51% of Pennsylvanians following news stories about Penn State University say University President Graham Spanier should resign, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for KDKA-TV News in Pittsburgh.

Pennsylvanians are divided about head football coach Joe Paterno. 40% say Paterno should resign, 45% say he should not.

Both individuals, though not accused of crimes, have been swept up in a sexual molestation case that has already resulted in 3 arrests and the forced resignation of 2 senior Penn State administrators.

Penn State alumni are more forgiving of Paterno, less forgiving of Spanier. Alumni by more than 2:1 call for the resignation of President Spanier, 57% to 27%. By contrast, a majority of alumni (51%) say Paterno should stay.

Support for Paterno, age 84, is directly related to age. The younger you are, the more likely you want Paterno to resign. The older you are, the more likely you want Paterno to stay.

Cell-phone respondents and home-phone respondents included in this research. SurveyUSA interviewed 800 PA adults 11/07/11. 100% of interviews were completed after a press conference by the PA attorney general. Of those interviewed, 604 were familiar with news stories and were asked the substantive questions in the survey. The survey was conducted multi-mode. Respondents who use a home phone (77% of adults) were interviewed on their home phone in the voice of a professional announcer. Respondents who do not use a home phone (23% of adults) were shown a questionnaire on their smartphone, laptop, tablet or other electronic device. In this survey, there is a material difference in the responses of cell-phone respondents. Cell respondents call for Paterno’s resignation 48% to 33%. Home-phone respondents oppose Paterno’s resignation, 38% to 48%.

64% of Californians interviewed immediately after the verdict was announced in the Michael Jackson wrongful death court case agree with the jury’s guilty verdict, according to a SurveyUSA poll  conducted for KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KPIX-TV in San Francisco, and KGTV-TV in San Diego. Dr. Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of the pop singer Jackson.

This survey includes cell-phone respondents and home-phone respondents. SurveyUSA interviewed 1,000 state of CA adults 11/07/11. This research was conducted multi-mode. Respondents who use a home telephone (81% of respondents) were interviewed on their home telephone in the recorded voice of a professional announcer. Californians who do not use a home telephone (19% of respondents) were shown a visual display of the questionnaire on their smartphone, tablet, laptop or other electronic device.

6 months until Portland, Oregon holds its mayoral primary election, the candidates are bunched, each with a constituency that could be parlayed to victory, especially with 4 in 10 likely voters undecided, according to a SurveyUSA poll  of 537 likely city voters conducted for KATU-2 TV News.In a head-to-head match-up of the 3 announced candidates, businesswoman Eileen Brady gets 23%, former city commissioner Charlie Hales gets 19%, and state representative Jefferson Smith gets 14%. 44% of likely voters are undecided.

When Police Chief Mike Reese, who so far is not running, is added to the mix, Reese gets 20%, Brady 19%, Hales 13%, and Smith 11%. 38% of likely voters are undecided.

No one candidate should be labeled the “leader” based on these results, and no one candidate should be dismissed based on these results. Instead, the contest should be characterized as fluid, and hotly contested, with twice as many voters sitting on the sidelines as are yet committed to any one candidate. Re-positioning is likely as the undecided voters make-up their minds, and as Chief Reese decides to stay-out or jump-in.

• Brady is strong among women, seniors, and affluent voters.
• Smith is strong among males and Tea Party members.
• Hales is strong among Republicans, conservatives, and the less educated.
• Reese is strong among Republicans, conservatives, and the less educated, and when Reese is in the race, he siphons votes directly from Hales.

Cell-phone respondents and home-phone respondents included in this research: 800 adults from the city of Portland, Oregon, were interviewed by SurveyUSA 11/02/11 through 11/07/11. Of the adults, 731 were registered to vote. Of the registered, 537 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote in the May 2012 election. This research was conducted multi-mode. Respondents who use a home telephone (83% of likely voters) were interviewed on their home telephone in the recorded voice of a professional announcer. Respondents who do not use a home telephone (17% of likely voters) were shown a visual display of the questionnaire on their smartphone, tablet, laptop or other electronic device.

Barack Obama’s job approval rating in Kentucky is Minus 23, with 34% approval, 57% disapproval, in a state that Republican John McCain carried in 2008 by 16 points, and in a state that elected Tea Party candidate Rand Paul to the United States Senate in 2010.

But Kentucky disenchantment with Obama appears to have nothing to do with how Kentucky voters view Democratic Governor Steve Beshear, who stands for re-election next Tuesday 11/08/11, and who leads his Republican challenger by 25 points, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper and WHAS-TV news.

• Complete Obama approval poll results here.
• Complete Kentucky governor poll results here.

Consistent with other research-on-research that SurveyUSA has released, which compares the responses of cell-phone respondents to home-phone (landline) respondents, cell phone respondents in KY are friendlier to Obama. In Kentucky, Obama is Minus 15 among cell-phone respondents, Minus 26 among home-phone respondents, an 11 point difference. In 3 other geographies studied by SurveyUSA, cell-phone respondents were an average of 12 points friendlier to Obama than home-phone respondents. Governor Beshear leads by 27 points among cell phone respondents, leads by 24 points among home-phone respondents, an insignificant 3-point difference.

City of San Francisco residents applaud the restraint exercised by the San Francisco police department in the face of Occupy San Francisco protestors, according to a SurveyUSA poll  for CBS5, KPIX-TV News. A day after a SurveyUSA KPIX-TV poll of nearby city of Oakland residents found significant displeasure with Oakland’s mayor and Oakland’s police reaction to Occupy Oakland protestors, reactions in the city of San Francisco are diametrically opposed.

• 63% say the San Francisco city police have maintained control of the Occupy protest, compared to 23% who say San Francisco police have lost control.
• 81% say that the San Francisco police responded to the protest better than the Oakland police, who made national news by using tear gas in an attempt to disperse occupiers.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a Plus 7 job approval among those who use a home phone but a Plus 25 job approval among those who use a cell phone, according to new SurveyUSA research.

SurveyUSA poll of 546 NYC adults released 10/28/11. 40% of respondents were cell phone respondents. Polls that exclude cell-phone respondents, such as those conducted by many SurveyUSA competitors, risk mis-characterizing public opinion. SurveyUSA estimates that by Election 2012, half of voters age 25 to 34, and one-third of voters age 35 to 44, will not be reachable on a home-phone. Make certain the polls you commission, and the competing polls you analyze, properly account for cell-phone respondents.

A SurveyUSA poll of the city of Oakland CA, conducted for CBS5 KPIX-TV News, finds that 72% of residents disapprove of the use of tear gas to disperse protesters involved in the Occupy Oakland movement. Opposition spans the political spectrum: 70% of Republicans, 71% of Democrats, and 78% of Independents disapprove of the use of gas.

By contrast, the question of whether the police response was too harsh divides along party lines. 34% of Republicans, compared to 60% of Democrats and 55% of Independents, say the police response was too harsh.

Complete SurveyUSA poll results are here. Interactive tracking graphs illustrate the stunning reversal in Oakland Mayor Jean Quan’s job approval, from Plus 33 in April to Minus 44 today, here.

When SurveyUSA asked residents of the greater New York City area what they think about Occupy Wall Street, those who use a home phone were 3 times more likely to oppose the movement (24% oppose) than those who use a cell phone (8% oppose). SurveyUSA poll released 10/27/11, of 1,426 New York City DMA adults. 23% of respondents were cell-phone respondents. Polls that exclude cell-phone respondents, such as those conducted by many SurveyUSA competitors, risk mis-characterizing public opinion. SurveyUSA estimates that by Election 2012, half of voters age 25 to 34, and one-third of voters age 35 to 44, will not be reachable on a home-phone. Make certain the polls you commission, and the competing polls you analyze, properly account for cell-phone respondents.

At the height of the public discussion about a new Super Committee of Congress, SurveyUSA asked 800 USA adults whether they were familiar with the committee. There was a 73-point difference in the answer. SurveyUSA poll of 800 adults, released 08/04/11. 14% are cell-phone respondents.

Polls that exclude cell-phone respondents, such as those conducted by many SurveyUSA competitors, risk mis-characterizing public opinion. SurveyUSA estimates that by Election 2012, half of voters age 25 to 34, and one-third of voters age 35 to 44, will not be reachable on a home-phone. Make certain the polls you commission, and the competing polls you analyze, properly account for cell-phone respondents.

When SurveyUSA asked registered voters in the state of Washington whether the USA is headed in the right direction, cell-phone respondents are more likely to say so than home-phone respondents. SurveyUSA poll released 06/30/10, of 1,749 Washington registered voters, 10% of RV are cell-phone.

Polls that exclude cell-phone respondents, such as those conducted by many SurveyUSA competitors, risk mis-characterizing public opinion. SurveyUSA estimates that by Election 2012, half of voters age 25 to 34, and one-third of voters age 35 to 44, will not be reachable on a home-phone. Make certain the polls you commission, and the competing polls you analyze, properly account for cell-phone respondents.