California's Proposition 54, which would restrict the state from collecting most racial and ethnic data, is leading among all ethnic groups and enjoys more support from people of color than whites, according to a poll released Thursday, September 25. The poll showed that likely Latino voters back Proposition 54 by the greatest proportion, 46 percent to 33 percent. Meanwhile, only 31 percent of whites favored the initiative, compared with 42 percent of Asian Americans and 41 percent of African Americans. Results of the 2003 Multilingual Survey of California Voters run counter to other recent polls showing the Oct. 7 initiative losing ground. The survey, an effort by four organizations that track ethnic voting trends, also found many voters are either uninformed or undecided about Proposition 54. The poll showed 47 percent of Asian Americans, 45 percent of Latinos, 32 percent of African Americans and 30 percent of whites had not heard of the initiative. Among those familiar with the measure, 44 percent of whites remained undecided, compared with 26 percent of African Americans, 21 percent of Latinos and 18 percent of Asian Americans. The measure's author, Ward Connerly, called the new results unbelievable, especially since ethnic leaders are "united" in their opposition to Proposition 54. He said he expected it to be buried by an avalanche of negative advertisements featuring Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. Today, opponents of Proposition 54 are to launch a $1.8 million statewide television advertising campaign featuring former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. (Source: Stephen Magagnini and Jim Sanders, Bee, Sept. 26, 2003. Supplied by Guy M. Wong )