This semester I have the fortunate opportunity to work with a political campaign manager. I am currently interning for the Fort Collins GOP this semester and experiencing a close look at how campaigning can actually impacting voters decision. There were a number of propositions to vote on this past 2019 November ballot. The majority of the propositions involved taxes, which people were able to vote on thanks to TABOR. For the purpose of this blog post, the focused proposition of this year's ballot is Proposition CC. As part of my internship, I had to learn about proposition CC and more about TABOR. Eventually, once I had all the information and made sure it aligned with my views, I was instructed to inform Colorado voters about proposition CC.
The methods I used to inform Colorado voters were through social media and neighborhood door knocking. With these two methods and observing the impact of my co-intern, I realized two important patterns that deals with the persuasion of voters. The first pattern is the respect and impact someone has on those around them. With social media, the number of people you reach depends on your following and the hashtags you use. The second is that a lot of people vote without researching what they are voting for or against. Propositions on the ballot are usually long and written very wordy and filled with 'fluff.' In my opinion, you either trust the government completely and ignore the fluff, or you're a skeptical voter and the fluff really bothers you.
What was proposition CC exactly? Below is a direct quote:
“Without raising taxes and to better fund public schools, higher education, and roads, bridges, and transit, within a balanced budget, may the state keep and spend all the revenue it annually collects after June 30, 2019, but is not currently allowed to keep and spend under Colorado law, with an annual audit to show how the retained revenues are spent?” (state.co.us)
The legislation of Colorado provided a PDF online that breaks down the proposition's language to make better sense for voters who may have been on the fence about the proposition. There are three points being made in the proposition. One point is asking if the voters support the Colorado Government keeping all the revenue it collects through taxes and then, as the second point, once the state budget is balanced, spend the left over revenue on public education, higher education, and public transportation. The third point is that, there will be no tax raises to support the spending on education and transportation by voting for proposition cc. (leg.colorado.gov)
The tricky part of the proposition is that it does not explicitly say that taxpayers will no longer receive their tax refunds and that their refund would then be used to balance the budget and spent on education and public transportation. The proposition is also vague as in which schools and where, and what transportation and who benefits. The proposition is asking for a whole lot of trust in the government that the taxpayers' refunds would be put to good use and provided proof.
So, in short, voted yes, was to support the government keeping tax refunds as revenue to spend on other state projects. Voting no, meant to be in opposite and wanting to keep taxpayers tax refunds.
In the end, over half of Colorado voters voted NO on proposition CC (New York Times) and the proposition did not pass not allowing the Colorado State Government retain excess revenue.
During my internship, I involved myself with many discussions with people of all sorts of views. People really do not like taxes, however, they do enjoy their tax returns. The people I spoke to that were in support of proposition cc spoke highly of the government and its support for the education system. In the end, a proposition like proposition cc comes down to the voters' trust in the government and their willingness to educate themselves on the language and goals of their government.
Sources:
Easton, B. (2019, October 11). Proposition CC explained: What it means to end the spending caps in TABOR and the money at stake. Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://coloradosun.com/2019/10/11/proposition-cc-explained-2019-election-colorado/.
The New York Times. (2019, November 5). 2019 Colorado General Election Results. Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/05/us/elections/results-colorado-general-elections.html.
The methods I used to inform Colorado voters were through social media and neighborhood door knocking. With these two methods and observing the impact of my co-intern, I realized two important patterns that deals with the persuasion of voters. The first pattern is the respect and impact someone has on those around them. With social media, the number of people you reach depends on your following and the hashtags you use. The second is that a lot of people vote without researching what they are voting for or against. Propositions on the ballot are usually long and written very wordy and filled with 'fluff.' In my opinion, you either trust the government completely and ignore the fluff, or you're a skeptical voter and the fluff really bothers you.
What was proposition CC exactly? Below is a direct quote:
“Without raising taxes and to better fund public schools, higher education, and roads, bridges, and transit, within a balanced budget, may the state keep and spend all the revenue it annually collects after June 30, 2019, but is not currently allowed to keep and spend under Colorado law, with an annual audit to show how the retained revenues are spent?” (state.co.us)
The legislation of Colorado provided a PDF online that breaks down the proposition's language to make better sense for voters who may have been on the fence about the proposition. There are three points being made in the proposition. One point is asking if the voters support the Colorado Government keeping all the revenue it collects through taxes and then, as the second point, once the state budget is balanced, spend the left over revenue on public education, higher education, and public transportation. The third point is that, there will be no tax raises to support the spending on education and transportation by voting for proposition cc. (leg.colorado.gov)
The tricky part of the proposition is that it does not explicitly say that taxpayers will no longer receive their tax refunds and that their refund would then be used to balance the budget and spent on education and public transportation. The proposition is also vague as in which schools and where, and what transportation and who benefits. The proposition is asking for a whole lot of trust in the government that the taxpayers' refunds would be put to good use and provided proof.
So, in short, voted yes, was to support the government keeping tax refunds as revenue to spend on other state projects. Voting no, meant to be in opposite and wanting to keep taxpayers tax refunds.
In the end, over half of Colorado voters voted NO on proposition CC (New York Times) and the proposition did not pass not allowing the Colorado State Government retain excess revenue.
During my internship, I involved myself with many discussions with people of all sorts of views. People really do not like taxes, however, they do enjoy their tax returns. The people I spoke to that were in support of proposition cc spoke highly of the government and its support for the education system. In the end, a proposition like proposition cc comes down to the voters' trust in the government and their willingness to educate themselves on the language and goals of their government.
Sources:
Easton, B. (2019, October 11). Proposition CC explained: What it means to end the spending caps in TABOR and the money at stake. Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://coloradosun.com/2019/10/11/proposition-cc-explained-2019-election-colorado/.
The New York Times. (2019, November 5). 2019 Colorado General Election Results. Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/05/us/elections/results-colorado-general-elections.html.
Easton, B. (2019, October 11). Proposition CC explained: What it means to end the spending caps in TABOR and the money at stake. Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://coloradosun.com/2019/10/11/proposition-cc-explained-2019-election-colorado/.
The New York Times. (2019, November 5). 2019 Colorado General Election Results. Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/05/us/elections/results-colorado-general-elections.html.
http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/initiative%2520referendum_2019-2020%20hb%2019-1257v2.pdf
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ReplyDeleteI found your work with a campaign manager very interesting. I also believe that the language used in Proposition CC likely played a role in why voters voted against it. I wonder if legislators need to do more on their part to inform the general public, especially those that are not very interested in politics. Perhaps that may make propositions more clear to voters and lead to more support.
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