Half of California's most likely voters support Ward Connerly's ballot measure to ban government agencies from collecting racial data, according to a Field Poll released Wednesday.

But support for the initiative is tepid, with three of every four surveyed saying they had not yet studied the measure, which targets collection of racial data in public education, contracting and employment.

Widespread unfamiliarity promises to spark a frenetic, shorter-than-usual campaign. The measure, targeted for the March 2004 ballot, instead will reach voters this fall as part of a special recall election against Gov. Gray Davis.

Mark DiCamillo, Field Poll director, said a compressed campaign would not necessarily tilt the initiative's prospects because voters typically wait until the final weeks to make up their minds.

"(But) to the extent turnout is different than in a March primary, that could affect the outcome," he said. "Who turns out could be critical, not only for the governor but for the initiative."

Proponents claim the measure would end the divisive practice of classifying people by race or color, but critics say elimination of such data would severely hamper efforts to identify disparities among racial groups or crack down on discrimination within public agencies.

Fifty percent of likely voters contacted by the Field Poll said they support Connerly's initiative, 29 percent said they oppose it, and 21 percent had no opinion.

Many responses stemmed solely from reaction to a one-paragraph summary of the initiative's official ballot description read to respondents by pollsters.

Among voters with prior knowledge of the measure, 54 percent said they supported it and 30 percent opposed it.

The survey's findings are based on a statistical sample of 719 likely voters contacted July 1 to 13. The poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

A Field Poll in April produced substantially similar findings.

Connerly, who proposed the new initiative, was a leader in the successful Proposition 209 drive seven years ago to ban race-and gender-based preferences in government hiring and contracting.

Diane Schachterle, Connerly's coordinator for the new campaign, said she is encouraged by the new Field Poll results and not worried about prospects of an early election.

"We'll deal with it as best we can," she said. "We'll just have to speed up all our processes."

Elena Stern, a spokeswoman for the Coalition for an Informed California, which opposes the measure, said she is not surprised by early support for the initiative. Poll results from April to July show it's not gaining traction, she said.

"At first blush, the initiative does seem reasonable," she said. "Who among us doesn't strive for a colorblind society? But once we explain what this initiative is about and the widespread consequences, people will change their mind and oppose it."

Fifty-four percent of Caucasians support the measure, while other voters are more split: Latinos oppose it, 49 percent to 41 percent, while other racial groups collectively favor it, 43 percent to 33 percent.

Virginia McGowen, 78, and Alejandra Gamero, 18, are two poll respondents who decry racial discrimination but disagree on Connerly's proposal.

"I really don't believe in classifying people by different races or backgrounds," said McGowen, a Merced County voter who supports the measure conceptually.

But Gamero, of Sacramento, said race-based data is "important because it can help us tell if we treat everyone fairly."