Boulder Community Survey

Entering into the 2023 municipal election we were interested in testing Boulder's priorities, and their preexisting positions on those priorities. Additionally, we sought to understand favorability and preferred messaging surrounding various issues, and lastly, how a variety of local resources and endorsements influence the outcomes of elections. 

Our clients successfully utilized the results of our analysis to aid them in copy writing and general strategy resulting in 3 out of 3 candidate victories.

Top-Line Findings from the Poll

Respondents were asked what their top two most important issues were as they made their voting choices.

You can see here how certain generations see the importance of certain issues and how the electorates priorities might change as Boulder moves from odd to even-year municipal elections. Note that Gen Z is fast on boarding more voters into the electorate as several thousand turn 18 every year.

A particular noteworthy finding was the high favorability towards statements suggesting a greater acceptance of denser housing options. Updating this caption in 2025 to reflect it being validated by the latest Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan survey showing 70% of all residents (similar to even-year electorates) being favorable towards denser development where only single unit zoning currently is allowed.

Commentary from the 2025 Boulder Reporting Lab story on favorability towards more housing options in the city.

We also tested voters appetite for a theoretical candidate that might have recently switched their political party status from Republican. This was done to gauge how folks might feel about a Council member running for Mayor who had recently switched their political party registration for the purposes of appearing more moderate in an officially non-partisan election.