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Navigating ballot measure coverage at Ballotpedia
For almost anything you want to know about ballot measures... we have a page for that. Our team tracks potential ballot measures, certified ballot measures, ballot measure campaign finance, initiative signature deadlines and requirements, and so much more. This article walks you through Ballotpedia's ballot measures project so you can make the most out of our coverage.
Ballot measures by year
To view a list of ballot measures that have qualified for the ballot across the country in a specific year, you can find that on a year page— a page that serves as a hub for all ballot measure activity in a certain year.
All pages are in the format of [Year] ballot measures.
Example:
What you’ll find on a year page:
- A count of how many ballot measures have been certified in how many states (i.e.: “As of February 1, 2021, three statewide ballot measures had been certified for the 2022 ballot in four states.”)
- Charts displaying certified measures for each state
Ballot measures by state
For each state that has potential measures targeting that election year, there is a state/year ballot measures page which serves as a hub for all potential and certified measures in that state.
All pages are in the format of [State] [year] ballot measures.
Example: California 2024 ballot measures, Washington 2023 ballot measures, and Colorado 2024 ballot measures.
What you’ll find on a state/year page:
- Charts of potential measures that Ballotpedia is tracking
- Charts of measures that have been certified for the ballot
- Sections discussing how a measure gets on the ballot in that state including relevant deadlines and requirements
- A section showcasing historical facts and statistical analysis of ballot measures in that state
Ballot measures by topic
Ballotpedia breaks down ballot measures by nearly 100 unique topic categories which can all be found here.
All pages are in the format of [Topic] on the ballot.
Examples of popular topics:
- Healthcare on the ballot
- Marijuana on the ballot
- Taxes on the ballot
- Environment on the ballot
- Minimum wage laws ballot measures
Once you find the topic you're interested in, you can search for ballot measures within a topic by year or by state.
Potential ballot measures
To see all the potential ballot measures that could appear on state ballots for a certain year, you can find that information on a potential/year page.
All pages are in the format of Potential [year] ballot measures.
Example: Potential 2023 ballot measures, Potential 2024 ballot measures
What you’ll find on a potential/year page: This page will have charts for every state for which measures have been either filed with the appropriate authorities or, for legislatively referred constitutional amendments, measures will appear in a potential chart if the measure passed one chamber of the state legislature.
Signature deadlines and requirements
Click here to find signature deadlines and requirements for a state.
All pages are in the format of Signature requirements for ballot measures in [state].
Example: Signature requirements for ballot measures in Alaska and Signature requirements for ballot measures in Oklahoma
What you'll find on a signature requirements page:
- The number of signatures required for each type of ballot measure
- Changes in the number of required signatures through the years
- How the signature requirement is calculated
- Signature deadlines
For a page showing signature deadlines and requirements for all states for a certain year, click here.
All pages are in the format of Ballot measure petition deadlines and requirements, [year]
Example: Ballot measure petition deadlines and requirements, 2023 and Ballot measure petition deadlines and requirements, 2024
Ballot measure campaign finance
We track and summarize the campaign finance data for statewide ballot measures certified to go before voters each election year.
All pages are in the format of Ballot measure campaign finance, [year].
Example: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2023
Laws governing ballot measures
If you're curious about how the initiative process works in different states, click here and choose a state.
All pages are in the format of Laws governing the initiative process in [state].
Example: Laws governing the initiative process in California and Laws governing the initiative process in Washington
What you'll find on a laws governing page:
- What type of ballot measures are provided for in the state
- How ballot measures are crafted
- How a ballot measure can qualify for the ballot
- Rules and regulations concerning ballot measures in the state
- Signature deadlines and requirements
- Recent changes in the laws concerning the ballot measure process
Changes to laws governing ballot measures
To view a list of proposed changes to laws governing ballot measures, you can find that on an annual page about bills, lawsuits, and other changes to the legal processes governing direct democracy.
All pages are in the format of Changes in [year] to laws governing ballot measures.
Example:
What you’ll find on these pages:
- A summary of the proposed changes to laws governing ballot measures
- Information about other events from the year, such as lawsuits and attorney general opinions
- A list of all of the proposed laws, including their statuses, to change laws governing ballot measures
Local ballot measures
To view a list of local ballot measure elections covered by Ballotpedia, you can find that on an annual page about local ballot measures—a page that serves as a hub for all local ballot measure coverage in a certain year.
All pages are in the format of Local ballot measure elections in [Year].
Example:
- Local ballot measure elections in 2024
- Local ballot measure elections in 2023
- Local ballot measure elections in 2022
- Local ballot measure elections in 2021
What you’ll find on these pages:
- A summary of Ballotpedia's coverage scope for local ballot measures
- A list of links to articles covering election dates for local ballot measures
- A summary of the highlights for that year
Ballotpedia News: Ballot measures
To follow the latest on ballot measure news from our team, follow our posts here.
What we write about:
- Any time a ballot measure is certified in a state;
- When an initiative signature deadline passes;
- When a lawsuit on a ballot measure receives a ruling or a measure is removed from the ballot;
- and so much more, including campaign finance and endorsements.
Monthly Newsletter: the State Ballot Measure Monthly
The State Ballot Measure Monthly tracks ballot measure certifications and the news that surrounds them on a monthly basis. This is an original report by Ballotpedia. Each edition shows the measures that were certified in the month of the report. Each report is published on the 10th day of the month and covers the certifications and news of the previous month. The news stories will be listed here as they are published.
Tuesday Count
Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count shows a chart on a week-by-week basis of the number of ballot measures that become certified for the ballot in a given year. One of the reasons that Ballotpedia staffers create this week-by-week certification chart each year (starting in 2010) is to enable a rough estimate as the year progresses about how many measures will ultimately be on the ballot. That's because there is a rough correlation between how many measures have been certified by, say, June 15 and how many ultimately qualify for the ballot.
All pages are in the format of Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for [Year] and exist for each year since 2010.
Example:
- Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2024
- Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2023
- Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
What you’ll find on these pages:
- A week-by-week certification chart showing ballot measures were certified for the ballot or removed from the ballot during the week
- A comparison of the average number of certifications per year
More questions?
Check out our ballot measure FAQ page. We answer a bunch of common questions there, including:
- How do initiatives work?
- How do initiatives get on the ballot?
- How many states permit initiatives?
- How much does an initiative petition drive cost?
- How many signatures are needed for an initiative?
See also
- Ballot Measures overview
- List of ballot measures by year
- Ballot measures cost per required signatures analysis
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2022
- Ballotpedia: Analysis of the 2022 ballot measures
