Tag: ballot measure
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Voters decided 12 education-related ballot measures on Nov. 5, rejecting three measures that would have expanded school choice policies
Voters decided on 12 education-related ballot measures—the most in 18 years—on Nov. 5. The ballot measures covered various education-related topics, including school choice programs, non-public education, standardized testing, school board elections, and school governance and funding. Measures were on the ballot in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island,…
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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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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…
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Signature-gathering periods for initiatives vary by state: from 90 days to no limit
When proponents of a citizen-initiated ballot measure collect signatures to verify the measure for the ballot, each state has a time frame for when proponents can collect signatures. This time frame is known as a circulation period, or the length of the signature-gathering period. The length of the circulation period varies between the 26 states…
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Thirteen states feature a higher-than-average number of ballot initiatives in 2024, leading to the most initiated measures since 2016
Of the 26 states that allow for citizen-initiated ballot measures, 18 states will feature citizen initiatives on the ballot this year. Thirteen of these states had a higher-than-average number of initiatives certified for their respective statewide ballots this year as compared to even-year election cycles between 2010 and 2022. A total of 931 ballot initiatives…
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Wisconsin voters defeat two ballot measures related to nondelegation
What’s the story? Voters in Wisconsin defeated two constitutional amendments on August 13 related to state appropriations authority. The ballot measures proposed strengthening the state’s nondelegation doctrine—an administrative law principle that limits lawmakers’ ability to delegate legislative powers to executive agencies. The measures’ opponents argued the legislature would slow the distribution of federal funds if…
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Update on 2024 state ballot measure certifications: three certifications in Nebraska, one last initiative in Arkansas pending signature verification
For 2024, 160 statewide ballot measures have been certified for the ballot in 41 states, which is two above the average (158) for this point in the election cycle from 2012 to 2022. The average number of statewide ballot measures certified for an even-numbered year during this period was 157. The final average, 157, is…