In 2020, Joe Biden won 78% of the vote in the five core counties of the San Francisco Bay Area – one of the country’s most liberal enclaves.

But a new poll of 1,650 Bay Area voters by the San Jose Mercury-News finds great dissatisfaction with current conditions. Seven out of 10 surveyed see the area’s quality of life has gotten worse in the last five years, including a majority of people who voted for Biden.

A nearly unanimous 97% of those polled said homelessness was a major problem, with 83% also citing rising crime. That may explain why 70% of those surveyed are backing Proposition 36 next month. It would roll back decade-old criminal justice changes and raise penalties for theft and drug crimes.

But many people aren’t waiting for things to change. After all, things may get worse. Another measure on the November state ballot would repeal a 30-year-old ban on letting cities impose rent control. That would exacerbate housing shortages.

So it’s no wonder a whopping 46% of respondents told the Mercury-News poll they were likely to leave the Bay Area in the next few years. The leading edge of that exodus has already been felt. The Bay Area’s population has fallen by 3% since the COVID lockdowns.