The 2024 November general election is around the corner, and Eno is tracking more than 120 transportation related ballot measures across the country. As an integral part of daily life, transportation is once again appearing on ballots across the country, with billions of dollars in funding, new policy measures, and important decisions about the future of transportation. Voters have a chance to make their voices heard on transportation issues and Eno is working to track measures, report on the results, and analyze the impacts of the upcoming election on transportation across the country. 

Transportation Ballot Measures at a Glance 

The tracked ballot measures fall into four regions: South, North, West, and Midwest. Around 50 percent of tracked ballot measures are in western states, at 61 ballot measures. Ballot measures in southern states account for 24 percent, ballot measures in midwestern states account for 21 percent, and 5 percent in northern states. These percentages are not a complete representation of ballot measures across the country. Eno is tracking 122 ballot measures, but there are more transportation related ballot measures, especially at the local level that are not included in this distribution. However, the list of measures includes major ballot measures and a sample of state, county, district, and local level measures.  

Aside from dividing measures by region, here are distributions by locality type, measure type, and primary mode of transportation: 

Locality type

“District” here refers to special districts that may fall within a county (e.g. Pilot View zone of benefit district, located in El Dorado County, CA). Local refers to cities.  

Measure type

Primary mode of transportation

While voters will decide the fate of many ballot measures on the November election day, there were elections earlier this year, including primaries and special elections that included various transportation ballot measures. Notable among the ballot measures in earlier elections was the Transit System Straw Poll measure in Miami-Dade County in August 2024. The measure asked voters if they support advising the county to expand Miami’s existing mass transit system, including elevated Metrorail, passenger rail, and Metromover services. A simple majority was required for the measure to win, and voters approved the measure with 78.5 percent in favor.  

The Miami transit measure approval signals support for various transit projects in the Miami area. The Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Program is advancing five rapid transit corridors to improve transit connectivity to a city and region plagued by congestion. Among those corridors includes an East-West Corridor linking Timiami Bus Terminal in the western part of Miami with Miami Intermodal Center and the Northeast Corridor, which is a planned commuter rail connection to Broward and Palm Beach counties in Florida. The project will add five new stations between Miami and West Aventura with trains running every 30 minutes during peak hours and every 60 minutes during off-peak hours and weekends.  

In previous months during 2024, voters approved other public transit measures in Michigan, Alaska, California, West Virginia, and North Dakota. Public transit measures seem to be having a stretch of victories across the country in 2024, although a public transit measure in Washington state to increase a local sales tax and join the areas’ transportation districts together did not pass in August.  The diversity in public transit measure approvals from smaller towns in West Virginia, North Dakota, and Michigan to urban centers in California is important. It shows support for transportation, and specifically public transit improvements and funding across the country. Along with roads, highways, and pedestrian infrastructure, public transit provides connectivity to millions of people, from small mountain transit lines to large urban transit networks, and voter support attests to the use and importance of those systems. But the success of public transit measures earlier in the year is not necessarily a preview of success for public transit measures in November. The same goes for measures related to road, pedestrian, bicycle, and general infrastructure improvements. 

Notable Measures on November 5th 

There are a variety of transportation ballot measures coming up in November, from sales tax increases to fund local road and bridge repairs to larger bond measures in the tens of millions of dollars to fund public transit improvements. Each measure is impactful for the people voting on it. But here are some highlights of various measures. 

Denver’s Regional Transportation District is the subject of Issue 7A in Denver, Colorado this year. The measure allows Regional Transportation District (RTD) to collect, retain, and spend revenue from its existing sources, and continue to maintain and expand bus/rail services, and infrastructure improvements. This measure is significant because it allows Denver RTD to permanently keep all sales tax revenue that would otherwise be returned to taxpayers through the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). The TABOR amendment limits the amount of revenue governments in Colorado can retain and spend, including the state, counties, cities, schools, and special districts. RTD is subject to this amendment, but voters made RTD temporarily exempt in 1995. Issue 7A would make the exemption permanent, allowing the agency to keep all of its sales tax revenue, around $50-60 million annually.  

In Virginia, transportation bond measures in Fairfax and Arlington Counties are on the ballot this year. Both measures authorize bonds to fund the counties’ share of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Capital Improvement Program. Projects under the program include state of good repair projects, Metro rail, bus and paratransit safety projects, acquisition of new railcars, and infrastructure improvements. Fairfax County has $180 million in bonds and Arlington County has around $72 million in bonds on the ballot in November. In the case of Arlington, not all the money is going to WMATA, with some dedicated to street and sidewalk improvements. It is interesting to note that these measures are one mechanism for providing the counties’ share of WMATA funding. Even if the bonds fail, the counties will find funding alternatives.  

Across the country, there are measures to increase property and sales taxes, with funding going towards local street, pedestrian, and infrastructure improvements. While smaller in scale compared to major policy measures or large bonds measures, local tax increases to fund street improvements are critical. Keeping streets and sidewalks in good condition allows people to interact safely and efficiently with the local transportation network. Local measures are widespread: California, Maryland, Connecticut, Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada, and Michigan. The presence of so many local measures is a testament to the prevalence of transportation improvements across the country. Even the smallest of measures can have the most meaningful impact on everyday life. 

If there are transportation-related ballot measures that you think should be covered, send suggestions to shusain@enotrans.org.  

Stay tuned for a follow-up piece on the results and impacts of next week’s elections and be sure to check out our article on the Nashville Transit Referendum in today’s ETW.  

The Eno Center for Transportation does not endorse or oppose any of the measures. 

Eno members enjoy free access to the full Transportation at the Ballot Box database, including detailed raw data on transportation ballot measures. Non-members can purchase the database. Please note that you’ll need to log in or create an account before downloading the data.