Utah Priorities Project

2016 Utah Priorities Project: Survey of State Party Delegates (Part III)

Written by: Mallory Bateman

The 2016 election cycle is the first impacted by changes to the candidate nomination process as a result of Senate Bill 54, passed in 2014. Since a 2016 court ruling deems that the legislation was constitutional, this new process might reduce the concern that some have regarding the differences between voters and delegates. Utah Foundation performs the Utah Priorities Project each gubernatorial election year. This is the third time that the project includes a survey … Continued

2016 Utah Priorities Project: Gubernatorial Candidate Report (Part II)

Written by: Mallory Bateman

For more information and explanation of the ideological section methodology, see Part I: Survey of Voters’ Issues and Concerns. To explore the data in more depth, please visit the Utah Priorities Project page.   The presidential race is not the only high-profile race this election season. In 2016, Utah will also vote for governor from a pool of 11 candidates. This report – Part II of the Utah Priorities Project – is a useful tool … Continued

2016 Utah Priorities Project: Survey of Voters’ Issues and Concerns (Part I)

Written by: Mallory Bateman

To explore the data in more depth, please visit the Utah Priorities Project page. Each gubernatorial election year since 2004, Utah Foundation has sought to understand what is important to Utah voters. The project uses surveys to compare voter priorities to candidates for Utah governor and political party delegates. For the 2016 election, Utah Foundation is again releasing the Utah Priorities Project. This first installment of a series of reports outlines voters’ top concerns as … Continued

Reaching for Educational Equity: An Evaluation of Utah’s Rural Schools

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

The vast majority of Utah is rural, though only a small portion of Utahns live and work in rural parts of the state. Rural schools educate about 15% of Utah’s students, spread over a wide and varied geography. Utah’s rural educators – concerned about the challenges facing their schools – requested that Utah Foundation analyze educational inputs and outputs to determine whether students in these areas are receiving opportunities for success comparable to non-rural students.

The Affordable Care Act: Placing Healthcare Reform in a Historical and Comparative Context

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Healthcare has been an important issue for Utah voters throughout the past decade, but the 2012 Utah Priorities Survey revealed they are now more concerned with it.  In the 2012 survey, 69% of respondents indicated that they were concerned or very concerned with healthcare, making it the fourth most important issue to voters in this election year. Healthcare is not only an important issue to voters, but a divisive one as well.  The Utah Priorities … Continued

Utah Priorities 2012, Issue #1: Jobs & the Economy

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In 2012, voters listed jobs and the economy as the most important priority in the election year.  This brief explains that while Utah’s job growth was stronger than the nation’s before and after the Great Recession, job losses were worse than the national average during the recession. Utah’s unemployment rate peaked at 8.3% in 2010, but stayed well below the national average throughout the recession. Within Utah, the young and those with lower levels of … Continued

Utah Priorities 2012, Issue #2: K-12 Education

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In 2012, voters listed K-12 education as the 2nd most important priority in the election year. Utah voters have ranked K-12 education as one of their top three concerns in each of the Utah Priorities Project surveys dating back to 2004. Voters list the top three issues within K-12 education as funding, student preparation for college and career, and teacher quality. This report addresses those funding challenges, as well as recent budgetary and policy developments. … Continued

Utah Priorities 2012, Issue #3: Energy Issues

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In 2012, voters listed energy as the 3rd most important priority in the election year. This brief explains how Utahns heat and cool their homes and businesses, and addresses the status of exploration for traditional and renewable energy within the state. It also explains that the concern with energy was mainly due to the cost of gasoline, despite the fact that Utah has the lowest residential energy prices in the country. Interestingly, the concern with … Continued

Utah Priorities 2012, Issue #4: Healthcare

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In 2012, voters listed healthcare as the 4th most important priority in the election year. This brief explains that healthcare is not just an important issue to voters, but a divisive one as well. One of the most polarizing issues within healthcare is the Affordable Care Act. This brief explains some of the major components of the ACA, when those policies will be implemented, and how they will be funded. It also compares the American … Continued

Utah Priorities 2012, Issue #5: Taxes & Government Spending

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In 2012, voters listed higher taxes and government spending as the 5th most important priority in the election year. This policy brief explains that while Utah has historically had a high burden of taxes and fees, its burden has actually fallen below the national average in recent years. This is largely due to major reductions in Utah’s income and sales taxes in 2006 and 2007. These changes, as well as the Great Recession, had significant … Continued