by Anne Galloway March 4, 2013 vtdigger.org Town Meeting Day wouldn’ t be complete without Senator Bill Doyle’ s annual citizen survey. The one-page questionnaire is a fixture near ballot boxes in municipalities across the state. The ballot with instructions is included below.
Doyle, the most senior Republican in the state Senate and a political science professor at Johnson State College, has carried on the tradition for 42 years running.
The only thing that changes is the color of the paper (this year’ s offering is yellow, some years it’ s green or blue) and the theme of the survey.
The 2013 version of the so-called ‘ Doyle poll’ asks questions related to economic development, including tax policy (should the state increase gas taxes and levy new assessments on sugar-sweetened beverages?), access to broadband, the future of the local food movement, the availability of natural gas and whether hemp would be ‘ an asset to Vermont’ s economy.’
Doyle also asks a few perennial favorites, including:
‘ Should Vermont continue its efforts to close Vermont Yankee?’
‘ Should drivers be prohibited from using cell phones while driving?’
‘ Should a three-year moratorium be placed on the construction of wind turbines on Vermont ridgelines?’
And lastly: ‘ Do you think that Gov. Peter Shumlin is doing a good job?’
The results, which will be available in several weeks, are not scientific ‘ there is no methodological rigor in the way in which respondents are selected. That’ s because about 100 of the state’ s 180 lawmakers bring the roughly 12,000 surveys to their home districts and Vermonters who fill in the blanks with an ‘ X’ for ‘ yes,’ ‘ no’ and ‘ not sure,’ are self-selecting. The survey is also released in some local weekly newspapers.
Doyle says the survey is a useful predictor of Vermonters’ attitudes about issues. The senator says all residents have the right to vote, but ‘ they don’ t always have a voice on the issues.’
Doyle Town Meeting survey, now 42 years old, seeks voters’ opinions
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