Town of Erie Home Rule 2022 Ballot Measure Survey

Magellan Strategies are pleased to present the topline results of a live telephone and online survey of 1,531 registered voters from the Town of Erie, Colorado. The interviews were conducted from January 10th – 19th, 2022.

Our team conducted a voter opinion survey for the Town of Erie, Colorado to measure registered voter attitudes toward changing the town’s form of government from Statutory Rule to Home Rule. Voter engagement appeared strong, as the vast majority of respondents indicated they were extremely or very likely to vote in a November 2022 local ballot measure election on the question. However, awareness of the Town’s efforts to educate residents about the Home Rule process was limited, with 65% of respondents indicating they were not too familiar or not familiar at all with those efforts.

Despite low initial awareness, baseline opinions toward Home Rule were modestly favorable. Thirty-two percent of respondents held a favorable opinion of a Home Rule form of government compared to 25% who held an unfavorable opinion, though a significant 43% had no opinion. When asked how they would vote on forming a Home Rule Charter Commission before receiving any additional information, 40% said they would approve it, 30% said they would reject it, and 30% were undecided.

The survey then tested a series of informational statements about the Home Rule process to gauge their effect on voter support. Learning that Home Rule would give Erie residents greater authority to create laws tailored to the community rather than a one-size-fits-all statutory system moved 58% of respondents toward support. The fact that 93% of Colorado residents already lived in a Home Rule community was the strongest individual message tested, moving 63% toward support and only 20% toward opposition.

Additional informational statements continued to show net positive effects on voter support. Learning that Erie would still be required to abide by the TABOR Amendment — meaning voters would still need to approve any future tax or mill levy increases — moved 61% toward support. The prospect of a politically diverse Home Rule Charter Commission representing all voices in drafting a new town charter was also well-received, moving 67% toward support compared to only 19% toward opposition.

The one message that produced a net negative result was the disclosure that the Home Rule process would carry additional costs to the Town associated with holding an election. This statement produced a near-even split, with 37% more likely to oppose and 36% more likely to support, suggesting that election costs represented the most significant vulnerability in building public support for the measure.

After being presented with all of the informational statements, voter support for approving a Home Rule Charter Commission increased meaningfully. Post-information ballot support rose to 56% in favor compared to 29% opposed and 15% undecided — a 16-point increase in yes support from the pre-information baseline of 40%. The undecided share also declined from 30% to 15%, indicating that the educational information was effective in moving voters off the fence.

Overall, the survey findings indicated that a solid foundation of support existed for Erie’s transition to Home Rule, with voter support growing substantially as residents received more information about the process. The data suggested that a public education campaign emphasizing local control, the prevalence of Home Rule in Colorado, TABOR protections, and the inclusive nature of the charter commission process would be effective in building majority support for the ballot measure, while the cost of holding an election represented the primary concern that opponents were likely to emphasize.