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Tax and revenue measure polling in Colorado
Colorado voters rarely say yes to a statewide tax increase, and Keating Research has polled the winning campaign on five statewide tax and revenue measures since 2019: Propositions DD, FF, 123, LL, and MM. In 2025, Proposition MM raised income taxes on households earning over $300,000 to fund school meals and passed with 58%. It is a record we believe no other Colorado polling firm can match.
What we have polled
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Statewide · 2025
Proposition MM, Healthy School Meals
An income tax increase on households earning more than $300,000 to fully fund free school meals. Campaign polling for Yes on LL and MM.
Passed, about 58% yes
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Statewide · 2025
Proposition LL, Healthy School Meals
Let the state keep and spend revenue already collected for school meals instead of refunding it under TABOR.
Passed, about 65% yes
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Statewide · 2022
Proposition FF, Healthy School Meals for All
Free school meals for every Colorado student, paid for by capping state income tax deductions for households earning more than $300,000.
Passed, 56.7% yes
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Statewide · 2022
Proposition 123, affordable housing
Dedicates a share of state income tax revenue to affordable housing, outside the TABOR spending limit.
Passed, 52.6% yes
Housing polling → -
Statewide · 2019
Proposition DD, water projects
A tax on sports betting to fund the Colorado Water Plan.
Passed
Water polling → -
Statewide · 2021
No on Proposition 119
Polling for the campaign against a statewide sales tax increase on marijuana for out-of-school learning programs.
Defeated, 54% no
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Denver · 2025
Vibrant Denver bond package, 2A–2E
Five bond questions on one ballot, tracked for the campaign. Our final tracking poll was 1.2 points from the result on average across all five.
All five passed, 63% to 71% yes
Poll vs. result, measure by measure → -
Denver · 2024
2Q, Denver Health funding
A 0.34% city sales tax increase for Denver Health, raising about $70 million a year.
Passed, about 57% yes
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Aurora · 2025–26
Build Up Aurora and the City of Aurora
A resident poll for the City of Aurora in 2025, then polling on Build Up Aurora: three sales tax questions financing $264.5 million in transportation, public safety, and community projects.
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
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Crested Butte · 2026
Non-primary home and vacant lot tax
Our June poll for the Town found 66% support for a graduated tax on homes that are not a primary residence and on vacant lots, rising to 68% after arguments.
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
Read the poll → -
Statewide · 2026
Pinnacol Assurance
A statewide poll on a proposed 2026 measure about Pinnacol Assurance, the state-created workers’ compensation insurer.
Client research is confidential. Numbers on this page come from public polls, released memos, news coverage, or certified results.
Public findings
- Five statewide wins since 2019. Propositions DD (2019), FF (2022), 123 (2022), LL (2025), and MM (2025) all passed, and Proposition 119 (2021), a tax increase we polled against, was defeated.
- A tax increase that passed. Proposition MM raised income taxes on households earning more than $300,000 and passed with about 58% in 2025; Proposition FF, which capped deductions for the same households, passed with 56.7% in 2022.
- Accurate on local tax measures too. On Denver’s 2025 bond package, our final tracking poll was 1.2 points from the certified result on average across all five questions.
- Our polling is cited in The Colorado Sun’s coverage of the effort to keep voters from being asked to approve state tax collections above revenue projections.
What we test
- Whether a tax can pass, and at what amount, rate, and duration
- Who pays: income thresholds, deductions, and how voters react to taxing high earners
- The TABOR ballot title, which must open with “SHALL STATE TAXES BE INCREASED…” and the dollar amount
- TABOR revenue retention (de-Brucing) and refunds
- What the money is for, and which uses carry the measure
- The opposition’s strongest argument, tested before it reaches voters
How we poll
We draw samples from the voter file, set completes by quota to a likely electorate modeled for the election, and field by live phone, text-to-web, or both. Results come with a memo, topline, and full crosstabs, presented in person anywhere in Colorado and the Mountain West. How we poll →
Questions
Which polling firm has passed statewide tax measures in Colorado?
Keating Research has polled the winning campaign on five statewide Colorado tax and revenue measures since 2019: Proposition DD (2019), Propositions FF and 123 (2022), and Propositions LL and MM (2025). MM raised income taxes on households earning more than $300,000 and passed with about 58%.
Can a statewide tax increase pass in Colorado?
Yes, with the right design. Propositions FF and MM both asked households earning more than $300,000 to pay more for free school meals; FF passed with 56.7% in 2022 and MM with about 58% in 2025. Polling shapes who pays, what the money funds, and how the ballot title reads.
What does TABOR require of a tax question?
Under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (Colorado Constitution, Article X, Section 20), a new tax, a tax rate increase, or new multi-year debt needs voter approval, and the ballot title must open with the required “SHALL … TAXES BE INCREASED…” or “SHALL … DEBT BE INCREASED…” language and the dollar amounts. We test that language, not a paraphrase.
Do you poll local tax measures as well as statewide ones?
Yes. We poll city, county, school district, and special district tax and bond measures, including Denver’s 2025 bond package, where our final tracking poll was 1.2 points from the result on average.
Ballot measure polling → Local ballot measures →
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Talk to us about your research
Keating Research is a Colorado & Mountain West polling firm. You work directly with the people who design, field, and analyze your research. We travel throughout Colorado and the Mountain West for in-person work: client meetings, board and staff retreats, and presentations to city councils, commissions, and agencies.
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