Tag: ballot initiatives
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Legislatures considered 334 proposals related to initiative, referendum, and recall in 2024 and passed 40 of them
Twenty-six states provide for an initiative or referendum process that allows citizens to collect signatures to place an initiative on the ballot to propose a new law, amend an existing law, or reject a law passed by their state legislature. State constitutions and statutes provide the frameworks that govern a state’s direct democracy process, including…
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Alaska voters may decide on campaign finance and ranked-choice voting repeal ballot initiatives in 2026
Alaska voters may decide on two citizen-initiated measures in 2026—one measure that would enact new campaign finance limits, and another that would repeal top-four ranked choice voting in the state. Both measures are citizen-initiated ballot measures, meaning they were proposed by citizens rather than the state legislature. In Alaska, citizens have the power to initiate…
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Ohio voters to decide $2.5 billion infrastructure bond on May 6, the fifth for the program since 1987
Voters in Ohio will decide on a $2.5-billion bond measure at a special election on May 6, 2025. The general obligation bond, limited to $250 million per year over 10 years, would fund the State Capital Improvement Program (SCIP) through the Ohio Public Works Commission. SCIP provides local governments with grants, loans, loan assistance, and…
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State ballot measure update: Four ballot measures certified for 2025, one for 2026, during the past two weeks
Four statewide measures are certified for the 2025 ballot in one state—Louisiana—as of Nov. 26, 2024. For 2026, eight statewide measures have been certified for the ballot in six states. 2025 ballot measures During the past two weeks, four constitutional amendments were certified in Louisiana for a special election on March 29, 2025: 2026 ballot…
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Voters have addressed ballot measures on religion in public schools at least nine times during the past 100 years
Voters have decided on at least nine ballot measures related to religion in public schools during the past 100 years. The decade with the highest number was in the 1970s, when voters decided on four between 1970 and 1972. Topics included the Ten Commandments, the Bible, prayer and contemplation, religious clothing, excused absence for religious…
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Arizona voters to consider competing measures, Propositions 133 and 140, on election systems
Voters in Arizona will decide on competing measures related to electoral systems—the methods used to conduct elections and count votes to determine winners. Republicans in the Arizona State Legislature voted to place Proposition 133 on the ballot, while Proposition 140 is a citizen-initiated ballot measure from the Make Elections Fair PAC. Proposition 133 would add…
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2024 ballot initiatives reach record-high cost per signature, exceed combined $172 million for signature drives
Since 2010, Ballotpedia has tracked signature costs for ballot initiative campaigns, and this year marks the highest average cost-per-signature recorded so far. A ballot initiative is a citizen-initiated ballot measure. Signatures are collected to place the proposals on the ballot. In 2024, the average cost-per-required-signature (CPRS) rose to $14.87, up from $12.97 in 2022 and…
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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 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,…