This post is largely lifted straight from a recent Ballotpedia newsletter. To learn more about this topic, including a list of all relevant legislation by state, take a deep dive on Ballotpedia here
As voters decide an increasing number of citizen-initiated ballot measures, state legislators are devoting increased attention to the process that governs them. This includes how measures get on the ballot, determining the rules for support and opposition campaigns, the requirements for approval of such measures, and other elements of the initiative process.
In 2016 and 2018, citizen-initiatives were more prominent than they had been in recent election cycles. Voters decided nearly 150 issues over the last three years through initiative and veto referendum signature petitions. More than 200 other statewide ballot measures were sent to voters in the last three years by state legislatures or automatically referred by state laws.
In 2018, Ballotpedia tracked 203 bills related to ballot measures and recall in 34 states. Of those, 34 were approved, 140 were rejected or abandoned, and nine were carried over to 2019. The most significant proposals were passed in Michigan and South Dakota.
- Michigan adopted a distribution requirement for initiative signature petitions in Michigan limiting the number of signatures collected in any one congressional district to 15 percent of the total required. The law also added disclosure and other requirements related to initiative petitioners.
- South Dakota passed several laws regarding signature gatherers, petition circulators, deadlines for the submission of ballot initiatives, and campaign finance requirements for groups for and against ballot measures, among other things.
In state legislative sessions so far in 2019, 122 legislative proposals concerning ballot initiatives, veto referendums, legislative referrals, local ballot measures, and officeholder recall have been introduced in 30 states. Two initiatives directly related to initiative and referendum laws were also filed in Missouri and South Dakota targeting the 2020 ballot.
Here are some of these proposals:
- Laws concerning total signature requirements for initiatives and veto referendums or recalls were introduced in five states; in Missouri and Utah, the bills were designed to increase the total number of signatures required for citizen initiatives.
- Proposed laws concerning distribution requirements for signature gathering were introduced in Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, and Montana.
- Pay-per-signature bans for petitions were introduced in Maine and Massachusetts.
- In Oregon, a bill to restrict legislative alteration of future initiatives was introduced.
- Legislation to increase the supermajority requirement or impose additional vote requirements was introduced in Florida, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Washington.
- In Missouri, a citizen initiative was filed to prevent state residency requirements, pay-per-signature restrictions, and initiative filing fees. It would also require voter approval for any changes to the initiative and referendum process and establish a system for electronic signatures. Two bills designed to enact initiative filing fees, among other provisions, were introduced in Missouri’s 2019 legislative session.
- In South Dakota, an initiative to roll back some changes made in 2018 was filed.
- Proposals were introduced in nine states to establish a process for ballot initiatives, veto referendums, recalls, or some combination of the three.
- 26 states have some form of initiative or veto referendum process. The last state to establish a process for initiatives was Mississippi in 1992.