It shouldn’t take a poll to highlight what is incredibly clear – Coloradans want legislators to focus on funding transportation, but not by raising taxes. A new poll commissioned by the Independence Institute and conducted by Magellan Strategies show that the “Fix Our Damn Roads” initiative is a winner with the public. In contrast, a previously-released poll showed that 57% of Coloradans would not support an increase in sales tax to fund transportation projects. Ouch – that’s tough to overcome.
In the most recent poll, participants were read the proposed ballot language: “Shall state debt be increased by three point five billion dollars ($3.5 billion) with a maximum repayment cost of five point two billion dollars ($5.2 billion) without raising taxes, by a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes requiring the issuance of transportation bonds, and, in connection therewith, shall bond proceeds be retained as a voter approved revenue change, and used exclusively to fund specified road and bridge expansion, construction, maintenance, and repair projects throughout the state?”
They were then asked whether they would vote yes or no, and here are the results:
- Total Yes, Approve: 57%
- Total No, Reject: 29%
Broken down further:
- Definitely Yes, Approve: 23%
- Probably Yes, Approve: 34%
- Definitely No, Reject: 15%
- Probably No, Reject: 14%
The gist of the survey results is that Coloradans simply are not in favor of increased taxes. They want our roads and transportation infrastructure fixed, but they want legislators to prioritize spending – just like our families must do each month.