A new statewide ABC 10News/Union-Tribune poll shows San Diego County voters broadly support four of the five components of Ballot Measure A, but the measure itself is backed by just 40% of likely voters, with opposition to extending supervisor term limits emerging as a potential drag on overall support.
Among all registered voters, 71% say the county should create an ethics commission, 71% say the county should create an auditor position, 67% say the county should create an independent budget analyst position, and 61% say San Diego County supervisors should vote to confirm senior appointed county staff members, who are currently appointed by the supervisor-chosen top executive. Opposition to those four components ranges from 9% to 17%.
But 76% of registered voters say county supervisors should continue to have a 2-term limit in office. Just 10% want to see the term limit increased to 3.
Ballot Measure A would put all five components into the county charter.
When likely voters are asked how they would vote on Measure A, 40% say yes and 35% say no — an uncomfortably small margin, given both the tendency of ballot measure opposition to increase as elections near and the fact that 1 in 4 likely voters say they are still undecided.
Support for the measure is highest among voters ages 18 to 34, where it passes by a 29-point margin, and among liberal voters, who back it by 26 points. Opposition is strongest among voters who supported Donald Trump in 2024, where the measure fails by a 13-point margin, and among voters age 50 and older, where it fails by 10 points.
A separate measure, Ballot Measure B, which would increase the sales tax by one-half cent to fund wildfire prevention, social services, and a cleanup of sewage in the Tijuana River Valley, is performing better. It passes by a 14-point margin, with 49% of likely voters saying yes and 35% saying no. Seventeen percent remain undecided.
The youngest voters are again the most supportive, backing Measure B by a 45-point margin. Voters in households earning less than $40,000 annually support it by 40 points, progressives by 36 points, and liberals and those without a college degree by 30 to 31 points. Opposition is strongest among seniors, where the measure fails by a 12-point margin, and runs in the single digits among Trump voters, conservatives, and upper-income households.
The nonpartisan race for county treasurer-tax collector has not captured widespread voter attention. Fifty-eight percent of likely voters say they are not very familiar (34%) or not at all familiar (24%) with the race, while 35% say they are somewhat familiar (25%) or very familiar (10%) with it.
Seventy percent of likely voters are undecided between the two candidates. Larry Cohen currently stands at 17% and Shirley Nakawatase at 13%. Among the 10% of voters who say they are very familiar with the contest, Nakawatase leads with 38% to Cohen’s 30%, with 32% of even those voters still undecided.
In other findings, President Donald Trump holds a net approval rating of -34 among registered voters in San Diego County. Congress has a net approval of -41. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has a net approval of -9, with 28% approving and 37% disapproving of the job they are doing.
On ICE, 32% of voters approve and 56% disapprove of the agency’s performance, a net approval of -24. Thirty percent say ICE is making Californians safer, while 56% say ICE is making Californians less safe.
The war in Iran draws the lowest marks of any topic in the poll. Nineteen percent approve and 65% disapprove, for a net approval of -46. Just 16% say the war in Iran is making Californians safer, while 58% say it is making them less safe. Twenty-six percent are unsure.