Ballotpedia's Top 15 ballot measures, 2018

By Ballotpedia's ballot measures team
October 31, 2018

We've compiled a list of 15 statewide ballot measures we watched closely on November 6, 2018.

See more of our 2018 election analysis by visiting our Election Analysis Hub.

California Proposition 8: Limits on Dialysis Clinics' Revenue and Required Refunds - The most expensive ballot measure battle in 2018 represents a new front in the conflict between the SEIU-UHW West, a labor organization, and the state's two largest dialysis businesses.

Washington 1631: Carbon Emissions Fee - An initiative to establish a carbon emissions fee that would be the first of its kind in the U.S. Washington voters defeated a carbon tax initiative in 2016. Will the differences in the provisions of the measures and in the campaigns mean a different outcome in November?

The recreational marijuana legalization movement tries to break into the Midwest: Voters will decide Michigan Proposal 1 and North Dakota Measure 3. North Dakota could become only the second state that voted Republican in the last three presidential elections to legalize marijuana; Alaska is the other. Michigan Proposal 1 is ahead in the polls. North Dakota Measure 3 has some unique automatic record expungement provisions, and polling suggests that the outcome on election night could go either way.

Ohio Issue 1: Drug and Criminal Justice Policies - This initiative would reduce prison sentencing for non-violent drug crimes and other low-level, non-violent crimes. Depending on which gubernatorial candidate you ask, Ohio Issue 1 could help alleviate or worsen the state’s opioid epidemic. Opioid overdoses caused 33 deaths per 100,000 Ohioans in 2016.

California Proposition 10: Local Rent Control - An initiative to allow more local rent control, Proposition 10 brings one of California's key issues, housing, into sharp focus and is also one of the most expensive ballot measure battles in 2018.

Colorado Proposition 112: Minimum Distance Requirements for New Oil and Gas Projects - The effort behind this initiative for increased oil and gas development setbacks has been ongoing for years. The oil and gas industry's opposition makes this measure the most expensive on Colorado's packed ballot.

Missouri Amendment 1: Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting - One of five states with redistricting measures, Missouri's Amendment 1 has some unique features: proposing the first ever state demographer office and first-of-their-kind competitiveness and partisan fairness requirements for district boundaries. It also contains provisions relating to lobbying and campaign finance.

Florida Amendment 4: Voting Rights Restoration for Felons - This initiative would restore voting rights to an estimated 1.4 million people convicted of felonies in a key swing state with presidential margins of victory of fewer than a quarter million votes since 2008 and gubernatorial margins of victory of fewer than 100,000 votes in 2010 and 2014.

Massachusetts Question 3: Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Veto Referendum - The first statewide vote in the country on gender identity anti-discrimination laws, often referred to as a bathroom bill; it is one of two veto referendums on the ballot in November across the U.S.

California Proposition 6: Voter Approval for Future Gas and Vehicle Taxes and 2017 Tax Repeal - California's 2017 gas tax increase first spurred recall efforts and now faces repeal through Proposition 6, an initiative that would also require voter approval of future gas taxes. Will it improve turnout among conservatives for key California races as Republicans hope?

Arizona Proposition 127: Renewable Energy Standards - It is one of two renewable energy requirement initiatives designed to incrementally increase the percentage of electricity from renewable resources each year from 12 percent in 2020 to 50 percent in 2030. Both measures are backed by Tom Steyer's NextGen Climate Action. Prop 127 is breaking Arizona campaign contribution records.

Massachusetts Question 1: Nurse-Patient Assignment LImits - The initiative to limit patient loads for nurses has received national attention and is one of the most visible measures on Ballotpedia this cycle. It pits the Massachusetts Nurses Association against the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association and has divided nurse organizations in the state over the issue.

Nevada Question 3: Changes to Energy Market and Prohibit State-Sanctioned Electric-Generation Monopolies - This initiative to require the legislature to deregulate the electricity market and disband state-authorized electricity provider monopolies is one of the top three most expensive measures on the ballot in 2018 across the country. Voters approved the initiative in 2016, but, in Nevada, initiated constitutional amendments must be approved twice. Polling suggests that a second approval may not be a sure thing.

Arizona Proposition 305: Expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Veto Referendum - One of two statewide veto referendums in November across the country, Proposition 305 was put on the ballot to challenge the legislature's plan to expand the state's Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), a program allowing parents or guardians of students to opt out of the public school system and, instead, receive funds for non-public education, such as private schools or homeschooling.

Utah Proposition 3: Medicaid Expansion - Joined by three other Medicaid-expansion measures in November, Proposition 3 represents the new trend beginning in 2017 of citizen initiatives to expand Medicaid coverage according to Obamacare, provide funding for the state portion of Medicaid expansion, or both. Proposition 3 is also joined on the ballot with an unusually large number of Utah ballot measures, including two other notable citizen initiatives.