5 days citizens of Hawaii gave testimony. But the only ones from Congress at the "joint hearings" were our two Senators, two Representatives, and the Samoa delegate who is totally under the thumb of our delegation. There was massive testimony and anger against the bill. Yet our politicians lied to Congress, telling them the hearings provided mostly support for the Akaka bill. Independent reporter Bob Rees attended all five days of testimony. He published an article the following week entitled "Hearings Theft" reporting sentiment was 9 to 1 in opposition. See: http://tinyurl.com/44kev

(1) An amendment to the Akaka bill to require that the bill cannot be implemented until a yes/no vote on the ballot in a general election confirms that a majority of voters approve of it (remember, blank ballots count as "no.");

(2) An amendment to the Akaka bill to require that the bill cannot be implemented, and there is no federal recognition for any ethnic Hawaiian governing entity, until at least half of all ethnic Hawaiians age 18 or older have signed up to join the entity. Census 2000 says there were 401,162 who checked the box for "Native Hawaiian (there'd be lots more today); and 253,007 were age 18 and over. Therefore the Akaka bill should not be implementable until at least 126,504 ethnic Hawaiians age 18 or older have signed up on the membership roll and been certified as meeting the race and age requirements;

(3) Televised congressional hearings in Hawaii where the public can give testimony, where Senators and Representatives other than our own biased sponsors of the bill are in attendance; and

(4) After the televised hearings have been held and genuine public debates are held allowing strong opponents of the bill an equal chance with supporters, then the question should be placed on the ballot in the next general election: Yes or No: Do you favor enacting into law the "Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization" bill, S.147 (or whatever its title and bill number might be by that time).

Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D., is an independent scholar in Kaneohe, Hawaii. His Web site on Hawaiian Sovereignty is at: https://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty He can be contacted at: mailto:Ken_Conklin@yahoo.com

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Jul/06/ln/ln21a.html
Honolulu Advertiser, Wednesday, July 6, 2005

Twice as many Hawai'i residents oppose the Akaka bill than support it, according to a survey released yesterday by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. However, the bill's proponents say the survey is flawed and misleading.

The institute said it conducted a telephone survey of 10,000 Hawai'i residents from June 29 to July 1, and that 980 people answered this question: "The Akaka Bill, now pending in Congress, would allow Native Hawaiians to create their own government not subject to all the same laws, regulations and taxes that apply to other citizens of Hawai'i. Do you want Congress to approve the Akaka Bill?"

Of the 980 respondents, 198 (20 percent) said they support the Akaka bill, 404 (41 percent) said they do not and 378 (39 percent) gave no response.

According to its Web site, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public-policy think tank founded in 2001. It is a partner with Small Business Hawaii and HawaiiReporter.com, the Web site says. The group has about 350 members, said Grassroot Institute president Richard "Dick" Rowland.

"You can get any result you want out of a poll depending upon how you ask the question," said U.S. Rep. Ed Case. "I have nothing against the Grassroot Institute but it is very clear they have a position they are trying to develop the evidence for, and that is what they have done."

The Grassroot Institute's leaders said the bill's proponents, who include Case, both of Hawai'i's U.S. senators, Gov. Linda Lingle and most of the rest of the state's political leaders, are the ones who are misleading the public. "The governor, Sen. (Daniel) Akaka, Rep. Case, OHA (Office of Hawaiian Affairs): they've all said the people of Hawai'i overwhelmingly favor the Akaka bill," Rowland said. "This shows that two-thirds of the people don't support it. "This whole debate has been one-sided because all we've been getting is political correctness," he said.

The Akaka bill, which would pave the way for the U.S. government to recognize the nation's 400,000 Native Hawaiians the way it recognizes American Indians and Native Alaskans, is expected to get a vote in the Senate as early as the week of July 18.

Hawai'i's political leaders say it is a critical step toward righting the injuries suffered as a result of the overthrow of the monarchy and a means of helping to stave off challenges to Hawaiian-only programs.

Opponents include groups at either end of the spectrum: those who think Hawaiians should re-establish a separate Hawaiian state and those who are opposed to Hawaiians-only programs.

The Grassroot Institute released the results of its telephone survey yesterday. In addition to Rowland, other members at the news conference included John Corboy, an eye surgeon on Moloka'i; H. William Burgess, an attorney who has opposed Hawaiian-only entitlements; Burgess's wife, Hawaiian descendant Sandra Puanani Burgess; and Don Newman, the group's policy analyst.

Rowland said the survey was conducted by a Mainland organization, ccAdvertising.

Donalyn Dela Cruz, spokeswoman for Akaka, said the wording of the question misrepresented the bill and played on people's fears. "We know there are people who oppose this bill and we respect their opinions," Dela Cruz said. "But we find it unfortunate they continually misrepresent what this bill does."

Corboy, the eye surgeon, said he sees the Akaka bill creating two classes of citizens in Hawai'i. Burgess said it would create "a crazy quilt of sovereign enclaves."

http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2005/07/10/opinion/edit02.txt
Garden Island News (Kaua'i)

The results of a recent poll on the Akaka Bill (S-147) turn assumptions about public opinion in Hawai‘i on their head. The poll was commissioned by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, an opponent of the Akaka Bill, and conducted by FEC Research between June 29 and July 1. Counting negative responses over the total of yea and nay together, poll results find 67.1percent of respondents answer "no" when asked, "Do you want Congress to approve the Akaka Bill?"

The Advertiser also calculated the poll results on a different basis than Grassroot by including the ‘no response" respondents in the total and writing, "Of the 980 respondents, 198 (20 percent) said they support the Akaka bill, 404 (41 percent) said they do not and 378 (39 percent) gave no response."

Grassroot's poll results contain several other surprises. The result from the 151 respondents identifying themselves as Native Hawaiians is that only 59 (39 percent) indicate support for Akaka, 43 (28.5 percent) indicate opposition and 49 (32.5 percent) did not respond to the automated polling question. 151 contacts eliciting only 102 responses is not a large sampling, but the results are in stark contrast to a 2003 poll of 303 Native Hawaiians which is often pointed to by Akaka supporters.

Grassroot's decision to allow full transparency of its polling data allows Akaka supporters to pick at the results, but it also shines the light on their choice to withhold their own polling data. Clearly more polling is needed with larger samples which can resolve the sharp discrepancy between Grassroot's result and Akaka supporters' claims of public support for their bill. Stay tuned.

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?d732d900-94be-4b53-9fd8-b9e60722a7c3
Hawaii Reporter (on-line), July 15, 2005

After its sample 10,000 home survey last week, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii (GRIH) commissioned a new comprehensive telephone survey by ccAdvertising of the remaining 280,000 homes in the call universe in the State of Hawaii.

The results are now in: 67% of Hawaii residents responding to the question are against the Akaka bill (S. 147 / H.R. 309). Hawaii's Congressmen have been telling us and their colleagues that Hawaii’s residents support the bill, yet our newest comprehensive survey indicates that:

* 70.2 percent in Rep. Abercrombie's district are against it. Many prominent names appeared in a recent two full page OHA ad supporting the bill, but our survey shows:

* 71.24 percent of Rep. Marcus Oshiro's 39th State House District are against it.

* 65.52 percent of Senator Fred Hemmings' 25th State Senate District are against it.

* 81.63 percent of Hawaii residents oppose preferences for people groups based on race. In the 2004 Presidential election, automated pollsters, using innovated systems like ccAdvertising's, predicted actual election results better, faster and less expensively than the old way. One finding of this latest poll should be of concern to politicians who support the breakup of the State of Hawaii (and perhaps ultimately the breakup of other states and the United States) which would result from the Akaka bill.

* 45 percent of Hawaii residents are less likely to vote for an elected official who supports the bill.

Sunshine is the best disinfectant in this democracy. In the interest of full and open discourse, the State Capitol auditorium has been reserved on July 23 and 26. Last week GRIH's attorney Bruce Fein challenged Gov. Linda Lingle or state Attorney General Mark Bennett to debate the Akaka bill and its consequences for Hawaii and the United States. No response has been received.

Our Governor and Congressional delegation are spending our tax dollars lobbying Senators from other states while ignoring their own constituents.

They must serve the public by having an open debate in Hawaii and at the minimum require a plebiscite of all Hawaii voters before Congress even considers this bill.

Richard O. Rowland is president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, a non-partisan, non-profit public policy institute focused on promoting the free-market, individual freedom and liberty. He is now in his third career; the first culminating in his retirement as a Colonel, U.S. Army Military Police Corps, from the second he retired as a Financial Representative with Northwestern Mutual Network. He has a premonition that any further careers will not be in government service. He can be reached via email at: mailto:grassroot@hawaii.rr.com More information about the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii can be found at its Web site at http://www.grassrootinstitute.org

HI - Akaka Bill - Survey - 2
Segment	Total Plays	Yes	No	No Response	Responding Percent "Yes"	Responding Percent "No"
Registered?	40,995	20,358	18,725	1,912	52.09%	47.91%
Support Excise Tax Increase of $450 per Year?	28,124	4,242	13,306	10,576	24.17%	75.83%
Support Racial Preferences?	23,129	3,022	13,427	6,680	18.37%	81.63%
Support Akaka Bill?	20,504	5,197	10,694	4,613	32.70%	67.30%
Less Likely to Support Akaka Bill Supporter?	19,410	7,195	8,808	3,407	44.96%	55.04%
Native Hawaiian?	18,672	3,176	12,228	3,268	20.62%	79.38%
Republican?	15,401	4,408	8,671	2,322	33.70%	66.30%
Democrat?	10,992	4,784	4,267	1,941	52.86%	47.14%
Male?	15,376	5,351	8,178	1,847	39.55%	60.45%
50+	15,342	6,773	5,362	3,207	55.81%	44.19%

ACTUAL QUESTIONS ASKED, HI - AKAKA BILL - SURVEY - 2

1 Registered? - (YES, NO)

THIS IS FEC RESEARCH WITH A 45 SECOND PUBLIC SURVEY. ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE IN HAWAII?

2 Support Excise Tax Increase of $450 per Year? - (YES, NO)

YOUR OPINIONS MATTER. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING 8 QUESTIONS. DO YOU SUPPORT THE PROPOSED INCREASE IN THE STATE EXCISE TAX THAT WILL COST THE AVERAGE HAWAII FAMILY AN ESTIMATED $450.00 PER YEAR?

3 Support Racial Preferences? - (YES, NO)

DO YOU SUPPORT LAWS THAT PROVIDE PREFERENCES FOR PEOPLE GROUPS BASED ON THEIR RACE?

4 Support Akaka Bill? - (YES, NO)

5 Less Likely to Support Akaka Bill Supporter? - (YES, NO)

WOULD YOU BE LESS LIKELY TO VOTE FOR AN ELECTED OFFICIAL WHO SUPPORTS THE AKAKA BILL?

6 Native Hawaiian? - (YES, NO)

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A NATIVE HAWAIIAN?

7 Republican? - (YES, NO)

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A REPUBLICAN?

8 Democrat? - (YES, NO)

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DEMOCRAT?

9 Male? - (YES, NO)

ARE YOU MALE?

10 50+ - (YES, NO)

ARE YOU 50 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER?

11 Thank You. Goodbye - (PLAY ONLY)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND VIEWS. THIS SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED BY FEC RESEARCH. GOODBYE. 703/857-2152

------------------------

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?afba19b6-cb1c-4377-84b0-0f62d89b7a4e
Hawaii Reporter, July 18, 2005 (Special from Hawaii Free Press)

Huge Poll Shows Strong Opposition to Akaka Bill

By Andrew Walden

An audacious polling effort, calling every single household in Hawaii, and gaining responses from 39,000 of the total 280,000 households, shows strong opposition to passage of the Akaka Bill S147/HR 309.

The poll was commissioned by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. Polling was conducted by FEC Research between June 29 and July 10. When asked, “Do you want Congress to approve the Akaka Bill?” only 28.2 percent of registered voters answered “yes,” 56.8 percent said “no,” and 15.0 percent did not answer. Counting noes over only those who responded to the question, 66.8 percent oppose the passage of the Akaka Bill.

On July 15, after Grassroot released the complete results, Congressman Ed Case (D-HI) responded to news that the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution will debate the constitutionality of the Akaka Bill. In spite of the poll results, Case blamed opposition to the Akaka Bill on outside forces, telling The Honolulu Advertiser, “Either the external opposition prevailed upon that chair to at least hold the hearing, or the members of that committee on the majority side have some opposition to the bill. But thus far, there's no reason to conclude that." Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), the Bill’s House sponsor, echoed Case and blamed “extremists” adding, “Given that most of Hawaii’s elected officials of various ideological stripes support it, those raising the question, it seems to me, are on the extreme margins -- rather obsessively I would think -- on this issue."

Grassroot’s poll results contain several surprises. The result from the 3,176 respondents identifying themselves as Native Hawaiians is that only 1,518 (48 percent) indicate support for Akaka, 1,375 (43 percent) indicate opposition and 283 (9 percent) did not respond to the automated polling question. These results are in stark contrast to a 2003 poll of 303 Native Hawaiians, which is often pointed to by Akaka supporters.

That 2003 poll, commissioned by the pro-Akaka, Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), and conducted by Ward Research, asked the 303 Native Hawaiians a less specific question: “Do you think that Hawaiians should be recognized by the U.S. as a distinct group, similar to the special recognition given to Native Americans and Alaska Natives?" According to OHA Trustees Chair, Haunani Apoliona, writing in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, April 3, 2005, 86 percent said “yes.” Apoliona says the OHA poll also showed, “Of the 301 non-Hawaiians polled, almost eight in 10 (78 percent) supported federal recognition, 16 percent opposed it, with 6 percent unsure.” Her “Another Perspective” editorial in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin came in response to a non-scientific March 2005 Honolulu Star Bulletin “Big Question” online survey, which asked, “Would you like to see the Akaka bill become law?" Seventy-five percent -- 1,301 voted "no" and only 436 voted "yes."

The Grassroot Institute’s President Dick Rowland immediately released to the media the full poll questions and raw polling results. In contrast, OHA has announced only parts of its polling result.

The full wording of the Grassroot poll question is, “The Akaka Bill question, now pending in Congress, would allow Native Hawaiians to create their own government not subject to all the same laws, regulations and taxes that apply to other citizens of Hawaii. Do you want Congress to approve the Akaka Bill?"

The full wording of the OHA poll question was, “The Akaka-Stevens bill proposes that Hawaiians be formally recognized as the indigenous people of Hawaii, giving them the same federal status as 560 Native American and Alaska Native tribes already recognized by the U.S. government. Do you think that Hawaiians should be recognized by the U.S. as a distinct group, similar to the special recognition given to Native Americans and Alaska Natives?"

The Grassroot poll is the only one which directly asks, “Do you want Congress to approve the Akaka Bill?” The direct question OHA asks is more general: “Do you think that Hawaiians should be recognized by the U.S. as a distinct group, similar to the special recognition given to Native Americans and Alaska Natives?"

Other criticism of the Grassroot poll is focused on the poll question immediately preceding the Akaka question, “Do you support laws that provide preferences for people groups based on their race?” This, say poll critics, skews the results by associating Akaka with racial preferences in the mind of respondents.

But in spite of official denials that Akaka is a racial preference bill, the Grassroot poll results show that to many Akaka Bill supporters, racial preferences are a good thing. Of 2,933 Grassroot poll respondents who indicate they “support racial preferences” 1,748 indicated support for the Akaka Bill. At 60 percent, this is more than double the percentage of Akaka Bill support found in the general public. Of the 13,050 respondents who oppose “racial preferences”, support for the Akaka Bill is only 2,868 (22 percent) -- a lower level than in the population as a whole.

Akaka Bill support is also concentrated among those who favor tax increases. Of 3,954 who indicated support “for an Excise Tax increase of $450 per year,” 1617 (41 percent) also support the Akaka Bill -- almost half again more than the support in the population as a whole. Overall, 73.3 percent of registered voters oppose an Excise Tax increase.

Some 44.9 percent of Hawaii registered voters polled say they are less likely to support a pro-Akaka Bill candidate.

The poll comes in time to impact the Senate debate scheduled to begin Monday, July 18, 2005, on the Akaka Bill and the House Committee debate on the July 19th. The results bring into question the reasons for near-unanimous support for the Akaka Bill among Hawaii elected officials including Republican Gov. Lingle, Republican Lt. Governor Aiona and all of Hawaii’s four Democratic congressional representatives. Politicians are usually known to go where the votes are. Why are almost no Hawaii politicians staking out an anti-Akaka position? Why are Hawaii elected officials working so hard to push through an unpopular measure?

Andrew Walden is the publisher and editor of Hawaii Free Press, a Big Island-based newspaper. He can be reached via email at mailto:andrewwalden@email.com

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Ken_Conklin@yahoo.com

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