Town of Monument 2021 Home Rule Ballot Measure Survey

Magellan Strategies are pleased to present the topline results of a survey of 382 registered voters in the Town of Monument, Colorado. The interviews were conducted from May 25th to June 3rd, 2021.

We conducted a voter opinion survey for the Town of Monument, Colorado to measure registered voter attitudes toward changing the town’s form of government from Statutory Rule to Home Rule. Voter engagement was high, with 94% of respondents indicating they were extremely or very likely to vote in a November 2021 ballot measure election on the question. However, awareness of the Town’s consideration of the Home Rule process was limited, as 68% of respondents indicated they were not too familiar or not familiar at all with the Town’s decision to review the process. Despite low awareness, baseline opinions toward Home Rule were modestly favorable, with 36% holding a favorable opinion compared to 16% unfavorable, though nearly half of respondents indicated they did not know what Home Rule was.

When asked how they would vote on forming a Home Rule Charter Commission before receiving any additional information, 41% of respondents said they would approve it, 23% would reject it, and 36% were undecided. The survey then tested a series of informational statements about the Home Rule process to gauge their effect on voter support. Every message tested produced a net positive result, with support consistently outpacing opposition by wide margins across all statements.

The message that Home Rule would give Monument residents greater authority to create laws tailored to local needs rather than a one-size-fits-all statutory system moved 67% of respondents toward support compared to 19% toward opposition. Learning that a Home Rule Charter Commission would have 180 days to draft a new town charter, which voters would then approve or reject in a future election, moved 64% toward support and only 17% toward opposition.

The statement that 93% of Colorado municipal residents already lived in a Home Rule community was among the strongest messages tested, moving 69% of respondents toward support and only 12% toward opposition. Similarly, learning that federal and state laws would still apply under Home Rule but that the Town would have greater power to address local issues with minimal state intervention moved 70% toward support and only 16% toward opposition.

The assurance that Monument would still be required to abide by the TABOR Amendment — meaning voters would retain approval authority over any future sales tax or mill levy increases — was the single strongest message tested, moving 73% of respondents toward support and only 11% toward opposition. The message that Home Rule would allow the Monument Board of Trustees to protect and preserve the town’s unique values and culture while giving residents control over future changes also performed strongly, moving 71% toward support.

Learning that voters would have the final say on any new town charter drafted by the Home Rule Commission also resonated positively, moving 71% of respondents toward support and only 13% toward opposition. Across all informational messages tested, opposition remained consistently low, never exceeding 19%, underscoring the broad receptivity of Monument voters to the Home Rule concept once provided with factual information about the process.

After being presented with all informational statements, support for approving a Home Rule Charter Commission rose substantially to 62% in favor, 18% opposed, and 20% undecided — a 21-point increase from the pre-information baseline of 41%. Among those who remained undecided after the full survey, 29% said they leaned toward approving the measure compared to 13% who leaned toward rejecting it. The data indicated strong and persuadable support for Home Rule in Monument, with the TABOR protections, local control, and voter approval of the final charter emerging as the most compelling arguments for proponents of the measure.