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2013 post-election ballot measure campaign contributions
Quick stats
A total of 31 ballot questions were certified for six statewide ballots in 2013; however, only nine ballot measures had any type of campaign finance activity. A total of $49,416,305 was contributed to ballot measures in 2013, according to official reports filed as of December 2013.
Statewide
- Highest statewide contributions: Washington - $31,369,602
- Lowest statewide contributions: Texas - $1,149,721
Measures
Top 2:
- Washington I-522 - $31,369,602
- Colorado Amendment 66 - $10,463,072
Bottom 2:
- New York Prop 5 - $501,482
- Colorado Proposition AA - $67,782
Measure rankings
The following are the rankings for total contributions made, both by supporting and opposing campaigns, toward each ballot measure on special, primary, and general election ballots in 2013. They are ordered from most contributed to least. Ballot measures that did not spur any campaign contributions from either side were not included in the rankings.
| # | Measure | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington I-522 | $31,369,602 |
| 2 | Colorado Amendment 66 | $10,463,072 |
| 3 | New Jersey Public Question 2 | $2,255,984 |
| 4 | New York Prop 1 | $2,178,500 |
| 5 | Texas Proposition 6 | $1,149,721 |
| 6 | Washington I-517 | $928,382 |
| 7 | New York Prop 6 | $501,780 |
| 8 | New York Prop 5 | $501,482 |
| 9 | Colorado Proposition AA | $67,782 |
By state
The table below lists all six states that featured ballot measures in 2013 and highlights those that had monetary contributions made to ballot measures in 2013 to both supporting and opposing political action committees prior to the November 5 election. Totals featured in the chart below are rounded up to the nearest dollar. The number of measures per state reflects the number of measures that had campaign contribution activity, not necessarily the total number of measures featured on 2013 ballots in the state.
|
Legend State with most contributions State with no reported contributions |
| State | # of measures per state | Support | Opposition | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 2 | $10,492,664 | $38,190 | $10,530,854 |
| Maine | 0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| New Jersey | 1 | $1,300,000 | $955,984 | $2,255,984 |
| New York | 3 | $3,181,762 | $0 | $3,181,762 |
| Texas | 1 | $1,149,721 | $0 | $1,149,721 |
| Washington | 2 | $8,739,633 | $22,629,969 | $31,369,602 |
Top contributors
The following lists organizations and individuals who gave the most money—$1 million or more—to ballot measure campaigns in 2013:
Who gave the big bucks?
| Donor | Measure | Support/Opposition | Total contributed | % of measure total | % of 2013 total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monsanto | Washington I-522 | Opposition | $5,374,411 | 17.13% | 10.88% |
| DuPont Pioneer | Washington I-522 | Opposition | $3,880,159 | 12.37% | 7.85% |
| Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps | Washignton I-522 | Support | $1,750,000 Washington I-522 | 5.58% | 3.54% |
| Pepsi Co. | Washington I-522 | Opposition | $1,620,899 | 5.17% | 3.28% |
| Bayer CropScience | Washington I-522 | Opposition | $1,091,654 | 3.48% | 2.21% |
| Nestle USA | Washington I-522 | Opposition | $1,052,742 | 3.36% | 2.13% |
| The National Education Association | Colorado Amendment 66 | Support | $1,000,000 | 9.56% | 2.02% |
By topic
The table below displays the topics that appeared on the ballot in 2013. 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—business regulation—is listed first, the one with the least contributions—forests and parks—is last.
| # | Topic | # of measures | States | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business regulation | 1 | WA | $31,369,602 |
| 2 | Taxes | 2 | CO | $10,530,854 |
| 3 | Minimum wage | 1 | NJ | $2,255,984 |
| 4 | Gambling | 1 | NY | $2,178,500 |
| 5 | Budgets | 1 | TX | $1,149,721 |
| 6 | Direct democracy | 1 | WA | $928,382 |
| 7 | State judiciary | 1 | NY | $501,780 |
| 8 | Forest and parks | 1 | NY | $501,482 |
By type
There are several avenues by which a measure may qualify for the ballot: citizen initiative, legislative referral, automatic ballot measure, or commission-referral. The chart below organizes 2013's ballot measures by type or process by which each measure qualified for the ballot. Each avenue or type of measure includes varying requirements, which additionally vary by state. (See also: Forms of direct democracy.) The measures are listed in order of most campaign finance contributions to least.
| By type summary | |
|---|---|
| Initiatives[1] | $42,761,056 |
| Veto referendums (VR) | $0 |
| Legislative referrals[2] | $6,655,249 |
| Commission-referrals | $0 |
| Automatic ballot referrals (ABR) | $0 |
| Advisory questions (AQ) | $0 |
| # | Type | Measure | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ITL | Washington I-522 | $31,369,602 |
| 2 | CICA | Colorado Amendment 66 | $10,463,072 |
| 3 | LRCA | New Jersey Public Question 2 | $2,255,984 |
| 4 | LRCA | New York Prop 1 | $2,178,500 |
| 5 | LRCA | Texas Proposition 6 | $1,149,721 |
| 6 | ITL | Washington I-517 | $928,382 |
| 7 | LRCA | New York Prop 6 | $501,780 |
| 8 | LRCA | New York Prop 5 | $501,482 |
| 9 | LRSS | Colorado Proposition AA | $67,782 |
Footnotes
- ↑ 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 measures" category are legislative bond measures (LBM), bonds (BI), legislative-referred state statutes (LRSS), and legislatively referred constitutional amendments (LRCA).
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 to show the measure that gained the most contributions to the measure that gained the least. 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 | Washington I-522 | Washington | ITL | Business regulation | $31,369,602 |
| 2 | Colorado Amendment 66 | Colorado | CICA | Taxes | $10,463,072 |
| 3 | New Jersey Public Question 2 | New Jersey | LRCA | Minimum wage | $2,255,984 |
| 4 | New York Prop 1 | New York | LRCA | Gambling | $2,178,500 |
| 5 | Texas Proposition 6 | Texas | LRCA | Budgets | $1,149,721 |
| 6 | Washington I-517 | Washington | ITL | Direct democracy | $928,382 |
| 7 | New York Prop 6 | New York | LRCA | State judiciary | $501,780 |
| 8 | New York Prop 5 | New York | LRCA | Forest and parks | $501,482 |
| 9 | Colorado Proposition AA | Colorado | LRSS | Taxes | $67,782 |
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