Voters this year set to decide the highest number of ballot measures since 2018

By

Ethan Sorell

Welcome to the Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024 Brew. 

By: Ethan Sorell

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Voters set to decide the highest number of ballot measures since 2018
  2. Eugene DePasquale (D) and Dave Sunday (R) running in the open race for Attorney General of Pennsylvania
  3. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signs executive order moving minimum wage measure from 2024 to 2026 ballot

Voters set to decide the highest number of ballot measures since 2018

By year’s end, voters may have decided on as many as 160 statewide ballot measures, the most since 2018, when voters decided on 167 measures. 

The number could go higher if a measure currently undergoing signature verification in Arkansas is approved. Or it could be smaller, depending on the outcome of court cases that could remove  some measures from the ballot before Election Day. Earlier in 2024, voters in five states decided on nine ballot measures. In November, voters will decide on 147 statewide ballot measures in 41 states. In December, voters in Louisiana will decide on four more. 

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest trends for state ballot measures this year: abortion policies, citizenship and voting, electoral systems, minimum wage and benefits, criminal justice, and drug use policies.

Record number of abortion-related measures on the ballot in 2024

Eight states will decide on measures that would prohibit noncitizen voting.

Voters will decide on a record number of statewide ballot measures on electoral processes. 

  • Voters in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and  Washington, D.C., will decide on measures to adopt ranked-choice voting (RCV). 
  • Alaska voters will decide on an initiative to repeal RCV, which was adopted in 2020.
  • Missouri voters will decide on a constitutional amendment that would ban RCV.
  • Arizona voters will decide on competing measures: Proposition 133 and Proposition 140.
    • Proposition 140 would replace partisan primaries with primaries in which candidates, regardless of partisan affiliation, appear on a single ballot and a certain number advance to the general election, such as top-two or top-four primaries. If the measure passes, the Arizona Legislature would need to pass a bill to determine the number of candidates that advance from primaries to general elections by Nov. 5, 2025. Otherwise, the Arizona Secretary of State would determine the number. RCV would also be used for anything above top-two for single-winner districts. 
    • Proposition 133, on the other hand, would not address RCV but would prohibit systems like top-two and top-four primaries in the state constitution.
  • Montana voters will decide on two electoral system measures, one to adopt top-four primaries and another to require a majoritarian vote system for general elections, such as run-off elections or RCV.
  • South Dakota voters will decide on an amendment that would replace partisan primaries with top-two primaries.

Voters in three states–Arizona, California, and Colorado–will decide on ballot measures related to criminal justice, law enforcement, and police funding. 

  • Arizona will decide on two ballot measures related to criminal justice. 
    • Proposition 313 would require that anyone convicted of child sex trafficking must receive a sentence of life imprisonment. 
    • Proposition 314 would make several changes to criminal and immigration law, including allowing police to arrest noncitizens who enter Arizona from foreign countries at locations other than official ports, allowing state judges to order deportations, and providing for a new felony offense, called sale of lethal fentanyl, among other provisions.
  • In California, voters will decide on Proposition 36, which would increase penalties for certain drug crimes and theft convictions.
  • Colorado will decide on three ballot measures related to criminal justice and police funding.
    • Amendment I would remove the right to bail in cases of first-degree murder when the proof is evident or the presumption is great. 
    • Proposition 128 would require that persons convicted of certain violent crimes serve more of their sentences before being eligible for parole. 
    • Proposition 130 would allocate state revenue to a new fund for law enforcement recruitment, retention, training, and death benefits.

Voters in Alaska, California, Massachusetts, and Missouri will decide on minimum wage initiatives.

  • The initiatives in Alaska and Missouri propose raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour and enacting paid sick leave requirements. 
  • In California, the measure would raise the state’s minimum wage to $18 per hour.  
  • In Massachusetts, the measure would increase the minimum wage for tipped workers to match the general minimum wage. 
  • Nebraska voters will also decide on an initiative to require paid sick leave for employees.
  • Arizona voters will decide on Proposition 138, which would allow tipped workers to be paid 25% less per hour than the minimum wage. The current law allows tipped workers to be paid $3 less than the minimum wage.

Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota will decide on marijuana legalization ballot measures.

  • Voters in North Dakota and South Dakota will decide on legalization initiatives for the third time after previous defeats or, in South Dakota, one initiative overturned in court.
  • Florida voters will decide on a legalization initiative, Amendment 3, for the first time. It’s one of the most expensive ballot measure campaigns this year and, between supporters and opponents, the most expensive marijuana-related ballot measure election on record.
  • Voters in Nebraska are deciding on a pair of ballot measures related to legalizing and regulating the medical use of marijuana in the state.
  • Massachusetts could be the third state to legalize certain psychedelic substances and services, following Oregon in 2020 and Colorado in 2022. Voters will decide on Question 4 to legalize natural psychedelic substances, including psilocybin.

Click the link below to learn more about the measures on your November ballot!

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Eugene DePasquale (D) and Dave Sunday (R) running in the open race for Attorney General of Pennsylvania

Throughout the year, we’ll bring you coverage of the most compelling elections — the battlegrounds we expect to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive. You can catch our previous coverage of other battleground races here. 

Today, we’re looking at the Nov. 5 general election for Attorney General of Pennsylvania, where Eugene DePasquale (D), Dave Sunday (R), and four other candidates are running. Incumbent  Michelle Henry (D) is not running for re-election, leaving the office open. 

Pennsylvania’s attorney general is the state’s chief law enforcement officer. The office’s duties include prosecuting organized crime and public corruption, collecting debts, taxes, and accounts due to the state, and representing Pennsylvania and its agencies in court. 

Political context

In the 2020 general election, Josh Shapiro (D) defeated Heather Heidelbaugh (R) 50.9% to 46.3%. Shapiro appointed Henry attorney general after he was elected governor in 2022.

Ten states are holding attorney general elections in 2024. All 50 states have an attorney general who serves as the state’s chief legal officer. Heading into the 2024 elections, there are 22 Democratic, 27 Republican, and one independent attorney general. To read more about attorney general elections happening in 2024, click here.

DePasquale’s experience and platform

DePasquale was Pennsylvania’s Auditor General from 2013 to 2021. Previously, he served in the state House and chaired the York County Democratic Party. DePasquale said, “People know I’ve got the spine to take on big corporations, big insurance companies, and to run complex investigations. And that’s what I’ll do as your attorney general.”

DePasquale said his key accomplishments as auditor general included finding 3,000 untested rape kits and 50,000 unanswered phone calls at the child abuse hotline. As attorney general, he said his first priority would be protecting democracy and making sure every vote is counted, as well as protecting “abortion rights, protecting consumers, protecting our environment and also making sure that we have public safety across the state.”

Sunday’s experience and platform

Sunday has been York County’s District Attorney since 2018 and previously served in the U.S. Navy. On his campaign website, Sunday listed a 30% decrease in crime during his first term and a 40% reduction in the prison population since its peak among his accomplishments as district attorney.

Sunday said his top priority if elected would be addressing the opioid epidemic: “My philosophy of criminal justice is accountability and redemption. You have to have both. You must hold people accountable, but on the other side of it, we have to embrace redemption, and we have to do work that encompasses prevention as well.”

Justin Magill (Constitution Party), Eric Settle (Forward Party), Richard Weiss (G), and Rob Cowburn (L) are also running in the race for attorney general.

Pennsylvania has a divided government where neither party holds triplex control. Ballotpedia defines a triplex as when one political party holds the offices of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. Pennsylvania has a Democratic governor and attorney general and a Republican secretary of state. The attorney general’s office is the only one of the three offices up for election in 2024.

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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signs executive order moving minimum wage measure from 2024 to 2026 ballot

Circling back around to ballot measures, let’s take a closer look at Oklahoma’s State Question 832, an initiative that would increase the state’s minimum wage. While the ballot measure was initially filed for the November 2024 ballot, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) issued an executive order placing the initiative on the June 16, 2026, primary election ballot. 

According to Oklahoma Watch’s Keaton Ross, “In a statement, Stitt said setting the question for the next eligible statewide election would save the state $1.8 million. The move stands in contrast to the decision he made in September 2022, when he opted to set an initiative petition on recreational marijuana for a special election on March 7, 2023.”

How would the initiative change the state’s minimum wage?

The measure would have increased the state minimum wage to $9 per hour in 2025, $10.50 per hour in 2026, $12 per hour in 2027, $13.50 per hour in 2028, and $15 per hour in 2029. Beginning in 2030, the wage would be adjusted for inflation.

Governor Stitt’s executive order placing the measure on the June 2026 ballot included a provision stating that if the initiative is approved, it would take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, and would not apply retroactively. This means if the measure is approved, the state’s minimum wage would not increase in 2025 or 2026 but would increase to $12 per hour on Jan. 1, 2027

How does Oklahoma’s minimum wage compare to other states?

  • The minimum wage in Oklahoma has been $7.25 (the federal minimum wage) since 2009. As of 2024, Oklahoma was one of 20 states that use the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25. The other 30 states have state minimum wages above the federal minimum wage.
  • The average state minimum wage in 2024 is $10.69.

What are supporters and opponents saying about this initiative?

  • Raise The Wage Oklahoma is leading the “Yes on SQ 832” campaign. Spokesperson Amber England said, “The costs of gas, groceries and housing have all gone up, but wages have largely stayed the same. Voters across the state are excited to vote yes to help lift the wages of workers doing essential jobs like caring for the most vulnerable among us in nursing homes and hospitals and those working in industries that care for Oklahoma’s young children in childcare.”
  • The Oklahoma Farm Bureau and the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce oppose the initiative. Ben Lepak, the executive director of the State Chamber Research Foundation, said, “This is a disastrous policy that will crush working families through price increases on the heels of record inflation. This ballot initiative is bad for workers, bad for business, and bad for Oklahoma, and we are confident the voters of the State of Oklahoma will concur with our position. We look forward to a vigorous campaign to educate Oklahomans about the initiative that will put corner stores and family farms out of business.”

Between 1996 and 2022, voters decided on 28 ballot measures to increase a state’s minimum wage. Voters approved 26 of these initiatives (92.86%) and rejected two (7.14%). The last time voters rejected a minimum wage increase was in 1996, when voters rejected measures in Missouri and Montana.

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