Poll Assess Californians’ Responses to Racial Privacy Initiative.

California voters respond differently to arguments for and against Proposition 54, according to results of a Field Research Corporation public opinion poll commissioned by The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF). Poll questions were designed to discover the extent of voters’ knowledge about arguments for and against Proposition 54 and its effects. The poll, conducted in English and Spanish, surveyed a random sample of 629 registered voters, 448 of whom were deemed likely to vote in the October 7, 2003 recall election.

“The California Wellness Foundation is concerned about special health problems and differences in health outcomes experienced by underserved Californians,” said Gary L. Yates, TCWF president and CEO. “We were interested to learn what California voters thought about collecting racial and ethnic data, as this information is often used in public health studies.”

For example, research surveys by Los Angeles County include racial and ethnic questions addressing access to health care, health insurance status, use of health care and preventive services, and disease management efforts.

The survey results have been used by the county to tailor its public health efforts to respond more effectively to the differing needs of its many ethnic communities. Similarly, reports from the California Health Interview Survey, conducted by researchers at the University of California – Los Angeles, include the incidence of various diseases broken down along ethnic lines, access to care for immigrant children, health care issues for Latinos, and racial disparities in health care for young children.

Although the scope of the Racial Privacy Initiative (RPI) prohibitions and exemptions are by no means clear, it may be that agencies would be prohibited from collecting racial and ethnic information such as is collected in these surveys.

Likely voters were asked whether various arguments in support of or against the proposition would impact their vote. The poll used five positions taken by each side in the official ballot arguments.

“The poll indicates that arguments used by those in favor of the proposition and those opposed vary in potential impact on voter opinion,” said Mark DiCamillo, senior vice president of Field Research Corporation.

The California Wellness Foundation takes no position on the RPI. The questions in the poll were based on the arguments for and against the RPI, as contained in the official ballot arguments. None of the questions were designed to influence participants’ views on racial privacy in general or the RPI in particular. Rather, the questions were designed to discover what participants honestly think about collecting racial and ethnic data, the state of their knowledge about the RPI and what would be its effects.

In addition to the possible recall of Governor Gray Davis, California voters will decide on Proposition 54 on October 7, 2003. Commonly referred to as the Racial Privacy Initiative, the proposition would prohibit state and local governments in California from using race, ethnicity, color or national origin to classify persons.

The California Wellness Foundation is an independent, private foundation created in 1992, with a mission to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention. The Foundation prioritizes eight issues for funding: diversity in the health professions, environmental health, healthy aging,
mental health, teenage pregnancy prevention, violence prevention, women’s health, and work and health. It also provides funding for special projects that fall outside the eight health issue areas. Since its first year of operation, TCWF has awarded 3,267 grants totaling approximately $412 million. It is one of the state’s largest private foundations, making an average of $40 million in grants each year in pursuit of its mission.

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