Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- A majority of New Jersey voters back tomorrow's ballot question seeking to expand their say over state debt, though many are confused about the language used to describe the initiative, a new poll found.

Forty-six percent of voters approved of the initiative when pollsters at Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind used the language on the ballot, which says the state would need voter approval ``to borrow money by issuing bonds through any state agency or independent authority backed by a pledge of an annual appropriation to pay the principal and interest on the bonds.''

Support jumped to 75 percent when voters were asked if they supported requiring ``all state agencies to get voter approval for any money they borrow through issuing bonds,'' a question formulated by pollsters.

``Democracy is not served when important questions put to voters are obscured,'' said poll director Peter Woolley. ``When the question is in clear language, voters have the opportunity to form a definite opinion. When the question is put in legalese, many people won't sort it out and can't make an intelligent choice.''

Residents will be asked to amend the state constitution to require voter approval for bond issues not backed by dedicated revenue. The ballot measure would close a loophole that allowed officials to sidestep rules requiring taxpayers' consent on debt sales by issuing through state authorities.

Loaded With Debt

New Jersey, the 11th-largest U.S. state by population, has the third-biggest debt load, or $32 billion. The amount has tripled in a decade as governors sold bonds to help balance budgets and avoid tax increases.

Corzine, a first-term Democrat facing re-election in 2009, called for voter approval of bond sales earlier this year as part of a plan to fix the state's finances.

Bond payments cost the state $2.5 billion this year, or 8 percent of its budget. Corzine said in August he would pay down $650 million in debt to reduce those payments by $135 million in each of the next five years.

Twenty-eight percent of voters said they opposed the proposed constitutional amendment on voter approval of debt sales when pollsters read the question off the ballot. Opposition dropped to 10 percent with the streamlined language.

PublicMind, based in Madison, New Jersey, surveyed 846 registered voters by phone from Oct. 23 to Oct. 28. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Trenton, New Jersey at tdopp@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 3, 2008 00:00 EST