Governor Gavin Newsom's moratorium on state executions has support from a majority of Californians recently polled, but it's a slim majority.
A poll by University of California, Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies found 52 percent of those asked about Governor's executive order for halt executions agreed with the decision, while 48 percent did not. Poll director Mark DiCamillo says there hasn't been a lot of change in voter sentiment since a constitutional amendment to abolish the death penalty failed at the ballot box in 2016.
"53 said they'd vote no to keep the death penalty in place," explained DiCamillo. "46 percent said they'd vote yes (to end the death penalty."
People were also asked by pollsters to rate Governor Newsom's job peformance. 57 percent of Californians approve what Newsom is doing. His support is strongest among those who identified as Democrats, liberals, members of minority groups, younger voters, and women.