Tag: ballot measure
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Update on 2024 ballot measure certifications: New measures in five states
For 2024, 110 statewide ballot measures have been certified for the ballot in 35 states, five more measures than the average (105) 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. Here’s an update on the…
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Supreme Court and FEC distinguish campaign finance regulations for ballot measures from candidate elections, including for foreign spending
Campaign finance rules for ballot measures differ from those for candidate elections. “Referenda are held on issues, not candidates for public office,” wrote the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978 (First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti). The court has held that spending on ballot measure campaigns is similar to issue advocacy in the lawmaking process.…
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Louisiana state legislature refers two constitutional amendments to Dec. 7 ballot related to state legislative processes
The Louisiana State Legislature referred two constitutional amendments to the ballot that voters will decide on Dec. 7. Rep. Tony Bacala (R-59) sponsored both amendments, House Bill 48 and House Bill 49, in the State House. House Bill 48, passed unanimously by the legislature, would add a 48-hour waiting period before a concurrence vote on…
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FEC ruling allows federal candidates to raise unlimited funds for ballot measure campaigns
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) released an opinion on May 1 determining that federal officeholders and candidates are allowed to solicit funds for ballot measure committees without regard to the amount limitations and source restrictions in the Federal Election Campaign Act. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, sponsors of an initiative that would create a state constitutional…
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Changes to the California Children’s Services Program could be on the November ballot
The campaign behind an initiative to change the eligibility requirements for the California Children’s Services (CCS) Program and authorize the program to cover the costs of life-saving specialty drugs submitted signatures on May 9. The total count of raw signatures submitted was not available on May 9. In California, the number of signatures required for…
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California initiative to require a personal finance course in high school qualifies for the ballot
The California Secretary of State announced on May 8 that Californians for Financial Education had submitted 693,676 valid signatures—surpassing the signature requirement of 546,651 and qualifying for a place on the Nov. 5 ballot. The initiated state statute would require students graduating during the 2029-2030 academic year to complete a one-semester personal finance course. The…
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Signatures submitted for South Dakota initiative that would repeal state grocery tax
A South Dakota campaign supporting an initiative that would ban the state sales and use tax on groceries submitted signatures to the secretary of state’s office on April 24, 2024. According to Rick Weiland, the co-founder of TakeItBack, the campaign supporting the initiative, about 25,000 signatures were submitted. For the measure to make the ballot…
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Californians may see a ballot initiative to change Proposition 47, related to criminal justice and law enforcement policies
Californians for Safer Communities reported filing over 900,000 signatures on April 18 in support of an initiative that would make changes to Proposition 47, which California voters approved in 2014 by a vote of 59.6% to 40.4%. Proposition 47 classified certain crimes as misdemeanors instead of felonies unless the defendant had prior convictions for murder,…
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Update on 2024 ballot measure certifications
For 2024, 88 statewide ballot measures have been certified for the ballot in 33 states, one more measure than the average (87) 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. Here’s an update on the…
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Voters in Arizona and 10 other states may decide on abortion in 2024, with confirmed abortion measures on the ballot in three—FL, MD, and NY
Voters in Arizona and ten additional states could be voting on proposed ballot measures related to abortion in 2024. Currently, there are three certified abortion-related ballot measures in Florida, Maryland, and New York. Arizona for Abortion Access, the campaign gathering signatures to place an initiative on the ballot to provide a state constitutional right to…