Category: Ballot measures
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California Proposition 5, proposed to reduce supermajority requirements for some local bonds, would apply to this November’s measures
Voters in California will decide on 10 statewide ballot propositions, including Proposition 5, on Nov. 5. Proposition 5 would lower the vote threshold requirement for local bond measures to fund affordable housing and public infrastructure projects, as defined in the text. Heading into November, a two-thirds vote (or about 66.67%) is needed for voters to…
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Voters in five local jurisdictions, including D.C., voting on ranked-choice voting (RCV) measures on Nov. 5
Voters in five cities will decide local ballot measures related to ranked-choice voting (RCV) on Nov. 5. Measures to adopt RCV are on the ballot in Richmond, California, and Oak Park, Illinois. The largest jurisdiction to vote on ranked-choice voting on Nov. 5 is the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., Initiative 83 would establish…
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2024 statewide ballot measures written at college reading level, a three-year decline from last cycle
The language for the 159 statewide ballot measures in 41 states in 2024 is written at an average reading level of 16, equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. This is a decrease from the average reading level of 19 in 2023 and 2022. Sixty-nine (69) of the ballot measures included additional information, known as a ballot summary,…
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Voters in Amarillo, Texas, and San Francisco, California, to decide on abortion-related local ballot measures
Abortion isn’t just an issue for state ballot measures. Voters in at least two cities, Amarillo, Texas, and San Francisco, California, will decide on abortion-related local ballot initiatives on Nov. 5. Both address an issue that the state ballot measures do not—how governments address abortion beyond their jurisdictions. In Amarillo, voters will decide on Proposition…
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Voters in Arizona and Nebraska will decide on competing ballot measures related to electoral systems and abortion, respectively, on Nov. 5
On Nov. 5, 2024, voters will decide on two sets of competing ballot measures: two in Nebraska related to abortion, and two in Arizona related to electoral systems. Two or more initiatives may qualify for the same ballot but conflict with one another. Constitutional amendments affect statutory measures but not vice-versa. When both are statutes,…
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Arkansas medical marijuana initiative found not to meet signature threshold, leaving 57 citizen-initiated measures for 2024
The last ballot initiative pending signature verification for the election on Nov. 5, 2024—Arkansas Issue 3—failed to make the ballot, according to Secretary of State John Thurston. The total number of statewide ballot measures certified for elections in 2024 is 160. Several measures are facing litigation, which could result in them being voided before the…
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Roundup of state Medicaid work requirement legislation and ballot measures in 2024
Legislatures in two states — Kansas and Mississippi — considered but did not pass bills to expand Medicaid in 2024. Both bills would have included work requirements. Voters in one state — South Dakota — will decide a ballot measure to allow Medicaid work requirements on November 5. Background Ten states have not expanded Medicaid…
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Right-to-abortion ballot measure campaigns reported 10 times more in contributions than opposition campaigns in 2024 so far
Voters in ten states—Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, and South Dakota—will decide on 11 abortion-related ballot measures in Nov. 2024. This is the most on record for a single year. Ten of these measures would provide for a state constitutional right to abortion, while one measure would place a constitutional…
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Over the past decade, courts have disqualified 16 state ballot measures after certification, including two this year
After a ballot measure is certified to appear before voters, state courts can still invalidate the measure for various reasons, even after officials have printed the ballots. Lawsuits against ballot measures are common and often result in several being disqualified after certification during each election cycle. Since 2014, state courts removed or disqualified 16 state…
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Voters in Juneau, Alaska, to decide on initiative banning cruise ships on Saturdays and July 4
Voters in Juneau, Alaska, will decide on three ballot measures on Oct. 1, including two bond measures and an initiative that would ban cruise ships in the city on Saturdays. Proposition 2, an initiative sponsored by Ship-Free Saturdays, would ban cruise ships with 250 passengers or more from docking, mooring, or disembarking passengers in Juneau…