State Ballot Measure Monthly: August 2022
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By Ballot Measures Project staff
This edition of the State Ballot Measure Monthly covers the certifications of 2022 ballot measures and notable ballot measure news from July 16 through August 14.
Overview: Nationally, 120 ballot measures have been certified in 35 states.
Changes in 2022 ballot measure numbers
- See also: Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
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Comparison to earlier years
From 2010 through 2020, an average of 150 ballot measures were certified for even-numbered year ballots in mid-August of the election year. An average of 164 total ballot measures were certified for even-numbered year ballots from 2010 through 2020.
2022 certifications
- See also: Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
From July 16 through August 14, six statewide measures were certified for the ballot in Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Oregon.
July 18
- Oregon Measure 114, Changes to Firearm Ownership and Purchase Requirements Initiative: The citizen-initiated measure would prohibit manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, possessing, using, or transferring ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds and make violations a Class A misdemeanor. The initiative would also require a person to obtain a local law enforcement-issued permit to purchase a firearm. These permits would require paying a fee, submitting a photo ID, being fingerprinted, completing safety training, and passing a criminal background check.
July 21
- Colorado Decriminalization and Regulated Access Program for Certain Psychedelic Plants and Fungi Initiative: Colorado is the second state where voters will decide on whether to legalize the use of psychedelic plants and fungi at licensed centers. In 2020, voters in Oregon approved a similar measure limited to psilocybin-producing mushrooms and fungi. The Colorado initiative would define dimethyltryptamine, ibogaine, mescaline, psilocybin, and psilocyn as natural medicine. The use, possession, and cultivation of these psychedelic plants and fungi would be decriminalized outside of the licensed centers.
- Nevada Top-Five Ranked Choice Voting Initiative: The ballot initiative would establish open top-five primaries and ranked-choice voting for general elections for congressional, gubernatorial, state executive, and state legislative elections. Candidates would run in a single primary election, regardless of partisan affiliation. The five candidates who receive the most votes would advance to the general election, in which voters would rank the candidates. A candidate needs a simple majority of the vote (50%+1) to win. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated. The tabulation process would continue as rounds until a candidate receives a majority of votes. Katherine Gehl, the largest contributor to the Nevada Voters First PAC, has called this proposed system final-five voting.[3] In Nevada, a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment must be approved at two successive general elections in order to take effect. If the proposal is successful this November, it will go before voters again in 2024.
July 22
- Idaho Income Tax Increases for Education Funding Initiative: The initiative would increase the tax on income above $250,000 for individuals, trusts, and estates and above $500,000 for couples to $16,097 plus 10.925%. The proposal would also increase the corporate income tax from 6% to 8%. Revenue from the tax increases would be distributed to public school districts and charter schools based on the school's average student attendance during the previous year. Revenue could not be spent on the salaries of superintendents, principals, or other administrators.
August 9
- Missouri Amendment 3, Marijuana Legalization Initiative: The citizen-initiated constitutional amendment would legalize marijuana in Missouri. The initiative would levy a 6% tax on the retail price of recreational marijuana. Under Amendment 3, individuals convicted of certain marijuana-related offenses could petition for release from prison, parole, or probation and have their records expunged. Amendment 3 is the third marijuana legalization initiative to be certified for the election on Nov. 8.
August 11
- Arkansas Marijuana Legalization Initiative: Proponents collected a sufficient number of signatures, but the board of election commissioners said the initiative's ballot language was misleading and declined to put the issue on the ballot. On Aug. 11, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the state to include the initiative on the ballot but not count votes pending the court's ruling. The initiative would legalize marijuana in Arkansas, levy a 10% tax on marijuana sales, and require the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division to develop rules to regulate marijuana businesses. The initiative is the fourth marijuana legalization proposal certified for this year's general election ballot.
Headlines
Kansans reject abortion amendment with turnout at 47%
Kansans rejected a constitutional amendment related to abortion on Aug. 2. The vote was 58.97% 'No' to 41.03% 'Yes'. The amendment would have provided that the Kansas Constitution could not be interpreted to establish a state constitutional right to abortion. In Kansas, the state Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution provided a right to abortion in 2019. This type of amendment is designed to address previous and future state court rulings on abortion that have prevented or could prevent legislators from passing certain abortion laws.
Turnout for the constitutional amendment was 922,321 or around 47.3%, marking the highest turnout at the state's non-presidential primaries since at least 2014. Turnout for the amendment also exceeded this year's votes in the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial primaries.
Voters have decided similar amendments in seven states, including Kansas. Of those seven amendments, four were approved and three were defeated. From 2014 to 2021, amendments were approved in four states — Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia. In November, voters in Kentucky will decide on an amendment.
| State | Year | Measure | Yes | No | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 2022 | No State Constitutional Right to Abortion and Legislative Power to Regulate Abortion Amendment | 41.03% | 58.97% |  |
| Kentucky | 2022 | No State Constitutional Right to Abortion Amendment | 47.65% | 52.35% | |
| Louisiana | 2020 | Amendment 1: No Right to Abortion in Constitution Amendment | 62.06% | 37.94% |  |
| Alabama | 2018 | Amendment 2: State Abortion Policy Amendment | 59.01% | 40.99% | |
| West Virginia | 2018 | Amendment 1: No Right to Abortion in Constitution Measure | 51.73% | 48.27% | |
| Tennessee | 2014 | Amendment 1: No State Constitutional Right to Abortion and Legislative Power to Regulate Abortion Amendment | 52.60% | 47.40% | |
| Florida | 2012 | Amendment 6: State Constitution Interpretation and Prohibit Public Funds for Abortions Amendment | 44.90% | 55.10% | |
| Massachusetts | 1986 | Question 1: No State Constitutional Right to Abortion and Legislative Power to Regulate Abortion Amendment | 41.83% | 58.17% | |
In Kansas, the Value Them Both PAC led the campaign in support of the amendment. Supporters included U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall (R) and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R). The campaign received $6.03 million through July 18, including $2.95 million from the Archdiocese of Kansas City.
Kansans for Constitutional Freedom led the campaign in opposition to the amendment. Opponents included Gov. Laura Kelly (D) and U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-3). The campaign received $7.35 million through July 18, including $1.39 from the Sixteen Thirty Fund.
In November, voters will decide on four more abortion-related ballot measures. Besides the constitutional amendment in Kentucky, measures will be on the ballot in California, Montana, and Vermont. Voters in California and Vermont will be the first to decide on ballot measures to establish state constitutional rights to abortion. Michigan, where signatures are being verified for an initiated constitutional amendment, could join California and Vermont. In Montana, voters will decide a measure to provide that infants born alive at any stage of development are legal persons and must receive medical care after an attempted abortion, induced labor, cesarean section, or other methods.
See also
- 2022 ballot measures
- Ballot initiatives filed for the 2022 ballot
- Ballot Measure Scorecard, 2022
- Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
- List of ballot measures by state
- List of ballot measures by year
Related articles
Footnotes
- ↑ This number includes citizen-initiated measures, legislative referrals, and automatic referrals.
- ↑ The number of filed initiated measures was current as of August 1, 2022.
- ↑ The Nevada Independent, "Signature-collection deadline disqualifies several proposed ballot initiatives," July 1, 2022
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