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Ballot measure petition deadlines and requirements, 2022
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In order to qualify an initiative or referendum for placement on a statewide ballot, supporters must collect enough valid signatures from voters. The required number of signatures and the dates by which they are due to state election officials vary by state.
Deadlines and requirements
The table below shows the signatures deadlines for each state that features a process for initiatives, veto referendums, or both. It also gives an explanation of the deadline since the significance of the dates can vary by state. For example, some deadlines are for signatures submission, while others are the deadline to complete verification. Finally, the chart shows the number of signatures required for initiated state statutes (CISS), indirect initiated state statutes (IndISS), veto referendums (VR), and initiated constitutional amendments (CICA).
Legend:
= Signifies a deadline that has passed. Some states have more than one deadline, with differing deadlines depending on the type of ballot measure or because there are multiple stages in the petition submission process.
| Deadlines and Requirements for 2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Deadlines | Explanation | Signatures required |
| Alaska | 01/18/2022 |
IndISS: 365 days after petitions prepared or before legislature convenes on January 18, 2022 VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 36,140 VR: 36,140 |
| Arizona | 07/7/2022 |
CICA/CISS: July 7, 2022 VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 237,645 VR: 118,823 CICA: 356,467 |
| Arkansas | 07/08/2022 |
CISS/CICA: July 8, 2022 VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 71,321 VR: 53,491 CICA: 89,151 |
| California | 06/30/2022[1] |
CICA/CISS: 180 days after petitions are approved for circulation or June 30, 2022 (verification deadline). The Secretary of State suggests submitting signatures at least two months before the verification deadline. VR: 90 days post-signature |
CISS: 623,212 VR: 623,212 CICA: 997,139 |
| Colorado | 08/08/2022 |
CISS/CICA: August 8, 2022 VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 124,632 VR: 124,632 CICA: 124,632 |
| Florida | 02/01/2022 |
CICA: February 1, 2022[2] VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CISS: N/A VR: N/A CICA: 891,589 |
| Idaho | 05/01/2022 |
CISS: May 1, 2022 (Or 18 months after it was cleared for circulation, whichever is sooner) VR: 60 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 64,945 VR: 64,945 CICA: N/A |
| Illinois | 05/08/2022 |
CICA: May 8, 2022 | CICA: 363,813 |
| Maine | 01/30/2022 |
CISS: January 30, 2022 | CISS: 63,067 VR: 63,067 |
| Maryland | 05/31/2022 06/30/2022 |
VR Round 1: May 31, 2022 VR Round 2: June 30, 2022 |
CISS: N/A VR: 69,135 CICA: N/A |
| Massachusetts | 07/06/2022 11/17/2021 12/02/2020 12/04/2019 |
IndISS: November 17, 2021 IndISS: July 6, 2022 CICA: Dec. 2, 2020; Dec. 4, 2019 VR: 90 days post-signature Signatures must be submitted to local registrars of voters by two weeks before the first Wednesday in December. Local registrars of voters must submit certified signature petitions to the secretary of state by the first Wednesday in December. |
CISS: 93,611 VR: 40,119 (53,492 to suspend law) CICA: 80,239 |
| Michigan | 06/01/2022 07/11/2022 |
CISS: June 1, 2022 CICA: July 11, 2022 VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 340,047 VR: 212,529 CICA: 425,059 |
| Mississippi | 10/06/2021 |
CICA: October 6, 2021[3] | CISS: N/A VR: N/A CICA: 106,190 |
| Missouri | 05/08/2022 |
(CICA/CISS): May 8, 2022 VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 107,246 [4][5] VR: 100,126[4][5] CICA: 171,592[4][5] |
| Montana | 06/17/2022 07/15/2022 |
(CISS/CICA): June 17, 2022 (Counties); July 15, 2022 (Secretary of State) VR: 6 months post-adjournment |
CISS: 30,179 VR: 30,179 CICA: 60,359 |
| Nebraska | 07/07/2022 |
(CICA/CISS): July 7, 2022 VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 88,787[6] VR: 63,419[6][7] CICA: 126,838 [6] |
| Nevada | 06/29/2022 11/18/2020 |
CICA/VR: June 29, 2022 IndISS: November 18, 2020 |
CISS: 97,598 VR: 135,561 CICA: 135,561 |
| New Mexico | 07/08/2022 |
VR: 90 days post-adjournment (final deadline: July 8, 2022) | CISS: N/A VR: 92,823 [8] or 232,058 [9] CICA: N/A |
| North Dakota | 07/11/2022 |
CISS/CICA: July 11, 2022; all petitions have unique deadline as well (1 year after cleared for circulation) VR: 90 days post-signature |
CISS: 15,582 VR: 15,582 CICA: 31,164 |
| Ohio | 12/24/2021 07/06/2022 |
IndISS: December 24, 2021 CICA: July 6, 2022 VR: 90 days post-signature |
CISS: 265,774 VR: 265,774 CICA: 442,958 |
| Oklahoma | 08/30/2022 |
CISS/CICA: 90 days max circulation[10] VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 94,911 VR: 59,320 CICA: 177,958 |
| Oregon | 07/08/2022 06/09/2022 |
CISS/CICA: July 8, 2022 VR: 90 days post-adjournment (2022 bills: June 9, 2022) |
CISS: 112,020 VR: 74,680 CICA: 149,360 |
| South Dakota | 11/08/2021 05/03/2022[11] |
CICA: November 8, 2021 CISS: May 3, 2022[11] VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CICA: 33,921 CISS: 16,961 VR: 16,961 |
| Utah | 02/15/2022 |
CISS: February 15, 2022, or 316 days after the initiative petition was filed with the lieutenant governor, which ever comes first VR: 40 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 137,802 VR: 137,802 CICA: N/A |
| Washington | 12/31/2021 07/08/2022 |
ITL: 10 days before the 2022 legislative session ITP: July 8, 2022 VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
ITP/ITL: 324,516 VR: 162,258 CICA: N/A |
| Wyoming | 2/14/2022 |
CISS: 18 months to circulate; petitions must be submitted before legislature convenes the legislative session of the target election year VR: 90 days post-adjournment |
CISS: 41,775 VR: 41,775 CICA: N/A |
Key terms
See also
- Laws governing the initiative process
- State ballot measure websites
- Initiative frequency of constitutional amendments related to time for signature collection
- Ballotpedia's election and deadline calendar
- Initiative signature requirement changes caused by 2020 voter turnout
Footnotes
- ↑ This is the verification deadline.
- ↑ Initiative signatures must be verified by February 1, 2022 and, thus, must be submitted to county officials long enough before that date to allow for the verification process. County supervisors of elections have a maximum of 30 days to verify signatures and submit them to the secretary of state, which means to guarantee that local officials verify and submit signatures, they should have been submitted by January 2, 2022.
- ↑ Once a sponsor receives a ballot title and summary, proponents have one year to circulate petitions and receive certification from the county circuit clerks. Petitions must be submitted to the secretary of state at least 90 days prior to the beginning of the regular session which begins in the first week of January (January 4, 2022). Signature petition sheets must be submitted to and certified by county officials prior to submission to the secretary of state. Petitioners are recommended to coordinate with county elections officials to determine when signatures must be submitted to county officials in order to meet the early October (of the preceding year) deadline for submission to the secretary of state.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 This signature requirement is the requirement if petitioners collect signatures in the smallest of the state's congressional districts to satisfy the state's distribution requirement. Collecting signatures in larger districts would result in a slightly larger signature requirement.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 This signature requirement is a projected estimate based on increased turnout in 2020. The official turnout within each of the eight congressional districts required to calculate the precise requirement was unavailable as of December 24, 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 This requirement is based on the state's voter registration report released on December 1, 2020. Since the Nebraska signature requirement is based on the number of registered voters at the time of filing, the number required is variable.
- ↑ This was the signature requirement for a veto referendum petition that did not suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election. To suspend the targeted law, approximately 126,838 signatures would have been required.
- ↑ Signatures required to put the targeted bill before voters without suspending the enactment of the law
- ↑ Signatures required to suspend the law until the election
- ↑ Initiatives can be circulated for a maximum of 90 days; with signatures being due by 5:00 p.m. local time on the 90th day. State elections officials in Oklahoma recommend filing a proposed initiative during the first months of the year preceding the targeted election year due to the two periods during which challenges may be filed against an initiative. For example, to qualify an initiative for the November 2022 ballot, Oklahoma elections officials recommend filing the initiative proposal in the early months of 2021. For a measure to appear on the ballot, signatures must be submitted long enough in advance for the governor to issue an election proclamation, which must be issued and certified to the State Election Board at least 70 days prior to an election.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 This deadline was set by a court ruling in August 2021 that overturned the deadline of one year before the election for initiated state statutes. Click here to read more about the ruling.
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Signature requirements |
|---|---|
| Signature requirements |
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming |
| Petition companies |
American Petition Consultants • Arno Political Consultants • Bader & Associates, Inc. • Canvasser Services • Capitol Assets • Democracy Direct • Democracy Resources • Discovery Petition Management • FieldWorks • JSM, Inc. • Kimball Petition Management • LAMM Political Partners, LLC • Masterson & Wright • National Ballot Access • National Petition Management • National Solutions • National Voter Outreach • PCI Consultants, Inc. |
| Terms |
Approved for circulation • Initiative petition circulation periods • Circulator • Circulator affidavit • Forged signature • Fraudulent signature • Invalid signature • Paid circulator • Petition • Random sampling • Registered voter • Signature certification • Signer • Signer intent • Valid signature • Volunteer circulator • Signature transcription |
| Petition drive deadlines |
2008 deadlines • 2009 deadlines • 2010 deadlines • 2011 deadlines • 2012 deadlines • 2013 deadlines • 2014 deadlines • 2015 deadlines • 2016 deadlines • 2017 deadlines • 2018 deadlines • 2019 deadlines • 2020 deadlines • 2021 deadlines • 2022 deadlines • 2023 deadlines • 2024 deadlines • 2025 deadlines |
| Signature law |
States where signature requirements are based on votes cast for governor |
