1971 ballot measures
This page provides a list of statewide ballot measures that appeared before voters in 1971.
In the United States, a ballot measure is a law, issue, or question that appears on a statewide or local ballot for voters of that jurisdiction to decide.
- HBM Factbooks
- List of ballot measures by state
- Other years
Historical Ballot Measure Factbooks
The inventory of statewide ballot measures is part of Ballotpedia's Historical Ballot Measure Factbooks, which document nearly 200 years of direct democracy in the United States. This ongoing research effort will provide an unparalleled resource for researchers, reporters, and voters on how ballot measures have evolved, the issues they've covered, and the role they have played in our civic life. Click here to access the state historical ballot measure factbooks.
List of ballot measures by state
Florida
See also: Florida 1971 ballot measures
November 2
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Income Tax Amendment | Income taxes; Business regulations | Allow for an income tax on corporations |
| 841,433 (70%) | 355,023 (30%) |
Kansas
See also: Kansas 1971 ballot measures
April 6
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amendment 1 | Constitutional rights | The amendment proposed that the constitution be amended via Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 11: Article 5, Section 1. The amendment proposed that the Section read as follows, should both legislatures approve the amendment with a two-thirds vote: Every citizen of the United States who has attained the age of eighteen years and who resides in the voting area in which he or she seeks to vote shall be deemed a qualified elector. Laws of this state relating to voting for presidential electors and candidates for the office of president and vice-president of the United States shall comply with the laws of the United States relating thereto. A citizen of the United States, who is otherwise qualified to vote in Kansas for presidential electors and candidates for the offices of president and vice-president of the United States may vote for such officers either in person or by absentee ballot notwithstanding the fact that such person may have become a nonresident of this state if his or her removal from this state occurs during a period in accordance with federal law next preceding such election. A person who is otherwise a qualified elector may vote in the voting area of his or her former residence either in person or by absentee ballot notwithstanding the fact that such person may have become a nonresident of such voting area during a period prescribed by law next preceding the election at which he or she seeks to vote, if his new residence is in another voting area in the state of Kansas. |
| 261,557 (62%) | 158,769 (38%) |
Kentucky
See also: Kentucky 1971 ballot measures
November 2
| Type | Title | Subject | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Residence Tax Exemption Referendum | Property; Property tax exemptions |
|
Maine
See also: Maine 1971 ballot measures
November 2
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question 1 | Business taxes; Income taxes | Repeal the state income tax law for individuals and corporations |  | 63,393 (25%) | 190,261 (75%) | |
| Question 2 | Voting age policy | Reduce the voting age requirement from 20 to 18 years old |
| 144,949 (59%) | 99,274 (41%) | |
| Question 3 | State executive elections | Allow the Governor to continue in office until his successor is determined and take the oath of office |
| 170,851 (72%) | 67,875 (28%) | |
| Question 4 | Higher education funding; Bond issues | Allow for the pledging of state credit to back loans for higher education and issued $4 million in bonds for such loans |
| 139,984 (59%) | 97,430 (41%) |
Montana
See also: Montana 1971 ballot measures
November 2
| Type | Title | Subject | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-68 | Taxes | | 66,967 (30%) | 154,680 (70%) |
Nevada
See also: Nevada 1971 ballot measures
June 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question 1 | Voting age policy | Reduce the voting age from 21 years to 18 years in Nevada |
| 37,142 (51%) | 35,577 (49%) |
New Jersey
See also: New Jersey 1971 ballot measures
November 2
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Question No. 1 | Bond issues | An act authorized $155 million in bonds for higher education buildings. |
| 846,433 (54%) | 719,109 (46%) | |
| Public Question No. 2 | Taxes | The amendment excluded federal benefits from determining eligibility for the property tax deduction for senior citizens. |
| 1,278,729 (80%) | 317,229 (20%) | |
| Public Question No. 3 | Bond issues | An act authorized $80 million in bonds for acquiring land for recreational and conservational purposes. |
| 1,029,200 (67%) | 512,985 (33%) |
New York
See also: New York 1971 ballot measures
November 2
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed Amendment No. 1 | State and local government budgets, spending, and finance; Land use and development policy; State legislative authority | Authorize the state legislature to establish community development programs | | 1,322,065 (35%) | 2,414,805 (65%) | |
| Proposed Amendment No. 2 | Debt limits; State and local government budgets, spending, and finance; Utility policy; Sewage and stormwater | Extend the ability of counties, cities, towns, or villages to exclude debt accrued from the development of sewage facilities from the debt limit by ten years | | 1,801,271 (49%) | 1,876,683 (51%) | |
| Proposition 1 | Environment; Bond issues | This proposition allowed for $1.5 billion in state debt for the preservation and improvement of the environment. | | 1,322,065 (35%) | 2,414,805 (65%) |
North Dakota
See also: North Dakota 1971 ballot measures
September 23
| Type | Title | Subject | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measure 1 | State and local government budgets, spending, and finance; Administration of government |
| 61,342 (61%) | 39,076 (39%) |
Ohio
See also: Ohio 1971 ballot measures
November 2
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publication of Ballot Measures in Newspapers | Ballot measure process | Authorize the state to publish copies of ballot measures in newspapers, rather than sending copies to voters |
| 1,645,961 (65%) | 900,549 (35%) |
Oklahoma
See also: Oklahoma 1971 ballot measures
December 7
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Question 478 | Sunday regulations; Business regulations | Prohibit the sale of specific merchandise on both Saturday and Sunday at the same location. | | 109,409 (46%) | 127,080 (54%) | |
| State Question 479 | Bond issue requirements | Allow city, town, and county bonds for industrial development without requiring voters to be property taxpayers. | | 91,191 (41%) | 132,176 (59%) | |
| State Question 481 | Education; State and local government budgets, spending, and finance | Allow the investment of permanent school and educational funds in federally or state-insured student loans. |
| 125,902 (57%) | 94,176 (43%) | |
| State Question 482 | Criminal trials | Require testimony or evidence, even if self-incriminating, with immunity from prosecution or penalties. |
| 120,842 (55%) | 96,935 (45%) | |
| State Question 483 | Civil and criminal trials; State judiciary | Allow grand juries to be convened by citizen petitions or the Attorney General for investigations and indictments of all crimes. |
| 142,436 (66%) | 74,736 (34%) | |
| State Question 484 | Voting age policy | Lower the voting age requirement for qualified electors to 18 years. |
| 130,284 (58%) | 95,400 (42%) |
Pennsylvania
See also: Pennsylvania 1971 ballot measures
May 18
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question 1 | Jury rules; Civil trials | require a five-sixths jury in civil cases |
| 833,283 (66%) | 423,606 (34%) | |
| Question 2 | Constitutional rights; Sex and gender issues | add language to the state constitution to prohibit the denial or abridgment of rights on account of an individual's sex |
| 783,441 (63%) | 464,882 (37%) | |
| Question 3 | Environment; Constitutional rights | add environmental rights to the state constitution |
| 1,021,342 (80%) | 259,979 (20%) | |
| Question 4 | County and municipal governance; Salaries of government officials | allow a county officer's salary or emoluments to be increased or decreased during the officer's term if a change in county classification requires it | | 567,472 (46%) | 656,603 (54%) | |
| Question 5 | State legislatures measures | allow a legislator to resign to take a civil office if the office wasn't created during the legislator's term or the position's emoluments weren't increased during the legislator's term | | 487,976 (40%) | 741,458 (60%) |
Texas
See also: Texas 1971 ballot measures
May 18
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposition 1 | Administration of government | Establish a state ethics commission | | 273,191 (35%) | 500,981 (65%) | |
| Proposition 2 | State legislatures measures | Allow the legislature to propose amendments to the Texas Constitution at any legislative session, changing the amendment process | | 344,268 (45%) | 423,718 (55%) | |
| Proposition 3 | Public assistance programs | Eliminate state appropriation limits for assistance grants to the needy aged and blind and set limits for grants to needy children and their caretakers | | 378,327 (48%) | 407,504 (52%) | |
| Proposition 4 | Bond issues; Water | Authorize the Texas Water Quality Board to issue $100,000,000 of bonds to give localities loans or grants for water quality enhancement |
| 406,936 (53%) | 363,301 (47%) |
Other years
Click on a year in the following table to view that year’s state ballot measures.
See also
Footnotes
