Local ballot measure statistics, 2011

This page includes a select group of ballot measures (school measures are separate and the statistics for the first half of 2011 can be found here (School approval rates) which were reported in the ten states followed closely by the writer and the pass rates of each category of measure. It should be noted that statistics only reflect those measures which were reported on the site, not every issue made it on the election pages for various reasons.

2011 Local Ballot Measures
Election stats • Measures • Topics Local election costs County website evals. School bonds & taxes (Part 1) (Part 2) Lawsuits & litigation
All about Local Measures Calendar • Local news

County wide measures[edit]

The majority of county proposed measures were property tax measures with a total of 141 measures being asked in seven states.

County Property Taxes[edit]

See also: List of 2011 county property tax measures

The state of Ohio had the most county property tax measures with a total of 97, 82% of those being approved by voters. Michigan had the second highest amount of property tax measures at 17 proposed and 14 being approved, an approval rating of 82%. Arizona had the lowest approval rating, 0%, but just one county property tax measure was proposed and it was defeated. The other five states had approval rating at 50% or above, Missouri being just at 50% with only 2 county property tax measures proposed in the year.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

County Bond[edit]

See also: List of 2011 county bond measures

The majority of county bond measures were defeated with an approval rating of just 27.3% overall. There were just 11 county bond measures proposed in six states, Colorado and Washington had the most measures proposed with 3 each in the two states.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

County Sales Tax[edit]

See also: List of 2011 county sales tax measures

There was an even split of county sales tax proposals, 50% approval overall. Washington had the most proposed measures with 6 overall and approval at a rate of 67%. Oregon had the lowest approval, with just one measure being proposed it was defeated. Colorado and Illinois both had approval ratings below 50% as well.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

City Measures[edit]

The majority of city issues dealt with proposed property taxes.

City Property Tax[edit]

See also: List of 2011 city property tax measures

Ohio had the most city property taxes overall with a total of 815 measures, 676 of those were approved with an approval rating of 83%. Michigan was the state with the next highest number of measures, 126 total with 100 of those getting approved, 79% approval. Colorado along with Illinois both had approval ratings below 50 percent, 33% with more measures defeated than approved. Florida had all its measures approved, though there were only 3 measures that dealt with city property taxes.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

City Sales Tax[edit]

See also: List of 2011 city sales tax measures

Only five states reported had city sales tax issued on their ballots over the year, Missouri had the most measures with 21 overall, 16 of which were approved, getting an approval rating of 76%. Washington had the least amount of measures with just 6 on the ballots, though 5 were approved giving way to an approval rating of 83%. All five states had approval ratings above 50%.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

City Utility Tax[edit]

See also: List of 2011 city utility tax measures

Just three states had city utility measures, only 4 questions were asked overall. Colorado had its one measure approved where as Washington had its one measure defeated. Illinois had an even split of its two measures which were asked.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

City Bond[edit]

See also: List of 2011 city bond measures

All eleven states followed had city bond measures on their ballots during the year. Missouri had the most proposed bond measures with 19 total, 15 of which were approved, an approval rating of 79%. Arizona, Illinois and Washington all had approval ratings at or below 50%, with Arizona having just 2 measures asked and the results being split.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

Hotel Tax[edit]

See also: List of 2011 hotel tax measures

Just two states had hotel taxes on their ballots, both Missouri and Colorado had all their proposed measures approved.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

District Property Tax[edit]

See also: List of 2011 district property tax measures

Eight states had district property tax measures on their ballots during the year, the most appearing on the ballots of Washington, which had 77 measures, 67 being approved with a total approval of 87%; and Ohio which had 73 measures, 58 being approved with a total overall approval rating of 81%. Only Missouri had an approval rating below 50%, 14 measures were asked an only 5 were approved, an approval rating of just 36% overall.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

Election and Voting[edit]

See also: List of 2011 election and voting measures

Eight states had election and voting law measures on their ballots, though just one measure pushed the approval rating ahead of those defeated. Illinois had the most measures with 10 overall, 7 being approved. Colorado and Wisconsin had the lowest approval ratings, none of their proposed measures were approved, followed by California which had 9 measures that were asked and just 3 were approved, an approval rating of 33%.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

Marijuana[edit]

See also: List of 2011 marijuana measures

There were four states which had marijuana questions on their ballots, a majority of those measures were approved. Colorado had the most proposed questions, 11 were asked and 7 got approved, an approval rating of 64%. The other three states had all their proposed measures approved by residents.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

Charter Amendment[edit]

See also: List of 2011 charter amendments

Ten states had charter amendment measures on their ballots, Ohio had the most measures with 170 total, 145 of those were approved leading to an approval rating of 85%. California had the lowest approval rating, just 3 measures were asked and 2 were defeated, an approval rating of just 33%. Florida also had a significant amount of measures proposed, 95 total, 81 of those were approved leading to an approval rating of 85%.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

Annexation[edit]

See also: List of 2011 annexation measures

Seven states had annexation issues on their ballots, Missouri had the most measures, 17 total and all of them were approved by voters. InMichigan just 1 measures was asked and it was defeated, Washington also had a low voter approval rating, 4 measures were asked and 3 were defeated.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

Ballot Totals[edit]

See also: Local ballot measure elections in 2011

This total count includes school measures in the eleven states followed on the site by the writer. The Michigan results are incomplete as two counties have not yet posted results on their websites for the August 2, 2011 election. Ohio by far has the most measures with a total of 2,095 and approval of those at 75%. Florida had the highest approval rating, 88%, with 105 total measures asked throughout the year; Wisconsin had the lowest approval rating for the year, 55%, with a total of 78 measures having been asked on the various ballots throughout the year.

     Winning percentage above 70%     Winning percentage below 50%

See also[edit]

• Local ballot measure elections in 2011
• Local measures by state
• 2011 ballot measure calendar
• School bond and tax elections in 2011
• 2011 statewide ballot measures

Analysis[edit]

• County election website evaluations
• Costs of administering local elections
• Approval rates of local school bond and tax elections in 2011, Jan-July
• Approval rates of local school bond and tax elections in 2011, Aug-Dec

Articles[edit]

• Approval rating for school bond and tax issues falter in 11 states
• Over 2,300 measures featured on local ballots in November
• School bonds fared lower approval ratings with nearly $8 billion voted on in 2011

v • e Local ballot measures By state A • Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • C • California • Colorado • Connecticut • D • Delaware • F • Florida • G • Georgia • H • Hawaii • I • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • K • Kansas • Kentucky • L • Louisiana • M • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • N • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • O • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • P • Pennsylvania • R • Rhode Island • S • South Carolina • South Dakota • T • Tennessee • Texas • U • Utah • V • Vermont • Virginia • W • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming By year 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2002 By topic Race and ethnicity • Fracking • Law enforcement • Marijuana • Minimum wage • Public pensions • LGBT issues • Development • Law enforcement • More