June 26, 2016
A new poll finds that Pennsylvania voters are divided on the use of public bathrooms by transgender people and the role of government on the issue.
The Quinnipiac University poll asked voters in three battleground states - Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio - to weigh in on the issue.
A majority of respondents in the Keystone State support the rights of transgender people to choose the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity, 49 percent to 43.
However, most of the same respondents oppose the government forcing public schools to extend those rights to transgender people, 53 percent to 39.
“The issue of transgender people and the use of public bathrooms finds voters split on exactly what should be done,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
Respondents in Florida and Ohio were less supportive of both issues.
On the issue to allow transgender people to choose a bathroom, a majority of Florida voters (48 percent to 44) support the right, while a majority of Ohio voters (48 percent to 43) oppose it.
On the role of government to issue a mandate, Florida voters (54 percent to 37) and Ohio voters (36 percent to 55) oppose government involvement.
The poll was conducted from June 8 to 19 and surveyed 950 Pennsylvania voters using live interviewers via land lines and cell phones. The poll's margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent.
Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio were chosen because no candidate has won the presidential race since 1960 without taking at least two of these three states.
