Here’s how long initiative campaigns have to collect signatures in each state

By

Ballotpedia staff

Welcome to the Thursday, October 3, Brew. 

By: Samuel Wonacott

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

  1. Signature gathering periods for citizen initiatives vary from 90 days to no limit 
  2. 50 states in 25 days–California and Maine 
  3. All candidates for the Nov. 5 election for Sandoval County Commissioner Board District 4 complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey

Signature-gathering periods for citizen initiatives vary from 90 days to no limit 

This November, voters will decide the fate of 160 ballot measures – including 57 initiatives. But, how did they qualify for the ballot in the first place? In the 26 states where citizens can put measures on the ballot, laws require campaigns to first collect and then submit to election officials a required number of signatures. The amount of time campaigns have to collect signatures—known as a circulation period—varies by state. It ranges from 90 days in Oklahoma to no time limit in Arkansas and Ohio. 

In Oklahoma, state officials recommend campaigns file proposed initiatives during the first months preceding the targeted election year due to the two periods during which challenges may be filed against an initiative. Here’s how the rules work in Arkansas and Ohio, where there are no time limits on collecting signatures:

  • Arkansas: Signatures must be submitted four months before the election at which the measure is to appear, and there is no law prohibiting proponents from starting the signature-gathering process before a certain date. Ballot titles by the attorney general are written for the election year they’re targeting, so if an initiative does not qualify for the election they are targeting, the measure will have to be filed again.
  • Ohio: Signatures for initiated constitutional amendments are due at least 125 days before the general election, while signatures for initiated state statutes are collected and submitted in two rounds. The first round is due 10 days before the annual legislative session begins on the first Monday in January. The second round is due within 90 days following the passage of the legislature’s four-month deadline to address the initiative. Ohio does not have a legal circulation period, so if initiative backers miss the deadline, they can continue to collect for the following election.

For the remaining 23 states, the circulation period falls between 180 days and two years. Here’s how it breaks down: 

  • One hundred eighty days or two years: California, Colorado, Michigan, and Washington (Initiatives to the People) fall into this category. In Michigan, signatures older than 180 days at the time of filing are considered invalid. In addition, any signatures collected before a November election where a governor is elected cannot be submitted after that election. In Washington, Initiatives to the People have a circulation period of six months. 
  • 10 months (give or take a few days): In Utah, Nevada, and Washington (Initiatives to the Legislature), campaigns have roughly 10 months to collect signatures. Utah’s circulation period is 316 days, and Nevada’s is 291 days for constitutional initiatives and 316 days for statutory initiatives. In Washington, Initiatives to the Legislature have a circulation period of 295 days.
  • One year or 365 days: Alaska, Mississippi, Montana, and North Dakota. 
  • Eighteen months: Campaigns in Maine, Missouri, Illinois, and Idaho have 18 months to collect signatures. In Maine, signatures are valid for one year after the date they were signed. However, signatures may be collected up to 18 months after the petition form is furnished by the secretary of state.
  • Two years: Arizona, Florida, Nebraska, Oregon, and South Dakota

Click here to learn more about signature gathering periods for ballot initiatives below. 

Keep reading

50 states in 25 days–California and Maine 

Election Day is fast approaching. Long-time Brew readers will remember our 50 states in 50 days and 50 states in 25 days series from previous election years. Yesterday, we looked at what’s on the ballot in Illinois and Oregon. With 22 business days between now and the final Friday before the election, let’s continue digging into what voters across the country can expect to see on their ballots. Today, we’re looking at California and Maine.

California

Let’s start with a look at some key dates and deadlines in California.

  • The deadline for registering in person is Nov. 5, while the deadline to do so by mail is Oct. 21 (postmarked). The deadline for registering online is Oct. 21. Early voting begins Oct. 7 in some counties and ends on Nov. 5. 
  • All polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Time. Everyone who is in line when the polls close must be allowed to vote. Voters can find polling locations here.

Here’s what is on the ballot:

  • Voters will elect one U.S. Senator and 52 U.S. Representatives. Seven U.S. House districts and the U.S. Senate seat are open because the incumbent did not run for re-election.
  • All 80 seats in the state Assembly and 20 seats in the state Senate are up for election. There are 23 open seats in the state Assembly and 11 in the state Senate.
  • There are 244 seats across 96 school boards up for election in California. The districts these boards represent are part of the 475 school districts included in Ballotpedia’s coverage of school board elections. This includes all school districts in the 100 largest cities by population and the 200 largest school districts by student enrollment.
  • Municipal elections will be held in 29 counties across California. Those counties are part of the 80 counties included in Ballotpedia’s coverage of municipal elections.
  • California is one of 26 states where we are expanding our local election coverage beyond the nation’s biggest cities, school districts, and state capitals. Including those mentioned above, Ballotpedia is following local elections for 4,868 candidates in 1,777 races for offices such as local councils and other county-level positions.
  • There are 10 statewide measures on the Nov. 5 ballot. Ballotpedia is also covering nearly 800 local measures that day. In even-numbered years, the number of local measures in California has ranged from about 530 to more than 800 in the last three two-year cycles. In odd-numbered years, local voters generally decide between 100 and 200 measures.

Maine

Next, let’s head to the east coast. Let’s look at some key dates and deadlines in Maine.

  • The deadline for registering in person is Nov. 5, while the deadline to do so by mail and online is Oct. 15. Early voting begins Oct. 6 and ends on Oct. 31. 
  • Municipalities with a population of 500 or more open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., while municipalities with a population of less than 500 open their polls between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. All polls close at 8:00 p.m. Everyone who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Find your polling place here.

Here’s what is on the ballot:

Want to learn more about the elections you’ll be voting in this year? Click here to use our Sample Ballot Lookup tool!

The information above is just a small snippet of the detailed information on Ballotpedia for each state. You can check out our deep dive into California’s 2024 elections here and Maine’s 2024 elections here.

Also, make sure to check back to our hub page, linked below, for future installments of the series.

Keep reading 

All candidates for the Nov. 5 election for Sandoval County Commissioner Board District 4 complete Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey 

There are roughly 5,000 local offices nationwide, and finding information on the candidates running for them can be challenging. We call that the ballot information problem—and it’s a problem we seek to solve. We’re constantly expanding our coverage of local elections, and our Candidate Connection survey is a central tool we use to connect voters to the candidates running for offices that often go overlooked in big election years. 

Here’s one example from Sandoval County, in New Mexico. 

Both candidates running in the general election for Sandoval County County Commissioner Board District 4—Jordan Conner Juarez (R) and Madigan Diana Ray (D)—completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office.

We’re covering the elections for Sandoval County Commissioner Board as part of our expanding local election coverage in New Mexico. 

All survey respondents are asked to tell voters what they believe are the core responsibilities of the office they are running for. Excerpts are shown below.

Juarez:

“Listening to constituents and being transparent with them. If you have nothing to hide then voters deserve the truth and [to] be heard whether you agree with them or not.”

Ray:

“The County Commission is responsible for the stewardship of this county. To me, that means doing everything we can to balance the needs of the people who live here with protection of the natural beauty and wildlife of the area.”

Candidates answered questions like, “What legacy would you like to leave?” and “What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?” They even told us their favorite jokes. You can view each candidate’s full set of survey responses using the links below. 

Learn more about New Mexico’s elections below. 

Keep reading

Editor’s note: this story originally reported the incorrect early voting date. It has been updated to the correct date, which is Oct. 7.