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Ballot measure campaign finance, 2012
| 2012 U.S. State Ballot Measures | |
|---|---|
2013 »
« 2011
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 | |
| Part 1: Overview | |
| Measure results | |
| Polls | |
| Endorsements | |
| Part 2: Finances | |
| Contributions | |
| Signature costs | |
| Ballot Measure Monthly | |
| Signature requirements | |
| Finance disclosure rules | |
In 2012, 83 measures raised a total of $491 million in contributions. The year nearly matched 2010's total number of measures, though the amount raised was $58 million more than 2010.
Overview
- Main article: 2012 ballot measures
One hundred eighty-eight ballot measures were certified for spots on 39 statewide ballots in 2012. Even-numbered election years generally feature significantly more measures than odd-numbered years—and 2012 was no exception, nearly matching 2010's total number of ballot measures. 2012, however, marked an explosion of veto referendums. Referendums in 2012 challenged a variety of pieces of legislation, including those regarding same-sex marriage, medical marijuana and redistricting.
Contributions
- Main article: 2012 post-election ballot measure campaign contributions
A total of about $491 million was raised from support and opposition campaigns in 2012.
| Total contributions to ballot measures by state | |
Top 5
Top 5 states
- $305 million - California
- $35.5 million - Washington
- $29.6 million - Michigan
- $19.5 million - Maryland
- $17.4 million - Oregon
Top 5 measures
- $104 million - California Proposition 30
- $49 million - California Proposition 37
- $47 million - California Proposition 38
- $28 million - California Proposition 39
- $17.6 million - Maryland Question 7
Contributions by topic of measure
Five topics accounted for $409 million, or about 84 percent, of contributions: taxes, business regulations, marriage, gambling and marijuana. Tax-related measures—appearing in California, Florida, Michigan, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, North Dakota and Georgia—featured the highest amount of contributions at 55.4 percent of 2012's total.
Contributions by type of measure
Of the 10 measures in 2012 with the highest donations, seven were citizen initiatives and one was a veto referendum. Only two were legislative referrals.
Initiatives, including veto referendums, received about $446 million, or 88 percent, of all 2012 contributions.
Costs
- Main article: 2012 ballot measure petition signature costs
Ballotpedia's cost-per-required-signature (CPRS) analysis compares the amount spent on the petition drive (for those initiatives that pay circulators) to the number of signatures the state requires to qualify an initiative for the ballot.
The CPRS for 2012's certified initiatives averaged $4.30 per required signature. The state with the highest CPRS in 2012 was Ohio, with an average cost of $6.05 per required signature. Ohio only had one initiative on the ballot.
In total, about $51.9 million was spent on petition signature gathering.
See also
- Campaign finance disclosure rules for ballot measure campaigns
- 2012 ballot measure petition signature costs
- 2012 post-election ballot measure campaign contributions
Footnotes
