Poll: Most Floridians say Elian should be with dad
By Associated Press, 4/8/00
MIAMI -- A recent poll shows the majority of Floridians think Elian Gonzalez should be reunited with his father and allowed to return to Cuba without being subjected to a lengthy court fight by his Miami relatives.
The poll, conducted for the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale by the Florida Voter political journal, questioned 546 registered voters selected randomly without regard to race or ethnicity. The results of the poll, conducted March 29 through April 6 and published Saturday, are in line with recent national surveys on whether father and son should be reunited.
The poll asked two questions:
Do you support or oppose the federal government's decision to return Elian Gonzalez to his father in Cuba?
If Elian Gonzalez's father comes to the United States to take his son back to Cuba, do you think the boy's Miami relatives should allow him to return to Cuba with his father, or fight the boy's return in the U.S. courts?
The results were fairly consistent across the state, including South Florida.
On the first question, 61.2 percent statewide supported the decision to return Elian, 23.4 percent opposed it, and 15.4 percent were undecided. In South Florida, 61 percent supported the decision.
On the second question, 67.3 percent statewide thought the boy should be allowed to return to Cuba with his father, 20.3 percent said the relatives should fight the return, and 12.4 percent were undecided. In South Florida, 67.9 percent thought the Miami relatives should allow the father and son to return.
The poll had a 4.2 percent margin of error.
Florida Voter pollster Jim Kane said the one statistically significant difference was in the responses of men and women. On returning Elian to Cuba, 66.3 percent of women compared to 57.5 percent of men said he should go back.
A similar nine percentage point difference occurred regarding the father's arrival: 72.6 for women, 63.5 for men.
