Automatic ballot referral

Ballot Basics
Amendments
Citizen initiatives Indirect initiative Legislative referrals
Statutes
Citizen initiatives Indirect initiative Legislative referrals
Advisory question
Automatic ballot referral
Bond issue
Combined
Commission referred
Recall
Veto referendum

An automatic ballot referral is a ballot measure that is set up by a state's constitution to automatically appear as a statewide ballot proposition under certain circumstances. Automatic referrals are sometimes also called compulsory referrals.

Constitutional convention ballot propositions are a form of automatic ballot referral in some states whose constitutions state that every so often, a statewide ballot proposition must be placed on the general election ballot asking the voters of the state if they wish to have a constitutional convention.

Automatic referrals at 10-year intervals

Alaska

Hawaii

Iowa

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Up until 1964, the New Hampshire Constitution (Part 2, Article 100) required an automatic ballot question about whether to hold a convention every seven years.

Automatic referrals at 16-year intervals

• Michigan

Automatic referrals at 20-year intervals

Connecticut

Illinois

Maryland

Missouri

Montana

New York

Ohio

Oklahoma

Other types of ballot measures

Other types of ballot measures that appear in multiple states are:

advisory question automatic ballot referral legislatively-referred bond question combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute

commission referral indirect initiated constitutional amendment indirect initiated state statute initiated constitutional amendment

initiated state statute legislatively-referred constitutional amendment legislatively-referred state statute veto referendum

Some related terms:

ballot measure Constitutional convention

Indirect initiative Legislative referral

See also

• Forms of direct democracy in the American states

External links

• Alaska Constitution, Article 13, Section 3: "Call by Referendum"