UTSA polls Bexar County voters
The results of a scientific survey of registered voters in Bexar County conducted by the UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research (CPOR) have been released. CPOR, established in the fall of 2023 and located in the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, is a full-scale academic public opinion research center that produces and facilitates basic and applied opinion research.
There were 692 registered Bexar County voters queried from Sept.11-16 on a multitude of topics, some of which being their perceptions of new downtown sports facilities and San Antonio’s proposed charter amendments.
The results showed that 34% of respondents were in favor of building a new arena for the Spurs downtown near the Hemisfair and the Alamodome, which is less than the 37% that were in favor of the arena in CPOR’s foundational poll in June. The September survey found that 42% of Bexar County voters were not in favor, with 11% being unsure and 12% having no opinion on the matter. In June, only 36% were not in favor.
The City of San Antonio announced a plan for a new stadium for the San Antonio Missions minor league baseball team, the cost of which would be offset by the development of land surrounding the stadium. Around 40% of the responses from the survey were in approval of the stadium, while 34% disapproved, 16% were unsure and 10% had no opinion. The plan for the stadium was approved while the survey was being conducted. The city received backlash for their decision due to the tenants of the Soap Factory apartments — one of the few low-cost apartment complexes downtown — being made to move out over the next five years for the stadium to be built.
“We see at best tepid support for these new plans and not overwhelming support for the construction of new facilities downtown and close to downtown,” said UTSA CPOR director Bryan Gervais. Gervais said, “they believed the Missions ballpark plan had more support due to concerns over funding.”
The September poll also found that 81% of respondents were unfamiliar with the six proposed amendments to the City Charter that they will be asked to consider on Election Day on Nov. 5. One of the proposed amendments, Proposition E, seeks to increase the baseline salaries of city council members and the mayor by $25,000 annually from their current $45,722 and $61,725 salaries, respectively. Just over 50% of respondents were not in favor of voting for this proposition, while 28% were in favor and 22% were unsure.
42% of respondents approved voting for, while 43% disapproved voting for Proposition F, which aims to extend the terms for the mayor and members of the City Council from two years to four years and change the term limits from four full terms to two.
“The Center for Public Opinion Research aims to provide valuable insight on a broad array of topics impacting residents in our city, our region and our state,” Gervais said. “An ongoing and systematic understanding of how residents feel about key issues has the potential to fuel stronger community engagement and create opportunities for our city, our region and our residents to work together toward shared goals.”
The margin of error for the September poll is +/- 3.7%.
To view the full results of CPOR’s Bexar County Registered Voter Poll, visit https://www.utsa.edu/today/2024/images/CPOR_9.24_Raw_Data_FINAL.pdf.
