2011 ballot measure campaign contributions
Quick stats
A total of 34 ballot questions were certified for nine statewide ballots in 2011. However, only 15 ballot measures had any type of campaign finance activity. A total of $88,478,452.27 was contributed to ballot measures in 2011, compared to $43,706,549.62 in Ballotpedia's pre-election contribution report, according to official reports filed as of December 2011.
Statewide
- Highest statewide contributions: Ohio ($41,475,433.48)
- Lowest statewide contributions: Arkansas ($100,000)
Measures
- Top 5 measures:
- Ohio Issue 2 ($41,277,413.81)
- Washington Initiative 1183 ($34,863,756.20)
- Washington Initiative 1125 ($3,872,381.50)
- Mississippi Initiative 26 ($1,855,600.72)
- Washington Initiative 1163 ($1,854,428.56)
- Bottom 5 measures:[1]
- Louisiana Amendment 1 ($280,000)
- Ohio Issue 3 ($249,186.27)
- Texas Prop. 2 ($186,100)
- Arkansas Question 1 ($100,000)
- Mississippi Initiative 27 ($20,199.24)
Issues
- Highest contribution total: Labor ($41,277,413.81)
- Lowest contribution total: Bond issues ($278,363)[2]
Measure rankings
The following are the rankings for contributions made—both by supporting and opposing campaigns—toward each ballot measure on special, primary, and general election ballots in 2011. They are ordered by contribution amount, with the highest-grossing measures at the top. Ballot measures that did not have any contributions made toward them were not included in the rankings.
| # | Measure | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio Issue 2 | $41,277,413.81 |
| 2 | Washington Initiative 1183 | $34,863,756.20 |
| 3 | Washington Initiative 1125 | $3,872,381.50 |
| 4 | Mississippi Initiative 26 | $1,855,600.72 |
| 5 | Washington Initiative 1163 | $1,854,428.56 |
| 6 | Maine Question 3 | $1,030,146.30 |
| 7 | Maine Question 1 | $933,418.18 |
| 8 | Maine Question 2 | $725,395.70 |
| 9 | Colorado Proposition 103 | $623,307.59 |
| 10 | Mississippi Initiative 31 | $607,118.20 |
| 11 | Louisiana Amendment 1 | $280,000 |
| 12 | Ohio Issue 3 | $249,186.27 |
| 13 | Texas Prop. 2 | $186,100 |
| 14 | Arkansas Question 1 | $100,000 |
| 15 | Mississippi Initiative 27 | $20,199.24 |
By state
Note: The table below highlights the monetary contributions made in 2011 to both supporting and opposing political action committees (PACs). The chart below features the contribution totals as of December 2011. Totals featured in the chart below are rounded up to the nearest dollar.
| State | # of measures per state | Support | Opposition | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 1 | $0 | $100,000 | $100,000 |
| Colorado | 1 | $608,374 | $14,933 | $623,308 |
| Louisiana | 6 | $0 | $280,000 | $280,000 |
| Maine | 4 | $1,044,946 | $1,644,014 | $2,688,960 |
| Mississippi | 3 | $1,155,932 | $1,315,986 | $2,482,918 |
| New Jersey | 1 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Ohio | 3 | $11,627,020 | $29,848,414 | $41,475,433 |
| Texas | 10 | $186,100 | $0 | $186,100 |
| Washington | 5 | $25,819,227 | $12,256,829 | $38,076,056 |
| Total | 34 | - | - | $85,726,676 |
|
Legend State with most contributions State with no reported contributions |
By topic
The table below displays the topics that appeared on the ballot in 2011. Each ballot measure is assigned a primary and, depending on the issue, various subtopics. The primary topics listed below are organized by the number of measures that featured that particular topic, the states where those measures appeared, and the amount raised. The topic that garnered the most contributions—judicial reform—is listed first. The one with the least contributions—healthcare—is last.
| # | Topic | # of measures | States | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judicial reform | 1 | OH | $41,277,413.81 |
| 2 | Alcohol | 1 | WA | $34,863,756.20 |
| 3 | Taxes | 4 | WA, CO, LA | $6,630,117.65 |
| 4 | Abortion | 1 | MS | $1,855,600.72 |
| 5 | Gambling | 2 | ME | $1,755,542.00 |
| 6 | Elections and campaigns | 2 | MS, ME | $953,617.42 |
| 7 | Eminent domain | 1 | MS | $607,118.20 |
| 8 | Bond issues | 2 | TX, AR | $286,100.00 |
| 9 | Healthcare | 1 | OH | $249,186.27 |
By type
- See also: Forms of direct democracy
There are several paths to qualifying for the ballot: citizen initiative, legislative referral, automatic ballot measure, and commission referral. The chart below organizes 2011's ballot measures by the process by which each measure qualified for the ballot. Each type of measure varies in its requirements, which additionally vary by state. The measures are listed in order of campaign contributions.
| By type summary | |
|---|---|
| Initiatives[3] | $45,701,520 |
| Veto referendums (VR) | $42,210,832 |
| Legislative referrals[4] | $566,100 |
| Commission referrals | $0 |
| Automatic ballot referrals (ABR) | $0 |
| Advisory questions (AQ) | $0 |
| # | Type | Measure | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VR | Ohio Issue 2 | $41,277,413.81 |
| 2 | ITP | Washington Initiative 1183 | $34,863,756.20 |
| 3 | ITP | Washington Initiative 1125 | $3,872,381.50 |
| 4 | IndICA | Mississippi Initiative 26 | $1,855,600.72 |
| 5 | ITP | Washington Initiative 1163 | $1,854,428.56 |
| 6 | IndISS | Maine Question 3 | $1,030,146.30 |
| 7 | VR | Maine Question 1 | $933,418.18 |
| 8 | IndISS | Maine Question 2 | $725,395.70 |
| 9 | CISS | Colorado Proposition 103 | $623,307.59 |
| 10 | IndICA | Mississippi Initiative 31 | $607,118.20 |
| 11 | LRCA | Louisiana Amendment 1 | $280,000 |
| 12 | CICA | Ohio Issue 3 | $249,186.27 |
| 13 | LRCA | Texas Prop. 2 | $186,100 |
| 14 | LRSS | Arkansas Question 1 | $100,000 |
| 15 | IndICA | Mississippi Initiative 27 | $20,199.24 |
Raw data
The chart below includes all of the information available on the "by state," "by topic," and "by type" tabs. It is automatically sorted by amount of campaign contributions. However, you can sort the data by clicking on the arrows directly above the column you would like re-ordered.
| # | Measure | State | Type | Topic | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio Issue 2 | Ohio | VR | Judicial reform | $41,277,413.81 |
| 2 | Washington Initiative 1183 | Washington | ITP | Alcohol | $34,863,756.20 |
| 3 | Washington Initiative 1125 | Washington | ITP | Taxes | $3,872,381.50 |
| 4 | Mississippi Initiative 26 | Mississippi | IndICA | Abortion | $1,855,600.72 |
| 5 | Washington Initiative 1163 | Washington | ITP | Taxes | $1,854,428.56 |
| 6 | Maine Question 3 | Maine | IndISS | Gambling | $1,030,146.30 |
| 7 | Maine Question 1 | Maine | VR | Elections and campaigns | $933,418.18 |
| 8 | Maine Question 2 | Maine | IndISS | Gambling | $725,395.70 |
| 9 | Colorado Proposition 103 | Colorado | CISS | Taxes | $623,307.59 |
| 10 | Mississippi Initiative 31 | Mississippi | IndICA | Eminent domain | $607,118.20 |
| 11 | Louisiana Amendment 1 | Louisiana | LRCA | Taxes | $280,000 |
| 12 | Ohio Issue 3 | Ohio | CICA | Healthcare | $249,186.27 |
| 13 | Texas Prop. 2 | Texas | LRCA | Bond issues | $186,100 |
| 14 | Arkansas Question 1 | Arkansas | LRSS | Bond issues | $100,000 |
| 15 | Mississippi Initiative 27 | Mississippi | IndICA | Elections and campaigns | $20,199.2 |
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballot measures with zero contributions were not included.
- ↑ Categories with no contributions made towards ballot measures were not considered for this category.
- ↑ Included under "Initiatives" are indirect initiated state statutes (IndISS), initiated constitutional amendments (ICA), initiated state statutes (ISS), initiatives to the legislature (ITL), and initiatives to the people (ITP).
- ↑ Included in the "Legislative referred" category are legislative bond measures (LBM), bonds (BI), legislatively referred state statutes (LRSS), and legislatively referred constitutional amendments (LRCA).
| |||||||||||||||||||
