Author: Victoria Antram
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Initiative filed in Oregon to change Measure 110 to recriminalize drugs
Two versions of an initiative to recriminalize drugs in Oregon were filed with the secretary of state on Sept. 19 by the Coalition to Fix and Improve Ballot Measure 110, the campaign behind the initiative. In 2020, Oregon voters decriminalized personal non-commercial drug possession offenses with the approval of Measure 110. It received 58.5% of…
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Where have ranked-choice voting measures been on the ballot? 4 states and 45 localities since 1970
The ballot measure has played a role in shaping electoral systems in the U.S., including ranked-choice voting (RCV) for state and local elections. Since 1914, when voters in Los Angeles, California, rejected Amendment 8 to adopt a multi-winner ranked-choice voting system, there have been more than 150 ballot measures to adopt or repeal ranked-choice voting…
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Protect Kids California files three initiatives related to gender and schools, sports, and healthcare for the 2024 ballot
Protect Kids California filed three citizen-initiated ballot measures to enact laws related to gender in schools, sports, and healthcare. The first initiative would require schools to notify parents or guardians when a student requests to be treated as a gender identity that differs from the student’s listed sex in the student’s record. Notification would be…
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Nebraska campaign to repeal tax credits for private education scholarship accounts files signatures
Support Our Schools Nebraska filed more than 117,000 signatures on Aug. 30 for a veto referendum to repeal Legislative Bill 753, which authorized tax credits for taxpayers who contribute to education scholarships for students to attend private schools. In Nebraska, the number of signatures required for a veto referendum—without suspending the enactment of the targeted…
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Maine and Ohio see higher than average number of initiatives qualify for the 2023 ballot
In Maine and Ohio, more citizen-initiated ballot measures qualified in 2023 than the average for odd-numbered years between 2011 and 2021 for each respective state. Maine initiative sponsors filed six initiatives and qualified four of the measures for the Nov. 2023 ballot. For the last six odd-numbered years, an average of nearly seven initiatives were…
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Initiative sponsors filed a total of 52 measures targeting the Massachusetts 2024 ballot—the most over the last six election cycles
In Massachusetts, the initiative filing deadline for the 2024 ballot was Aug. 3. Initiative sponsors filed 52 measures (49 initiated state statutes and three initiated constitutional amendments) by the deadline—the most filed over the last six election cycles. The average number of initiatives filed between 2012 and 2022 was 29. An average of three initiatives…
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The third California rent control initiative in four election cycles sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation qualifies for the 2024 ballot
On July 26, the California secretary of state announced the third rent control initiative sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in four election cycles had qualified for the Nov. 2024 ballot. Californians defeated the two other initiatives in 2018 and 2020. The 2024 initiative would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which prohibits rent control…
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East Lansing, Michigan, voters to decide on three charter amendments in November, including one to move local elections from odd to even-numbered years
Voters in East Lansing, Michigan, will decide on three charter amendments in Nov. 2023, including one measure to move local elections from odd to even-numbered years. If voters approve the amendment, the 2025 election would move to 2026. In 2022, Ballotpedia tracked 13 local ballot measures that proposed moving local election dates from odd to…
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Texas voters will decide on a second homestead tax exemption increase in two years in November
On July 13, the Texas State Legislature finalized a constitutional amendment and adopted implementing legislation designed to lower property taxes before adjourning its second special legislative session of the year. The amendment, which voters will decide on in Nov., would: increase the homestead tax exemption from $40,000 to $100,000; authorize the state legislature to limit…
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Sponsors have filed 90 more ballot initiatives for elections in 2023 than the average number filed at this point in the last six odd-year numbered cycles
As of July 1, initiative sponsors have filed 262 citizen-initiated ballot measures for elections in 2023, which is 90 more than the average (172) of the last six odd-year numbered cycles (2011-2021). 2023 has the second-highest number behind 2021, which saw 293 initiatives filed by this same point in the cycle. Like the past six…