Tag: ballot measures
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Update on this year’s and next year’s ballot measure certifications
As of March 7, 2023, five statewide measures have been certified for the ballot in three states for elections in 2023. That’s the same as the average number certified at this point in other odd-numbered years from 2011 to 2021. For 2024, 16 statewide measures have been certified in five states. That’s double the average…
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Right to Repair Act initiative certified to the legislature in Maine
On Feb. 21, 2023, the Maine secretary of state announced that enough valid signatures were submitted for the “Right to Repair Act” initiative, allowing it to be certified to the Maine State Legislature. Out of the 83,252 signatures submitted by the Maine Automotive Right to Repair Committee on Jan. 19, 2023, 74,686 of the signatures…
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Ballotpedia’s analysis of 2022 local ballot measures in California
In 2022, there were 572 local ballot measures on six different election dates in California. Voters approved 396 (69%) of these measures and rejected 176 (31%). Out of these measures, 470 of them were on the November 8, 2022, ballot. There were 147 fewer local ballot measures than in the previous even-year election in 2020.…
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The lowest and the highest readability scores for 2017-2022 ballot measures
Ballotpedia conducts an annual readability report analyzing what level of education voters would need to understand the ballot titles and summaries of statewide ballot measures using Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL). Measurements used in calculating readability scores include the number of syllables, words, and sentences in a text. Other factors, such…
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Voters approved 10, rejected 4 local measures in San Francisco
Voters in San Francisco decided on 14 local ballot measures on Nov. 8. Ten were approved and four were defeated. Four were citizen initiatives, of which, one was approved and three were defeated. The city’s board of supervisors referred 10 of the measures to the ballot, of which 9 were approved and one was defeated.…
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2022 statewide ballot measures written at graduate school reading level
The ballot language for the 140 statewide ballot measures on the ballot in 38 states in 2022 is written at an average reading level of 19 (graduate school reading level), up from 18 in 2021. Ballotpedia identified 66 measures with a ballot summary that was set to appear alongside the ballot question on the ballot.…
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Signature costs for ballot initiatives increased in 2022
In 2022, ballot initiative campaigns spent $118.29 million to collect signatures for 29 initiatives in 12 states. The average cost-per-required-signature (CPRS) in 2022 was $12.70, an increase from $8.09 in 2020, $6.52 in 2018, and $6.93 in 2016. On November 8, voters in 37 states will decide 132 statewide ballot measures, of which, 30 were…
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Ten statewide measures are on the ballot in Arizona
On November 8, Arizona voters will decide on 10 statewide ballot measures. This is the highest number of measures on the Arizona ballot since 2010, when there were 11 measures on the ballot. In 2020, the previous even-year election, there were two measures on the ballot, both of which were approved. This year’s measures are…
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Bills introduced to change the initiative process increased in 2022, but those enacted decreased
Bills introduced to change the initiative process increased in 2022. However, fewer bills have been enacted in 2022 compared to 2021. The number of legislatively referred ballot measures related to initiatives also increased in 2022 compared to 2020. In 2022, Ballotpedia tracked 231 bills regarding ballot measure laws. Seventeen of these bills were passed and…
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Five states to decide in November on legalizing recreational marijuana
In November, five more states will decide on marijuana legalization ballot measures. In the central U.S., voters in Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota will consider citizen-initiated measures to legalize marijuana. These four states are Republican trifectas. In Maryland, which has a divided government, the state Legislature voted to put the issue before voters.…