The Quiet Revolution Revisited: Low-Information Voting and Ballot Box Support for Public Transportation in the United States

Abstract

Abstract I use an original survey to examine support for a large, transit-oriented tax ballot in the United States. Support for increasing taxes to finance public transportation is associated with positive affect for transit, but not with a desire to drive less or concerns about congestion. Most respondents, even those who voted for the measure, knew relatively little about it, partisan affiliation was one of the strongest predictors of support. In combination these results suggest that devolving transit finance to local ballots. Votes cast with low levels of information may help explain why changes in travel behavior are often small after transit ballots win.