Chart of 2014 initiative activity
In total, there are 26 states with some form of direct democracy. This year, for all measures on the ballot, a total of 15 initiative and referendum states had measures up for a public vote. However, before those measures were placed on the ballot, they had to be filed and proposed to their state election officials before circulating for signatures.
This means that some initiative efforts can fail in various ways - unconstitutional ballot text, shortage of valid signatures, missed deadlines, etc. For those reasons, not all measures filed make the ballot.
In 2014, a grand total of 616 initiatives were filed with intent to circulate for signature gathering. Of those 616 initiatives, only 40 made it on the ballot. Those 40 included veto referendums, initiated constitutional amendments and initiated state statutes. In the findings below, we took a deeper look at the filed initiatives, those that were certified, and the a breakdown of measures that were proposed in each state.
This analysis did not include legislative proposals or referrals to the ballot.
By the numbers
To accurately gauge how 2014 ballots compared to those in other years, we used 2012 and 2010 as benchmarks, as these were also even-numbered years; ballots in even-numbered years tend to feature more measures than those in odd-numbered years. In 2012, 566 initiatives were filed, and only 63 were certified, yielding a certification percentage of 11.1. In 2010, a total of 606 initiatives were filed, with only 51, or 8.4 percent, of these ultimately appearing on the ballot. With a certification percentage of only 6.5 percent, 2014 had the fewest initiatives certified for the ballot, as well as the worst certification rate. Two states, Arizona and Ohio, had a large number of initiatives proposed - 24 and 49, respectively - but none certified for the ballot. In Missouri, a total of 65 initiatives filed for circulation, but only one made the ballot. Conversely, in North Dakota and South Dakota, 100 percent of the proposed initiatives made the ballot.
Summary
| # of initiatives proposed | # initiatives certified in 2014 | % certified | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Totals: | 616 | 40 | 6.5% |
Outcome - certified initiatives
NOTE: The chart below specifically details the number of proposed initiatives per state and the number/percentage of successfully certified initiatives for 2014 ballots.
|
Legend Highest percent certified for 2014 |
| I&R State | # of initiatives proposed | # initiatives certified in 2014 | % certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 6 | 4 | 67% |
| Arizona | 24 | 0 | 0% |
| Arkansas | 5 | 2 | 40% |
| California | 89 | 4 | 4.5% |
| Colorado | 145 | 4 | 2.8% |
| Florida | 20 | 2 | 10% |
| Idaho | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Illinois | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Maine | 6 | 1 | 17% |
| Maryland | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Massachusetts | 33 | 4 | 12.1% |
| Michigan | 10 | 2 | 20% |
| Mississippi | 6 | 0 | 0% |
| Missouri | 65 | 1 | 1.5% |
| Montana | 18 | 0 | 0% |
| Nebraska | 7 | 1 | 14.3% |
| Nevada | 7 | 1 | 14.3% |
| New Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| North Dakota | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| Ohio | 49 | 0 | 0% |
| Oklahoma | 8 | 0 | 0% |
| Oregon | 60 | 5 | 8.3% |
| South Dakota | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| Utah | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| Washington | 46 | 3 | 6.5% |
| Wyoming | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Totals: | 616 | 40 | 17% |
See also
- 2014 ballot measures
- Ballot initiatives filed for the 2014 ballot
- Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot
- Ballot measure petition deadlines and requirements, 2014
Footnotes
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