Ballot measure signature costs, 2015
This Ballotpedia report is an in-depth look at the "cost-per-required-signature" for measures that qualified for state ballots in 2015. The cost per required signature (CPRS) is a comparison of the amount of money spent on the petition drive to the number of signatures the state requires for an initiative to make the ballot. For more information about this report and how it is compiled, see the overview summary here.
Though there were 28 total measures on statewide ballots in 2015, only five measures in four states—Maine, Mississippi, Ohio and Washington—were initiatives that require signatures to be collected to be put on the ballot.
Of the five measures, Ohio's Issue 3 had the highest CPRS at $8.13, while Maine's Question 1 and Mississippi's Initiative 42 both had the lowest CPRS at $0 because the campaigns enlisted volunteers to collect signatures instead of hiring a company. The average CPRS for the 2015 citizen-initiated measures was $3.57.
In the previous five years, proponents for Washington initiatives have used Citizens Solutions' signature gathering services five times: Initiative 1366 this year, Initiative 591 in 2014 and Initiative 1100, Initiative 1082 and Initiative 1053 in 2010.
In the previous five years, PCI Consultants have been used for 23 initiatives in eight states:
- Washington's Initiative 1401 this year
- California's Proposition 47 in 2014
- Colorado's Amendment 68 in 2014
- Florida's Amendment 1 in 2014
- Maine's Question 1 in 2014
- Michigan's Proposal 1 in 2014
- Michigan's Proposal 2 in 2014
- Washington's Initiative 594 in 2014
- Washington's Initiative 1351 in 2014
- California's Proposition 31 in 2012
- California's Proposition 35 in 2012
- California's Proposition 36 in 2012
- Michigan's Proposal 3 in 2012
- Michigan's Proposal 4 in 2012
- Washington's Initiative 1240 in 2012
- Washington's Initiative 502 in 2012
- California's Proposition 22 in 2010
- Florida's Amendment 5 in 2010
- Florida's Amendment 6 in 2010
- Missouri's Proposition B in 2010
- Oregon's Measure 76 in 2010
- Washington's Initiative 1098 in 2010
- Washington's Initiative 1105 in 2010
General Disclaimer: All calculations are only as accurate as the data made available through the data sources.
Overview
The following table shows the average CPRS of the measures on ballots, by state.
| Table 1: Overview Summary of Results | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | # of Initiatives | Average CPRS | |||||||||||||||||
| Maine | 1 | $0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi | 1 | $0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Ohio | 1 | $8.13 | |||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 2 | $4.85 | |||||||||||||||||
Signature petition costs by state
Maine
| Ballot Measure | Topic | Petition Companies | Cost | Signatures | CPRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine "Clean Elections" Initiative, Question 1 (2015) | Campaign finance | $0.00 | 61,123 | $0.00 |
Mississippi
| Ballot Measure | Topic | Petition Companies | Cost | Signatures | CPRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Public School Support Amendment, Alternative 42 (2015) | Public education governance | $0.00 | 0 | $0.00 | |
| Mississippi Public School Support Amendment, Initiative 42 (2015) | Public education funding | $0.00 | 107,216 | $0.00 |
Ohio
| Ballot Measure | Topic | Petition Companies | Cost | Signatures | CPRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Issue 3, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2015) | Marijuana laws | The Strategy Network, LLC | $2,484,360.66 | 305,591 | $8.13 |
Washington
| Ballot Measure | Topic | Petition Companies | Cost | Signatures | CPRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Animal Trafficking, Initiative 1401 (2015) | Animal treatment laws | Citizen Solutions LLC | $1,050,100.00 | 246,372 | $4.26 |
| Washington Initiative 1366, Sales Tax Decrease or Two-Thirds Vote for Tax Increase Measure (2015) | Taxes | PCI Consultants, Inc. | $1,340,259.75 | 246,372 | $5.44 |
Signature collection companies
Three signature collection companies were used to gather signatures for the five initiatives featured on 2015 ballots:
- The Strategy Network, LLC
- Citizens Solutions LLC
- PCI Consultants, Inc.
Methodology
This analysis uses the following general methodology:
- All data are compiled from data made available through each state's respective campaign finance website.
- Individual initiative data are obtained from available reports from the main committee believed to have been in charge of the petition effort.
- All costs that could be directly related to petitions, including petition gathering and petition printing, were accumulated. When a petition company is used, the company is listed even though all costs may not be directly associated.
- All averages are calculated using only available data. When an initiative did not have available data, it was excluded from such calculations.
- All averages are averages of totals, not averages of averages.
See also
Ballot measures
CPRS
- 2014 ballot measure petition signature costs
- 2013 ballot measure petition signature costs
- 2012 ballot measure petition signature costs
- 2010 ballot measure petition signature costs
Footnotes
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