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SALT LAKE CITY — While there is certainly a partisan divide in Utah, what are the issues that matter most to voters, regardless of political affiliation?
A new report from the Utah Foundation examined this question and determined that there are in fact issues which Utahns generally agree upon across party lines. The big ones, according to the report, are the importance of K-12 education, water stewardship, curbing government overreach and access to affordable housing.
"There are, of course, some nuances in how each party might address each of these issues," said Shawn Teigen, president of the Utah Foundation.
On the other hand, Utahns often disagree on the importance of abortion and women's issues, transgender rights and access and appropriate stewardship of the Great Salt Lake.
"No surprises that housing affordability came first," said Ginger Chinn, board of trustees member for the Utah Foundation and Salt Lake Chamber's vice president of public policy and government affairs. "As we know, the governor's put that as a top priority."
Indeed, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox went into this year's legislative session with an ambitious ask for $150 million from lawmakers to build 35,000 new starter homes by 2028. While the Legislature didn't approve exactly what the governor asked for, he's still optimistic about the final result and the state's ability to build 35,000 new starter homes.
In response to the state's lack of liquidity, lawmakers approved a $300 million fund from the state treasurer's account to provide low-interest loans to developments where 60% of the homes are considered affordable, equivalent to about $350,000 for detached, single-family homes. To qualify, homes must also be owner-occupied for at least five years, which Cox said prevents large investors from buying them up to rent or flip.
On the K-12 education front, those surveyed were presented with the hypothetical, "I am willing to pay $500 per year more in taxes to increase by 10% the proportion of children who are good readers by third grade."
In response, 49% of Utah registered voters who were surveyed said they would be not at all willing or not very willing. Only a quarter of those surveyed indicated they would be very or extremely willing to make that trade-off, while the remaining 26% were only somewhat willing.
According to the report, Democrats tended to be more willing than Republicans and unaffiliated voters, but this hypothetical was one that saw some of the most agreement.
Another area of broad agreement was in water stewardship.
When asked, "I am willing to remove 50% of my lawn or allow it to be brown during summer months to reduce the cost of Utah's water infrastructure investments by 30%," 55% said they would be "very" or "extremely" willing, per the report.
Only 19% said they were not at all or not very willing to do so, while the remaining 26% indicated they would be somewhat willing to do so. Among each group of Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters, more voters expressed a higher level than a lower level of willingness to save water.
"In reading the report ... in water, it's not necessarily water quality anymore, it's more water quantity," Chinn said. "I think that's a shift that we've seen over time. Now, people are more worried about water quantity versus quality."
The issue of government overreach, Teigen said, is a tricky one when analyzing responses.
"It's government overreach if it's doing something that I don't like. But if it's doing something that I like, then it's not government overreach," Teigen said. "Even though a lot of Utahns agree on that, they agree on, probably, from different angles."
As far as the survey's sample size, the Utah Foundation in 2024 partnered with Y2 Analytics to conduct the surveys.
The Utah Foundation has existed for almost 80 years and engages in research and analysis that culminates in reports which inform both Utah citizens and the policymaking process in the state.
Y2 Analytics conducted the two-question, open-ended preliminary survey from Jan. 20 to Jan. 31, for which 709 individuals responded out of 29,149 individuals invited, with an estimated response rate of 2.4%.
For the main survey, Y2 Analytics created the sample by randomly drawing from a complete list of registered voters in Utah. Y2 Analytics emailed and texted potential respondents several times to increase participation. They conducted the main survey from Feb. 24 to March 24, where 656 individuals responded out of 57,403 individuals invited, with an estimated response rate of 1.1%.
The full report can be found here.
