Passing legislation
Research for bill campaigns at the Colorado General Assembly: find out what voters will support before a bill is introduced, show legislators where their own districts stand, and keep the numbers current through the session.
We test the policy and its parts: which provisions voters back, which words cost support, and which arguments the opposition will use, so the bill and the case for it are built on what voters respond to.
Legislators listen to their own constituents. We poll the House and Senate districts of committee members and swing votes, and report statewide results by region, party, and the groups legislators ask about.
Tracking as the bill changes: amendments, fiscal notes, opposition ads, and news. We turn surveys around on the committee and floor calendar.
A short memo, a topline, and full crosstabs, presented in person to your coalition, sponsors, and lobbyists. We work in person and come to the Capitol.
Most legislative research stays private. These are results our clients chose to release while the bills were being written or debated, with what happened to each bill.
2018 · for Giffords
Support among Colorado voters
600 active Colorado voters by phone, December 6–11, 2018, margin of error ±4.0 points, released ahead of the 2019 session. Red flag support held across parties: 93% of Democrats, 76% of unaffiliated voters, 68% of Republicans, and 77% of voters in gun-owning households. 72% said they would be more likely to vote for a legislator who backed these laws.
Outcome: Colorado’s red flag law, HB19-1177, was signed April 12, 2019. SB21-078, requiring lost or stolen guns to be reported, was signed April 19, 2021.
Sources: Polling memo (PDF) · The Colorado Sun · SB21-078
2020 · for Conservation Colorado
Support among Colorado voters
500 likely November 2020 voters statewide, May 11–13, 2020, margin of error ±4.4 points. Released with a memo for the legislature while the bills were moving.
Outcome: All three passed. SB20-204 was signed June 30, 2020; HB20-1265 and HB20-1143 on July 2, 2020.
Sources: Conservation Colorado release
2021 · for a coalition of health and business groups
Support among Colorado voters
528 active Colorado voters, April 20–26, 2021, margin of error ±4.3 points, for the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, Good Business Colorado, the National MS Society, and Centennial State Prosperity. 42% strongly supported the board.
Outcome: Passed. Signed into law June 16, 2021.
Sources: Colorado Politics · SB21-175 at the General Assembly
2024 · for Centennial State Prosperity
Support among Colorado voters
1,277 registered Colorado voters, January 2024, by phone and online, released early in the session.
Outcome: HB24-1152 and HB24-1313 passed and were signed May 13, 2024.
Sources: Colorado Politics · Governor’s office
Yes. We poll for coalitions, advocacy organizations, foundations, and legislators working to pass bills in Colorado: testing the bill before it is introduced, polling the districts of the legislators whose votes it needs, and tracking support through the session. Results our clients have released include polls on Colorado’s red flag law in 2018, air quality bills in 2020, the Prescription Drug Affordability Board in 2021, and housing bills in 2024, all of which passed.
Ideally in the summer or fall before the session, while the bill is still being drafted, so the language and the case for it can be built on what voters respond to. The Colorado General Assembly convenes in January for a 120-day session, and a second poll early in the session, released while committees are hearing the bill, gives sponsors and lobbyists current numbers to bring to legislators.
Yes. Colorado has 65 House districts and 35 Senate districts, and we draw samples for any of them from the voter file, so a legislator can see what their own constituents think. A district poll of 300 likely voters has a margin of error near ±5.7 points; we also report statewide polls by region, party, and the groups legislators ask about.
You decide. Most legislative research stays private and guides strategy. When a client wants to release results, we write a short public memo with the full methodology statement, the way the polls on this page were released.
Under TABOR, tax increases need voter approval, and the legislature can refer measures to the ballot. We poll ballot language and the arguments for and against, from referral through Election Day. See our ballot measure polling.
Statewide surveys like the ones on this page were in the field for three to seven days. We set the schedule around committee hearings, floor votes, and release dates.
We start from the Colorado voter file and set completes by quota to the electorate that matters for the decision: likely voters for a campaign, or registered or active voters when the audience is the whole state. We field by phone and online, and deliver a memo, topline, and full crosstabs. More on how we poll.
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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