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In two election day surveys asking about issues on the ballot which had misleading, difficult or confusing ballot titles, 12-14% of the voters voted opposite their views. Those who were more likely to vote inconsistently were those with less information about the issue, with less interest in the issue, & with fewer years of education. Voters active in interest groups that were participating for or against an issue were less likely to be confused. These findings are based on an Aug 1976 election day survey of 975 voters in Boone County mother, asking about voter understanding of a ballot issue proposing aid for students in private schools, in which the ballot title mentioned 'all public & nonpublic' school children. Twenty-two percent of those who misunderstood the effect of the proposal voted opposite their views. The findings are also based on an Apr 1975 election day survey of 583 voters in Columbia, mother, asking about a proposal to eliminate planning & zoning, worded so that voters who favored planning & zoning had to vote 'no.' About 6% of those with 17 or more years of education voted opposite their preference compared with 30% of those with 11 or fewer years, suggesting that confusing ballot titles may virtually disenfranchise large portions of some groups with limited education, such as the elderly or minorities. AA.

Survey res'ers have indicated renewed interest in utilizing telephone directories as a basis for samples. The bias that occurs in the use of telephone listings is uncovered with data on telephone possession & unlisted numbers which were generated in multi-stage cluster samples of Mo households. Those without telephones (about 10'( of the H's) tend to live in Ru areas or have a relatively low level of income. It is more appropriate to view these people as 'isolates.' They tend to be people who live alone, are non-voters, & recent arrivals in the community. About 9', of the R's had unlisted numbers. The characteristics of this group undermine the assumption that an unlisted number is the sole possession of the 'Uc'; in fact, unlisted numbers are most frequently found among those with average incomes & educ. Blacks & city dwellers in Mo are esp prominent in this group. People without telephones & those with unlisted numbers are automatically excluded from samples based on telephone directories. Telephone surveys from this source will tend to exclude blacks, service workers, & city dwellers. AA.