Public Policy Polling has released a new poll showing that support among North Carolinians for the proposed anti-gay Amendment 1 has dropped to a record low. The proposed amendment, on the ballot for the May 8 primary, says that marriage between a man and a woman is the “only domestic legal union” that would be valid or recognized in the state once it passes. The new poll, conducted before the campaign opposing Amendment 1, Protect ALL NC Families, got their ads on the air, shows support at 54 percent of likely voters (with 40 percent opposed). This is a six-point shift from the numbers PPP released in the last poll of likely voters on March 29, which showed support for the amendment at 58 percent (with 38 percent opposed). That poll also suggested that when voters are made aware of what Amendment 1 would actually do, they are opposed to it narrowly; when they’re told the amendment would ban civil unions for gay couples, “support goes down 17 points to 41 percent, and opposition rises 4 percent to 42 percent.”

PPP used the ballot language itself in its questioning about the amendment.

Notably, this is the lowest level of support found in any poll on Amendment 1 in North Carolina by any polling firm. Also of note is the fact that there are more undecided voters in this poll, and that African-American support of Amendment 1 has shifted in significant numbers, going from 61 percent (with 30 percent opposed) percent to 51 percent (with 39 percent opposed) in a single month.

Now that Protect ALL NC Families has begun airing ads in opposition to the amendment, educating potential voters about the unintended consequences — from its effects on children to victims of domestic violence — the level of support will likely continue to drop.

Early voting is going on now, and the anti-amendment campaign is already on its way to break records in the state in terms of money, and voters are already turning out in pretty significant numbers in areas where opposition to the amendment

This article originally appeared on: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scottie-thomaston/north-carolina-amendment-1-poll_b_1449287.html