All parts of the country showed strong support for debt aimed at financing schools and transportation. Voters in North Carolina, for instance, authorized $3.1 billion in general obligation bonds--to be issued over several years--to renovate and build facilities at the state's higher education institutions. Wake County residents additionally sanctioned $500 million for local school improvements. In Wisconsin, voters in five counties approved a total of $140.6 million in bonds for education.
Beyond just approving bonds, Californians opted to make it easier to pass education-related debt. In the future, local school bonds need only a 55 percent supermajority instead of the currently required two- thirds to pass. And Floridians gave the go-ahead to development of a high-speed rail system.
All was not yes, yes, yes. New York State voters defeated a $3.8 billion transportation bond, the largest proposed in the country. Analysts blamed the failure on lukewarm political support.
Claire Cohen, vice chairman of state ratings for Fitch, says the overall outcome reflects voter discrimination. Many of the losses, she notes, were relatively radical initiatives, such as one giving Massachusetts commuters tax credits for tolls.
