A new poll finds broad opposition in Texas to one of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s signature campaign promises.
The poll by the Texas Lyceum finds a majority of Texans – 59 percent – oppose building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal immigration. That’s a turnaround from other polls just a few months ago. In June, a University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll found 52 percent of respondents supported building a border wall.
A majority of respondents in the Lyceum poll also said they disagreed with proposals to ban immigration from countries with a “history of terrorism against the west” and that immigration helps the United States more than it hurts it.
The poll also asked about topics likely to come up at the Texas Legislature when it convenes in the spring, including Voter ID, Medicaid and regulating transportation network companies (TNCs).
On voter ID, 74% of those polled said they agreed that voters should be required to show a government-issued photo ID before they can be allowed to cast a ballot.
It was more of a mixed bag on the question of expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. So far, Texas officials have resisted loosening income requirements for Medicaid – and a plurality (49 percent) of those polled for the Lyceum agree that Medicaid should stay as it is. However, 42 percent said it should be expanded.
Finally, the question of regulating TNCs, like Uber and Lyft, which is coming up at the Legislature after Austin voters rejected an attempt by those companies to roll back new regulations that required TNC drivers to undergo fingerprint background checks.
While fingerprinting was not specifically part of the Lyceum poll’s questioning, 54 percent of respondents said TNCs should be regulated just like taxi companies – whose drivers are currently required to undergo fingerprinting, at least in Austin. A plurality (48 percent) said cities should be the ones to regulate TNCs, while 43 percent said decisions about such regulations should be made by Texas lawmakers.
