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Taken together, 54% of respondent blamed factors internal to the DOT (waste and mismanagement
plus wrong priories), while 41% cited the external factors of populaon growth and diminishing revenue.
Voters who cited internal management issues were far less open to new transportaon taxes than were
those who cited external factors for their grade of the system. Management crics were
Nearly twice as likely to find a gas tax increase unacceptable (48% vs.25%);
Twice as likely to find a car tab increase unacceptable (32% vs. 16%); and
Significantly more likely to oppose a “miles travelled” tax (63% vs. 50%).A majority of those who faulted DOT management were favorably inclined toward a carbon tax on pol-
luon industries (61%), but less so than those who cited external reasons for the system’s grade (83%).
There was a strong parsan nge to these findings, which will make agreeing on any of them difficult in
legislature where the two houses are controlled by opposing pares:
55% of Democrats said a gas tax increase was at least acceptable; 80% of Republicans were opposed;
63% of Democrats could accept an increase in car tabs; 64% of Republicans were opposed;
62% of Democrats favored outright a carbon tax on industry (another 25% found it acceptable); 57% of
Republicans were opposed.
50% could accept a miles-travelled tax; 72% of Republicans were opposed, including 47% who called it
unacceptable.
WHAT ABOUT THIS CARBON TAX
The governor’s proposed carbon tax was included twice
in this survey: once as part of the governor’s budget pro-
posal (discussed in 1/6/14 report); the second me as a trans-
portaon funding source. Both mes the tax was one of a
list of proposed taxes. The overall results were similar both
mes: 7 in 10 responded favorably.
The carbon tax was described much as press reports
described it in summaries of the Governor’s budget:
Instute a new carbon tax on industries that release the
most pollutants into the air. 51% favored; 20% said it was
acceptable; 10% opposed; 18% said unacceptable.
Instute that new carbon tax we talked about earlier,
on industries that release pollutants into the air. 45% fa-
The Elway Poll is an independent, non-partisan analysis of publicopinion in Washington and the Northwest.
PROPRIETARY QUESTIONS: Each quarter, space is reserved in
the questionnaire to allow for proprietary questions. The fee forproprietary questions is $1000 per question. You will receivethe results of your question(s) with full crosstabulations withinthree days after the interviews are completed.
CROSSTABS: A full set of cross-tabulation tables is available for
502 registered voters, selected at random from registered voter lists in Washingtonstate, were interviewed Dec. 27-30, 2014 by live, professional interviewers. 19% of the
interviews were conducted on cell phones. The margin of sampling error is ±4.5% at the
95% level of confidence. This means, in theory, had this same survey been conducted 100
times, the results would be within ±4.5% of the results reported here at least 95 times.
REGION
King County ........................................ 31%Pierce + Kitsap .................................... 15%North Sound (Snohomish to Whatcom) ........16%Western Washington (Clallam to Clark) ....18%Eastern Washington ............................ 20%
GENDER
Male .................................................... 48%Female ................................................ 52%
High School ......................................... 17%Some College ..................................... 24%College Graduate ................................ 39%Post Graduate ..................................... 20%
These next questions are about transportation. The state transportation systemincludes roads, bridges, railways, ferries and barges – all the ways to move peopleand freight. Overall, how would you rate Washington State’s current transportationsystem? Using the letter grades again, would you say: "F" for failing; "D" forunsatisfactory; "C" for satisfactory; "B" for good; "A" for excellent"
IF NOT 4 ("A"): In your opinion, which of these factors contributes most to keep-ing the transportation system from getting a higher grade:1) Gas taxes no longer generate enough money to pay for transportation needs2) Waste and mismanagement by the Department of Transportation3) The population is growing faster than the transportation system can keep up4) Too much transportation money is spent on the wrong projects
The governor has proposed a package of transportation improvements that in-cludes: Finishing the 520 bridge in Seattle, widening 405 between Bellevue andRenton, improving the Highway 395 North Spokane corridor, Highway 167 fromPuyallup to the Port of Tacoma, I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass and others.Of course, transportation projects are expensive and take a long time to complete.So one question is always how to pay for them. First, which of these statementscomes closest to your opinion:1) We cannot afford to raise taxes for transportation improvements at this time.2) We cannot affordnot to improve the transportation system, so taxes will have tobe raised.
The next questions are about paying for transportation improvements. As I readeach suggestion, tell me whether you: 1) Favor that proposal, 2) think it could bean Acceptable part of a solution, 3) are inclined to Oppose, or 4) find it Unaccepta-ble. Again, I realize you don’t have all the details, but how are you inclined asthings stand today? The first one is…1) Increase the gasoline tax2) Allow counties to increase the car tab tax to pay for local roads and bridges3) Institute a new tax, based on miles travelled, and reduce the tax on gasoline4) Institute that new carbon tax we talked about earlier, on industries that releasepollutants into the air
If other factors are included (not just wording
changes) diff erent results can be expected. Indeed,
other polling suggests that support drops considera-
bly if voters think they will be paying the tax, either
directly or indirectly, not just pollung industries.
For carbon tax proponents, 70% posive re-
sponse is a good place to start. But the public debateover this tax has not really begun. The early rounds