Where to find information about local school bond and tax elections
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This page provides information about what kind of information is available in each state about local school bond and tax elections.
The information that is available, ideally, in a database for any local school bond or tax vote includes:
- The date of the election.
- Official election results.
- The official ballot name or title of the school bond or tax levy vote.
- The official name of the school district that the vote is relevant to.
- The full text of the ballot question.
- Information about how the measure came to be on the ballot. In most cases, the ballot question came to be on the ballot because the local school board voted it onto the ballot, but there are cases where local school votes are the local version of a veto referendum or where a state education agency has to approve the vote.
State databases[edit]
Looking at the databases of information available in different states, the main differences from state-to-state are:
- Does a state agency provide whatever information is available? For example, in Michigan, the answer is "yes," because the state treasurer's department provides information on all school bond votes going back to 1996.
- In some states, information about local school bond elections is maintained by county election officials. In these states, the information is much harder to come by, since it requires reviewing election records on a county-by-county basis. County election officials in a specific state may not all keep the same information, or for the same period of time. For example, in California, where county election officials do keep information about local school bond and tax elections, there is a significant difference between the 58 counties. A few counties have information online going back to 1990 but most counties did not start putting these election records online until after 2000.
- In some states, a database of election results on school bond and tax votes is kept, but it is kept by a private organization. For example, in New Jersey, no government agency provides a central repository of local school bond and tax votes, but the New Jersey Association of School Boards releases results for every election dating back to 2000 in a press release format.
States where a state agency collects information[edit]
- Connecticut Secretary of State: Data available in some cases back to 1999
- Illinois State Board of Education: Data from 1972-2003, 2009, November 2008, February 2008, April 2007, November 2006, April 2005, 2004
- Iowa Department of Education: Physical Plant and Equipment Levy results going back to 2001
- Michigan Department of Treasury: Michigan school bond votes going back to 1996
- Missouri State Auditor: List of all general obligation bonds issued by Missouri political subdivisions (dead link) going back to 1999. (This does not include a list of bond and tax votes that lost.)
- New York: New York school vote database, sponsored by the New York State Education Department
- Ohio. The Ohio Department of Education lists local school votes going back to 2004.
- Texas. The Texas Bond Review Board sponsors this bond election database that goes back to 1997.
- Washington State. The Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Schools provides information from 2000 to the present.
- Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instructions sponsors a searchable Bond Database
States where a private organization collects information[edit]
- California. List of local revenue measure votes, including school bond and tax votes, collected by California City Finance from November 2002-present.
- Kansas. The Kansas Association of School Boards collects information: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004
- Minnesota. Minnesota School Boards Association Elections Portal
- New Jersey. The New Jersey School Boards Association provides information going back to at least the beginning of 2008 in a press release format: December 9, 2009, September 30, 2009, April 21, 2009, March 11, 2009, January 27, 2009, December 9, 2008, September 30, 2008, April 15, 2008, March 11, 2008
- New Mexico. Kious and Company, a private organization "dedicated to New Mexico municipal bond issuers and investors" provides a database of school district bond votes going back to 2000.
- Oregon. The Oregon School Boards Association provides election results: from 1997 to 2010.
- South Carolina. The South Carolina School Boards Association posts election results including historical referendums and referendum statistics from 1978 to the present.
States with no central data collection point[edit]
Note: Before a state is listed here, many stones should be overturned seeking a database.
Alabama[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Alabama
In Alabama, there is a central election database, but it does not organize votes by subject. To find school bond votes, a researcher would need to go into the database's election results by year and then search within that year to determine whether any votes that year were about local school bonds or taxes.
Alaska[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Alaska
In Alaska, there is a central election database, but it does not organize votes by subject. To find school bond votes, a researcher would need to go into the database's election results by year and then search within that year to determine whether any votes that year were about local school bonds or taxes.
- Election Returns for elections held from 1960 to 2009
- Election Returns for State conducted Local elections held from 1990 to 2008
Arizona[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Arizona
In Arizona, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax votes. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 15 counties in the state, and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online
Arkansas[edit]
In Arkansas, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax votes. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 75 counties in the state, and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
California[edit]
The California Secretary of State does not list local election results. Each of the 58 counties has a database of local ballot measure election results, including results on local school bond and tax measures. The quality and quantity of the information available on the county-sponsored election databases varies widely from county-to-county.
"California City Finance," a project of the League of California Cities, collects information about school bond and tax votes, and about other local revenue measures:
- California City Finance
- List of local revenue measure votes collected by California City Finance from November 2002-present
Colorado[edit]
In Colorado, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax votes. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 64 counties in the state, and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Connecticut[edit]
The Connecticut Secretary of State lists all election information for all school bond referendums conducted through the state. Note that in Connecticut, school bond measures can be treated the same as municipal bond measures so that they are on the ballot together and are voted on as one proposition.
- 2009 State and Municipal Elections
- 2008 State and Municipal Elections
- 2006 Municipal Election
- 2005 Municipal Election
Delaware[edit]
In Delaware, there is a central election database, but it does not organize votes by subject. To find school bond votes, a researcher would need to go into the database's election results by year and then search within that year to determine whether any votes that year were about local school bonds or taxes.
Florida[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Florida
In Florida, there is a central election database, but it does not organize votes by subject. To find school bond votes, a researcher would need to go into the database's election results by year and then search within that year to determine whether any votes that year were about local school bonds or taxes.
Georgia[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Georgia
In Georgia, there is a central election database for tax elections.
Hawaii[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Hawaii
In Hawaii, there is a central election database, but it does not organize votes by subject. To find school bond votes, a researcher would need to go into the database's election results by year and then search within that year to determine whether any votes that year were about local school bonds or taxes.
Idaho[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Idaho
In Idaho, there is a central election database, but it does not organize votes by subject. To find school bond votes, a researcher would need to go into the database's election results by year and then search within that year to determine whether any votes that year were about local school bonds or taxes.
Illinois[edit]
The Illinois State Board of Education lists all school bond and tax election data from 1972 to 2009. There are more comprehensive lists from 2004 to 2009 for elections involving the Illinois Property Tax Cap Act.
- February 2010 General Primary Election
- April 2009 Consolidated Election
- November 2008 General Election
- February 2008 Primary Election
- April 2007 Consolidated Election
- November 2006 General Election
- April 2005 Consolidated Election
- 2004 General and Primary Elections
- Election Data for elections held from 1972 to 2003
Indiana[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Indiana
In Indiana, there is a central election database, but it does not organize votes by subject. To find school bond votes, a researcher would need to go into the database's election results by year and then search within that year to determine whether any votes that year were about local school bonds or taxes, often under the "Special Election" sub-heading.
Iowa[edit]
In Iowa, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax votes, except for a list of the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) elections. For other tax and bond elections, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 64 counties in the state, and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Kansas[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Kansas
The Kansas School Boards Association provides a yearly summary of which districts have voted for and against school bond measures
- 2008 Kansas School Bond Election Results
- 2007 Kansas School Bond Election Results
- 2006 Kansas School Bond Election Results
- 2005 Kansas School Bond Election Results
- 2004 Kansas School Bond Election Results
Kentucky[edit]
In Kentucky, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax votes. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 120 counties in the state, and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Louisiana[edit]
In Louisiana, there is a central election database, but it does not organize votes by subject. To find school bond votes, a researcher would need to go into the database's election results by year and then search within that year to determine whether any votes that year were about local school bonds or taxes.
Maine[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Maine
In Maine there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax votes. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 16 counties in the state, and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Maryland[edit]
In Maryland there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax votes. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 25 counties in the state, and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Massachusetts[edit]
In Massachusetts there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax votes. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 14 counties in the state, and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Michigan[edit]
The Michigan Department of Treasury provides online lists of every school bond vote taken in the state. The lists go back to 1996. The database allows readers to search by county, school district and election date.
- Michigan school bond elections, 2010
- Michigan school bond elections, 2009
- Michigan school bond elections, 2008
- Michigan school bond elections, 2007
- Michigan school bond elections, 2006
- School bond information for earlier years
Minnesota[edit]
The Minnesota School Boards Association has information on all school bond and tax elections in the State of Minnesota from 2000 to present.
Mississippi[edit]
In Mississippi there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax votes. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 82 counties in the state, and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Missouri[edit]
The Missouri State Auditor's Office has a searchable bond database for all county bonds that have been issued:
This database includes no information about votes on bond measures that lost. It is not clear from the database as it stands whether a particular general obligation bond issued by a school district was approved by the district's school board or by the district's voters.
Montana[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Montana
In Montana there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax votes. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 56 counties in the state, and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Nebraska[edit]
In Nebraska, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax elections. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the state's 93 counties and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online."
Nevada[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Nevada
The Nevada Secretary of State has a central election results portal. In order to reach the results, a researcher must go to the year of the election and select the county where the election was held. Then scroll down to the local ballot questions. Note, school bond ballot questions are kept together with other local referendums.
Note: There are 15 counties in Nevada. To do the research this way, a researcher has to go to a year, and then click on each of the 15 counties, and scroll to the end of the county report for that year to see if any school votes were on the ballot in that county/year. The researcher than has to repeat this for each of the remaining 14 counties for that year, and then go through the same process for each year. School bond votes only appear to be reported on this state government website back to the year 2000.
New Hampshire[edit]
New Hampshire does not require school bond or tax elections. Therefore, there is no elections results database for New Hampshire.
New Jersey[edit]
In New Jersey, no government agency provides a central repository of local school bond and tax votes. However, the New Jersey Association of School Boards releases results for every election dating back to 2000. All the results are sorted in a press release format.
2009[edit]
- December 9, 2009 Election
- September 30, 2009 Election
- April 21, 2009 Election
- March 11, 2009 Election
- January 27, 2009 Election
2008[edit]
- December 9, 2008 election
- September 30, 2008 election
- April 15, 2008 election
- March 11, 2008 election
New Mexico[edit]
The New Mexico Bonds authority website lists election results for school bond elections from 2000 to 2010. The bond election results are posted all on one page listing all approved and defeated ballot measures.
New York[edit]
The New York State Education Department maintains a database of school district tax levy votes going back to 2000. It also has a historical overview chart going back to 1969.
North Carolina[edit]
The North Carolina Department of Education's School Construction Clearinghouse lists results of all school construction elections since 1995
North Dakota[edit]
In North Dakota, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax elections. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 53 counties and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Ohio[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Ohio
The Ohio Department of Education has a website listing all bond election results from 2004 to present. In order to get results, click on the web link associated with the election year in most cases the results are lined up by county, along with historical summaries, and bond elections that were decided by a small percentage margin.
Oregon[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Oregon
The Oregon School Boards Association has a comprehensive database listing all school bond election results. This lists all results from 1997 to 2010:
Oklahoma[edit]
In Oklahoma, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax elections. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 77 counties and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Pennsylvania[edit]
In Pennsylvania, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax elections. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 67 counties and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Rhode Island[edit]
Rhode Island does not require school bond or tax elections. Therefore, there is no elections results database for Rhode Island.
South Carolina[edit]
The South Carolina School Boards Association lists all bond referendums from 1978 to the present.
South Dakota[edit]
The South Dakota Secretary of State lists all local referendum data from 1988 to 2009 on its website:
Tennessee[edit]
Tennessee does not require school bond or tax elections. Therefore, there is no elections results database for Tennessee.
Texas[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Texas
The Texas Bond Review Board has a searchable database for school bond elections in the State of Texas. A researcher can find election results for bond issues by county, school district, a range of dates, or in a certain dollar amount.
Utah[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Utah
In Utah, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax elections. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 29 counties and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Vermont[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Vermont
Vermont does not require school bond or tax elections. Therefore, there is no elections results database for Vermont.
Virginia[edit]
There is no central database for school election results in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Virginia State Board of Elections has a website that lists all local referendum data from 1995 to 2009, but not all school referendums are posted. In most cases, a researcher must contact the local elections authority in Virginia's 95 counties and 39 independent city-counties.
Washington[edit]
The Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction provides a database of election results for all school bond and tax elections. Elections results from 2000 to 2010 are posted.
- 2010 election results
- 2009 election reuslts
- 2008 election reuslts
- 2007 election reuslts
- 2006 election reuslts
- 2005 election reuslts
- 2004 election reuslts
- 2003 election reuslts
- 2002 election reuslts
- 2001 election reuslts
- 2000 election reuslts
West Virginia[edit]
In West Virginia, there is no one central repository of information about local school bond and tax elections. Instead, a researcher would need to consult the election office of each of the 55 counties and then drill down within a particular county's election results by year to determine if, in a given year, that county election office administered any local school bond and tax votes. Counties in this state vary by whether they provide this information online or not, and they also vary by how many years of election data they provide online.
Wisconsin[edit]
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has a searchable bond database. Also, the database allows citizens to customize referendum reports. Reports can be customized by referendum type, date range, and a individual school district. The database lists all elections from 1990 to present.
Wyoming[edit]
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Wyoming
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