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History of death penalty ballot measures
| Death penalty ballot measures |
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Since 1912, voters in 18 states have decided 41 total ballot measures related to the death penalty.
Of these states, 13 had the citizen initiative and referendum process. Of the 41 ballot measures related to the death penalty, 16 were initiated by citizens, 23 were referred to the ballot by the state legislature, and two were referred to the ballot by a constitutional convention.
The ballot measures are divided between measures that would have abolished the death penalty; measures that would permit, reinstate, or require the death penalty for certain crimes; or other measures related to the death penalty. Eleven (11) total measures proposed abolishing the death penalty, 22 measures would permit or require the death penalty, and eight other measures consisted of other topics regarding the death penalty process.
Of the 11 measures in six states proposing to abolish the death penalty, three were approved and eight were defeated.
Of the 22 measures in 12 states proposing to permit or mandate the death penalty, 20 were approved and two were defeated.
For other measures related to the death penalty process or procedures, such as method of execution or the appeals process, all eight were approved.
The decade with the most death penalty measures on the ballot was the 1990s, where three measures on the ballot would permit the death penalty, and five related to the death penalty process. All of these measures were approved.
The state with the most ballot measures was California, with nine. Oregon had the second highest amount of measures, with eight on the ballot.
On this page, you will find:
- a list of states that have voted on death penalty ballot measures;
- a timeline of death penalty ballot measures;
- a list of measures by year; and
- a list of measures by topic.
States that have voted on death penalty ballot measures
The death penalty has been on the ballot in 18 states, including 13 states with an initiative and referendum process, since 1912.
- The states with the highest numbers of death penalty ballot measures are California (nine) and Oregon (eight).
- The average number of measures in states with an initiative and referendum process is 1.4, whereas the average number in states without initiatives or referendums is 0.2.
- States without an initiative and referendum process have never had more than one death penalty related ballot measure.
The following is a map of states where ballots have included death penalty ballot measures since 1912:
Timeline of death penalty ballot measures
The following overview summarizes death penalty ballot measures:
- Prior to 1910, at least three states abolished the death penalty—Michigan, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. In 1846, Michigan abolished the death penalty for all crimes except treason, while Rhode Island and Wisconsin later abolished the death penalty for all crimes.[1]
- Between 1907 and 1917, six states had completely outlawed the death penalty, while three limited it to treason or first degree murder of a law enforcement official.[2]
- In the 1910s, three states—Arizona, Oregon, and Ohio—had a total of six death penalty related measures on the ballot.
- Ohio, Oregon, and Arizona all had measures to abolish the death penalty on the ballot—in Ohio, this measure was a constitutional convention referral, while in Oregon and Arizona, citizens placed the measures on the ballot.
- All measures to abolish the death penalty were rejected by voters—Ohio and Oregon in 1912, and Arizona in 1914. However, in 1914, a measure to abolish capital punishment was placed again before Oregon voters, and this time, voters approved it by 50.1%-49.9%.
- In 1916, Arizona voters also approved an amendment abolishing the death penalty by 50.2%-49.8%, but then two years later, in 1918, approved an amendment requiring life imprisonment or the death penalty for first-degree murder convictions.
- By 1920, five of six states that had abolished the death penalty had reinstated it. Scholars noted the resurgence of death penalty support as a result of the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, World War I, and conflicts regarding capitalism.[1]
- In 1920 in Oregon, six years after voters decided to abolish the death penalty, voters approved an amendment permitting the death penalty for first degree murder.
- The 1930s and 1940s had an increase of total executions nationwide. In the 1930s, there were more total executions (1,676 of them) than any other decade. In 1933, after a botched hanging of Eva Dugan (the first woman executed in Arizona) three years prior, voters approved an amendment permitting the death penalty by lethal gas. In the 1940's, there were 1,289 total executions in the country.
- By 1950, 26 states had electrocution as the prevalent method of execution, and by 1955, 11 states introduced death by lethal gas. Executions began to decline in the 1950's.[1]
- In the 1960s, support for capital punishment hit a record low, with 42% approving capital punishment by 1966.[1]
- The Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975) were cited as influencing public opinion on capital punishment.[1]
- Between 1957 and 1969, ten states—Hawaii, Alaska, Delaware, Michigan, Oregon, Iowa, New York, West Virginia, Vermont, and New Mexico—abolished the death penalty.[1]
- In 1972, in the U.S. Supreme Court Furman v. Georgia ruling, the Court held that existing death penalty statutes were unconstitutional because they were applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner, violating the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. This halted the death penalty in each state.[1]
- Florida was the first state to pass new death penalty laws following the Furman ruling.[1]
- Between 1972 and 1975, voters in California, Rhode Island, Colorado, and Washington all passed amendments permitting the death penalty under certain guidelines or for certain crimes.
- By 1975, 30 states again passed death penalty laws to resume capital punishment.[1]
- In 1976, the Gregg v. Georgia ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty, and upheld the constitutionality of new state statutes, which established guidelines for juries and judges when deciding when to impose the death penalty.[1]
- In 1978, California voters approved an amendment expanding categories of first degree murder punishable by the death penalty and life imprisonment, while in Oregon, voters passed an amendment making the death penalty mandatory based on the judge's findings regarding the defendant.
- In Oregon, the amendment that passed in 1978 was invalidated by the state supreme court in 1981.[1] However, in 1984, voters approved two new amendments, and reinstated the death penalty in the state using lethal injection.
- In 1982, Massachusetts voters approved reinstating the death penalty. However, this was struck down by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the Commonwealth v. Colon‑Cruz ruling in 1984.[1]
- In the 1990s, voters in three states—California, Florida, and New Jersey—approved ballot measures permitting the death penalty. Capital punishment peaked in support with 78% of Americans in favor of the death penalty for criminals convicted of murder.[1]
- In 1994, President Bill Clinton (D) signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which expanded the federal death penalty to cover other crimes. And in response to the Oklahoma City Bombing, President Clinton signed the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which reformed federal habeas corpus procedures, primarily affecting state prisoners seeking to overturn their convictions in federal court.[2]
- In the 2000s, California, Florida, and Wisconsin voters all passed amendments permitting death penalty for certain crimes.
- Notable U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the 2000's included Atkins v. Virginia, which ruled that executing individuals with an intellectual disability was unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment, and Roper v. Simmons, which held that it is unconstitutional to impose the death penalty who were under 18 years of age at the time of committing their crime.[1]
- In the 2010s, voters in California rejected two measures—one in 2012, and one in 2016—that would have abolished the death penalty in the state. However, California voters in 2016 approved a measure that changes procedures governing state court appeals and petitions that challenge death penalty convictions and sentences, including requiring the amount of time that legal challenges to death sentences take to a maximum of five years.
- In 2016, Oklahoma voters also passed an amendment allowing the state to impose the death penalty, while Nebraska voters repealed a law that had banned the death penalty, thereby reinstating the death penalty in the state.
The following graph shows the number of death penalty ballot measures per decade since 1912:
List of death penalty ballot measures
List of state ballot measures by year
The following table provides a list of ballot measures related to the death penalty from 1912 to 2024:
List of state ballot measures by topic
The following sections provide lists of death penalty ballot measures based on proposed policies or topics since 1912. The ballot measures are subdivided based on the following areas: ballot measures abolishing the death penalty, ballot measures permitting or requiring the death penalty, and other ballot measures related to the death penalty.
The following table shows the number and outcome of state ballot measures related to the death penalty from 1912 to 2024, organized between measures abolishing capital punishment, permitting, and other. There were 41 total measures. Of the 11 measures proposing to abolish the death penalty, three (27.2%) were approved and eight (72.3%) were defeated. Of the 22 measures permitting or requiring the death penalty for certain crimes, 20 (90.9%) were approved, and two (9.1%) were defeated. Of the eight other ballot measures, all (100%) were approved.
| Topic | Total | Approved | Approved (%) | Defeated | Defeated (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abolish death penalty | 11 | 3 | 27.2% | 8 | 72.3% |
| Permit or require death penalty | 22 | 20 | 90.9% | 2 | 9.1% |
| Other death penalty measures | 8 | 8 | 100% | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | 41 | 31 | 75.6% | 10 | 24.3% |
Abolishing the death penalty
The following are measures proposing to abolish the death penalty through the constitution or by statute. Of these measures, three were approved and eight were defeated.
| State | Year | Measure | Yes | No | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 1912 | Abolition of the Death Penalty Amendment | 46.04% | 53.96% |  |
| Oregon | 1912 | Measure Nos. 366-367, Abolition of the Death Penalty Initiative | 39.38% | 60.62% | |
| Arizona | 1914 | Measure Nos. 308-309, Abolition of Death Penalty Initiative | 48.33% | 51.67% | |
| Oregon | 1914 | Measure Nos. 334-335, Abolition of the Death Penalty Initiative | 50.03% | 49.97% |  |
| Arizona | 1916 | Measure Nos. 300-301, Abolition of Death Penalty Initiative | 50.20% | 49.80% | |
| Oregon | 1958 | Measure 4, Repeal of Capital Punishment Amendment | 48.89% | 51.11% | |
| Oregon | 1964 | Measure 1, Abolition of Death Penalty Amendment | 60.13% | 39.87% | |
| Colorado | 1966 | Referred Law No. 2, Abolition of Death Penalty Measure | 33.15% | 66.85% | |
| Illinois | 1970 | Abolition of Death Penalty Amendment | 45.24% | 54.76% | |
| California | 2012 | Proposition 34, Abolition of the Death Penalty Initiative | 48.05% | 51.95% | |
| California | 2016 | Proposition 62, Abolition of Death Penalty Measure | 46.85% | 53.15% | |
| Average | 46.94% | 53.06% |
Permitting or requiring the death penalty
The following ballot measures would permit the death penalty as the punishment for certain crimes, or would require the death penalty as the punishment for certain crimes. Of these measures, 20 were approved and two were defeated.
Other death penalty ballot measures
The other ballot measures related to the death penalty relate to the method of execution, the appeals process, pardons or reprieves, or other measures related to the legal process related to the death penalty. Of these eight measures, all were approved.
See also
Footnotes
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