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State Ballot Measure Monthly: August 2018

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August 22, 2018

By Ballot Measures Project staff

One hundred fifty-four (154) statewide ballot measures had been certified for the 2018 ballot, in 36 states. In the last month, 30 new statewide measures were certified to go before voters in 2018, and six measures were removed from the ballot through being withdrawn by proponents or through a court ruling. This resulted in a net increase of 24 in the number of statewide measures set to go before voters.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Three different medical marijuana initiatives were certified for the ballot in Missouri.
  • Notable energy-related initiatives were certified for the ballot in three different states: renewable energy standards initiatives in Nevada and Arizona and a carbon emissions fee initiative in Washington.
  • Two minimum wage increase initiatives were certified for the ballot: one in Missouri and one in Arkansas.
  • Two initiatives regarding Medicaid expansion and state funding for Medicaid expansion were put on the ballot; one in Idaho and one in Montana.
  • Six measures were removed from the ballot in four states.

    • States with 2018 measures
    State Number State Number
    Alabama 4 Alaska 1
    Arizona 6 Arkansas 4
    California 16 Colorado 8
    Connecticut 2 Florida 11
    Georgia 5 Hawaii 2
    Idaho 2 Indiana 1
    Kentucky 1 Louisiana 6
    Maine 6 Maryland 2
    Massachusetts 3 Michigan 2
    Missouri 8 Montana 4
    Nevada 6 New Hampshire 2
    New Mexico 6 North Carolina 4
    North Dakota 4 Ohio 2
    Oklahoma 6 Oregon 6
    Rhode Island 3 South Carolina 1
    South Dakota 6 Utah 7
    Virginia 2 Washington 2
    West Virginia 2 Wisconsin 1

    July 12 - August 22
    Total certified[1] Initiatives filed
    2018 154[2] +24 947

    This year started out with a lower-than-average number of statewide measures certified for the ballot. By the 10th week of the year, the certification count was at about two-thirds of the average since 2010. The average number of certified measures for even-numbered years from 2010 through 2016 was 164 by the third Tuesday of August. The average number of total statewide measures certified for the ballot by the end of the year from 2010 through 2016 was 173.

    The graph below shows the number of certifications in each week of 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016, as well as the average for each week. The graph also shows 2018 certifications and will be updated each week until ballots are finalized for all states, and the last measure is certified for the ballot. See the chart in the following section for a full list and timeline of certifications.

    2018 certifications

    See also: Ballot initiatives filed for the 2018 ballot and Ballot measure petition deadlines and requirements, 2018

    From July 12 through August 22, 2018, the following measures were certified for the ballot on the dates listed:

    July 12, 2018

    • Nevada Question 6, Renewable Energy Standards Initiative - A "yes" vote supports this initiated constitutional amendment to require electric utilities to acquire 50 percent of their electricity from renewable resources by 2030. On July 12, 2018, Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske announced that 133,005 signatures were valid, certifying the ballot initiative to appear on the ballot for the election on November 6, 2018. At least 112,554 signatures needed to be valid. On June 18, 2018, supporters filed more than 230,000 signatures for the ballot initiative.

    July 17, 2018

    • Idaho Medicaid Expansion Initiative - Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney announced July 17, 2018, that his office had officially certified this initiated state statute for the ballot. The measure would expand Medicaid eligibility to those under sixty-five years old, whose income is 133 percent of the federal poverty level or below and who are not eligible for other state insurance coverage. Proponents submitted 75,134 verified signatures statewide. The requirement to get on the ballot was 56,192 valid signatures. They also met the requirement to get signatures from at least 6 percent of voters in at least 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts; they met the threshold in 21 of the 35 legislative districts.
    • Oregon Repeal Sanctuary State Law Initiative - The Oregon Repeal Sanctuary State Law Initiative qualified for the state's November ballot on July 17, 2018. The initiated state statute would repeal the state’s sanctuary state law which limits the cooperation of local law enforcement with federal immigration enforcement. Proponents submitted over 100,000 signatures, more than the requirement of 88,184 signatures. The elections division of the Oregon Secretary of State's office Tweeted that the measure qualified for the ballot with a signature validity rate of 95.2 percent. Three Republican members of the Oregon House of Representatives, Sal Esquivel (R-6), Mike Nearman (R-23), and Greg Barreto (R-58), filed the proposal with the secretary of state's office on April 25, 2017.

    July 23, 2018

    • Oklahoma State Question 793, Right of Optometrists and Opticians to Practice in Retail Establishments Initiative - This initiated constitutional amendment would provide optometrists and opticians a constitutional right to practice within retail establishments. On July 23, 2018, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin officially certified the measure to appear on the ballot. Proponents had submitted 249,451 valid signatures, more than double the required 123,725. Oklahomans for Consumer Freedom is leading the campaign in support of this initiative. The measure is also supported by Walmart. Currently, Walmart operates Vision Centers in every state except Rhode Island, Delaware, and Oklahoma, where they are legally prohibited from doing so.
    • Ohio Issue 1, Drug and Criminal Justice Policies Initiative - On July 23, 2018, Secretary of State Jon Husted certified the ballot initiative for the election on November 6, 2018. He reported that 351,095 signatures were verified. At least 306,591 signatures needed to be valid. This initiated constitutional amendment was designed to reduce the number of people in state prisons for low-level, nonviolent crimes, such as drug possession and non-criminal probation violations. Issue 1 contains the following provisions:
      • it would possession, obtainment, and use of drugs no more than a misdemeanor, with sentences not exceeding probation for a first or second offense;
      • it would allow individuals serving convictions higher than a misdemeanor for possession, obtainment, and use of drugs to petition the court for re-sentencing;
      • it would prohibit courts from ordering that persons on probation for felonies be sent to prison for non-criminal probation violations;
      • it would require the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) to grant an inmate with sentence credits of 0.5 days for each day that the person participated in rehabilitative, work, or educational programs;
      • it would require that state funds saved due to a reduction of inmates, resulting from the initiative's implementation, be spent on substance abuse treatment programs, crime victim programs, probation programs, graduated responses programs, and rehabilitation programs.
    • North Dakota Ethics Commission, Ban on Foreign Political Contributions, and Laws Governing Lobbying and Conflicts of Interest Initiative - The initiative would amend the constitution to enact the following provisions:
      • establish a five-member ethics commission with members selected through agreement by the governor, the leader of the majority party in the state Senate, and the leader of the minority party in the state Senate;
      • ban political contributions from foreign government entities, foreign individuals, and foreign corporations;
      • create restrictions on lobbyists;
      • create provisions designed to prevent conflicts of interest for government officials; and
      • require campaign finance information to be publicly accessible.
    Proponents of the measure submitted 36,849 valid signatures to the secretary of state. To qualify for the November 2018 ballot, 26,904 valid signatures were required. On July 23, 2018, the North Dakota Secretary of State announced that the measure had qualified for the ballot.

    July 25, 2018

    • Montana I-185, Extend Medicaid Expansion and Increase Tobacco Taxes Initiative - I-185 would extend expanded eligibility for Medicaid coverage and raise taxes on tobacco products to fund Montana's Medicaid expansion programs as well as other healthcare-related programs. The initiated state statute was approved for signature gathering on April 16, 2018. Proponents of the measure reported submitting around 40,000 signatures on June 21, 2018. Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton announced that the measure qualified for the ballot via Twitter on July 25, 2018.

    July 27, 2018

    • Oregon Ban Public Funds for Abortions Initiative - The initiated constitutional amendment would prohibit public funds from being spent on abortions, except when medically necessary or required by federal law. On July 6, 2018, proponents reported submitting around 140,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office. A total of 117,578 were needed to qualify the initiative for the November ballot. On July 27, 2018, the Oregon Secretary of State's office announced the measure had qualified for the ballot.
    • Washington Background Checks, Waiting Periods, Age Requirements and Storage Requirements for Firearms Initiative - The measure was certified for the ballot on July 27, 2018. Proponents reported submitting around 367,000 signatures. A total of 259,622 valid signatures were required to secure a place on the November 2018 ballot. The initiated state statute would implement restrictions on the purchase and ownership of firearms. These restrictions include background checks and waiting periods for purchasing semiautomatic assault rifles, as well as increasing the minimum age to buy semiautomatic assault rifles to 21. The measure would also establish requirements for storage of firearms.

    August 1, 2018

    August 2, 2018

    • Missouri Proposition B, $12 Minimum Wage Initiative - This initiated state statute would increase the state's minimum wage each year until reaching $12 in 2023 and then making increases or decreases based on changes in the Consumer Price Index following that. On May 2, 2018, petitioners filed more than 120,000 signatures. On August 2, 2018, Ashcroft announced that the ballot initiative qualified to appear on the ballot.
    • Washington Initiative 1631, Carbon Emissions Fee Measure - Initiative 1631 would enact a carbon emissions fee beginning on January 1, 2020, of $15 per metric ton of carbon. The fee would increase by $2 per metric ton each year until the state's greenhouse gas reduction goals of 2035 are met and the 2050 goals were on track to be met. Revenue from the fee would go into two funds: (1) a fund for air quality and energy programs and projects and (2) a fund for water quality and forest health projects. Yes on 1631 is leading the campaign in support of the initiative. Supporters include Washington Governor Jay Inslee and United States Representative from Washington, Pramila Jayapal (D-7). No on 1631 is leading the campaign in opposition to the measure. The committee is sponsored by the Western States Petroleum Association. On August 2, 2018, the Washington Secretary of State's office reported on Twitter that the initiative qualified for the ballot. Of the 349,063 signatures proponents filed, a random sampling check of 10,507 signatures projected a validity rate of 82.9 percent.
    • Washington Initiative 1634, Prohibit Local Taxes on Groceries Measure - Initiative 1634 would prohibit local government entities from imposing any new tax, fee, or other assessment on grocery items. It would not prevent the state from imposing taxes on groceries. Grocery items are defined in the measure as "any raw or processed food or beverage, or any ingredient thereof, intended for human consumption." The initiated state statute would prohibit any existing taxes, fees, or assessments from being increased after January 15, 2018. Supporters of the measure include the Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Inc., Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc., and Red Bull North America. Opponents of the measure include the American Heart Association, Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition, and the Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition. On August 2, 2018, the Washington Secretary of State's office reported on Twitter that the initiative qualified for the ballot. Of the 381,479 signatures proponents filed, a check of 11,483 signatures showed that 82 percent were valid.

    August 3, 2018

    • Arkansas State Legislative Term Limits Initiative - On August 3, 2018, the Arkansas Secretary of State's office announced that the initiated constitutional amendment had qualified for the ballot after submitting 93,998 valid signatures. A total of 85,000 were needed to qualify. The measure was designed to impose term limits of six years for members of the Arkansas House of Representatives and eight years for members of the Arkansas Senate. Specifically, the measure would allow representatives to be elected to no more than three two-year terms and senators to be elected to no more than two four-year terms. In total, no member of the state general assembly could serve more than 10 years, including time served due to a special election to fill a vacancy in either house of the general assembly. If a partial term was served due to a special election, only full years would be counted. Under the measure, the 10-year term limit would apply to members of the general assembly serving on and after January 1, 1993. If approved, the measure would not cut short or invalidate the term of any assembly member elected before the amendment takes effect.

    August 9, 2018

    • Colorado Establish Income Tax Brackets and Raise Taxes for Education Initiative - Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams announced on August 9, 2018, that this measure had qualified for the ballot. Proponents submitted 130,022 valid signatures. A total of 98,492 valid signatures were required. The measure was the first citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to qualify for the ballot since the enactment of Amendment 71 of 2016, an initiative that raised the majority requirement to amend the state constitution to 55 percent of voter approval. It also applied a distribution requirement to initiated constitutional amendments, requiring proponents to collect signatures from two percent of registered voters in each of the state's 35 senate districts. This is the first initiative to which Amendment 71's distribution requirement was applied during signature verification since no initiative signatures were submitted for the 2017 cycle. Colorado Initiative 93 was designed to do the following:
      • increase income taxes for individuals with income above $150,000 per year according to a bracket system rather than a flat tax rate,
      • increase the corporate tax rate from 4.63 percent to 6 percent,
      • reduce residential and nonresidential property tax rates,
      • create a fund (called the Quality Public Education Fund) dedicated to public education from revenue generated by tax increases, and
      • mandate certain actions by the legislature regarding the fund and implementation.

    August 10, 2018

    • North Dakota Resident and Citizen Requirements for Qualified Voters Amendment Initiative - This initiated constitutional amendment would add a section to the North Dakota Constitution that says, "Only a qualified elector may vote in any general, special, or primary election for a federal, statewide, state legislative, district, county, township, city, or school district office, or for a statewide, district, or political subdivision ballot measure." It would also amend the provision in the constitution that says "every citizen" of the United States is a qualified elector to say that "only a citizen" of the United States is a qualified elector. On July 6, 2018, proponents of the measure reported submitting around 35,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office. To qualify for the November 2018 ballot, 26,904 valid signatures are required

    August 13, 2018

    • North Dakota Marijuana Legalization and Automatic Expungement Initiative - This initiated state statute would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the state of North Dakota for people 21 years of age or older and create penalties for the possession or distribution to or by any individuals under 21 years of age. Additionally, the measure would create an automatic expungement process for individuals with convictions for a controlled substance that has been legalized and eliminate the state of North Dakota's immunity from damages resulting from expungement lawsuits. Of the 17,695 signatures submitted, the secretary of state’s office determined 14,637 were valid and announced the measure's certification for the ballot on August 13, 2018.

    August 15, 2018

    • Arizona Renewable Energy Standards Initiative - This initiated state statute would require electric utilities that sell electricity in Arizona to acquire electricity from a certain percentage of renewable resources each year, with the percentage increasing annually from 12 percent in 2020 to 50 percent in 2030. On August 15, 2018, the secretary of state reported that enough signatures had been validated to certify this initiative for the November 2018 election. Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona reported filing 480,464 signatures on July 5, 2018. At least 225,963 (47.03 percent) of the filed signatures needed to be valid for the initiative to make the ballot. The secretary of state reported a signature validity rate of 71 percent.

    August 16, 2018

    • Arkansas Issue 5, Minimum Wage Increase Initiative - This initiated state statute would incrementally raise the minimum wage in Arkansas to $11 an hour by 2021. On August 16, 2018, the Arkansas Secretary of State announced that the measure had qualified for the ballot. The group submitted over 84,000 valid signatures. A total of 67,887 signatures were needed to qualify.

    August 17, 2018

    August 22, 2018

    • Colorado Bond Issue for Transportation Initiative - This initiated state statute would authorize $3.5 billion in bonds to fund statewide transportation projects including bridge expansion, construction, maintenance, and repairs, and require that the state repay the debt from the general fund without raising taxes. On August 22, 2018, the Colorado Secretary of State's office announced that proponents of the initiative had submitted around 112,872 valid signatures and that the measure had qualified for the ballot.

    Context from past years

    In 2016, there was a surge in the number of citizen-initiated measures; 76 initiatives and veto referendums were put on the ballot. This was more citizen-initiated measures than we've seen since 2006.

    For initiatives to reach the ballot, they must first be filed for the various approval processes in each state and circulated for signature gathering. Only a small percentage of the initiatives filed actually make the ballot. For example, for the 2016 election cycle, an above-average 1,069 initiatives were filed with state officials. This resulted in 2016's 76 certified citizen-initiated measures, a success rate of 7 percent. Since 2010, Maryland (75%), South Dakota (73%), North Dakota (47%), Alaska (43%), and Maine (32%) had the highest success rates on average. Maryland has a veto referendum process but no initiative process; since 2010, four veto referendums have been filed, and three made the ballot.

    Ultimately, 947 initiatives were filed for circulation targeting 2018 elections. For the 2016 election cycle, 1,069 initiatives were filed targeting the 2016 ballot. In 2010, 2012, and 2014, the average total number of initiatives filed with state officials was about 610. Of the 26 states that feature an initiative process, 2018 initiatives or veto referendums were filed for circulation in 23 of them. Topics range from marijuana legalization, minimum wage, healthcare, and right to work to taxes, education, election and campaign finance rules, and redistricting. Click on the links below to see information about initiatives in each state.

    Illinois, Maryland, and New Mexico had no filings as of November 1, 2017. Maryland and New Mexico feature the veto referendum power but do not have a process for ballot initiativess. Illinois' initiative process has severe subject restrictions limiting initiatives to procedural elements of laws governing the state legislature.

    On average since 2010, the most initiatives were filed in Washington, California, and Colorado, where more than 100 are filed for any given even-numbered year on average. California has seen the highest average number of successful initiative attempts. For 2018, Missouri featured the most filings at 373—more than three and a half times the state's average of 97 since 2010.

    The map and expandable chart below show the average success rates per year of filed initiatives and referendums (I&R) in each state over the last eight years (in even-numbered years).

    Initiative filings in even-numbered years
    Year # filed # certified
    2018 947 68
    2016 1,069 76
    2014 616 40
    2012 566 63
    2010 606 50

    The percentage of filed initiatives that reach the ballot does not necessarily correlate with the ease or difficulty of putting an initiative on the ballot in that state. Some states make filing more difficult or more expensive, making only more serious petitioners take that first step. In some states, initiative proponents file multiple versions of substantively the same initiative and ultimately put their efforts behind one.

    The data—including the specific success percentage rates—represented by the map above is available below and can be expanded by clicking show.

    See also

    Related articles

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The numbers in the second column indicate the net increase in how many ballot measures are on the ballot; for example a "+3" could mean that three measures were certified in the last month or that five were certified and two were removed.
    2. ↑ This number includes citizen-initiated measures, legislative referrals, and an automatically referred measure.
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