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State Ballot Measure Monthly: February 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 a selection of notable ballot measure news from Jan. 21, 2022, through Feb. 20, 2022.
Sixty-eight statewide measures have been certified for the 2022 ballot in 31 states so far.
Signatures have been submitted and are pending verification for two additional initiatives in Alaska and North Dakota:
- Alaska State Recognition of American Indian Tribes Initiative (2022)
- North Dakota Constitutional Measure 1, Term Limits for Governor and State Legislators Initiative (2022)
Enough signatures were verified for four initiatives in Massachusetts and Ohio to certify them to the legislature. If the legislature doesn’t enact them, proponents will need to gather a second round of signatures.
- Massachusetts Question 2, Medical Loss Ratios for Dental Insurance Plans Initiative (2022)
- Massachusetts Question 3, Changes to Alcohol Retail Licensing Initiative (2022)
- Massachusetts App-Based Drivers as Contractors and Labor Policies Initiative (2022)
- Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2022)
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Number of certifications in past years
Even-numbered years:
- An average of 63 measures were certified for even-year ballots by this point from 2010 through 2020.
- An average of 164 statewide measures were eventually certified for even-year ballots from 2010 through 2020.
2022 certifications
- See also: Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
From Jan. 21 through Feb. 20, four statewide measures were certified for the 2022 ballot in New Mexico and Vermont.
Feb. 4:
- Vermont Proposal 2, Prohibit Slavery and Indentured Servitude Amendment (2022) - This amendment would repeal language in the state constitution stating that persons could be held as servants, slaves, or apprentices with the person's consent or "for the payments of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like" and add "slavery and indentured servitude in any form are prohibited." In Vermont, putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot requires a vote in each chamber of the Vermont General Assembly in two successive legislative sessions with an election in between. The state Senate and House approved the amendment in the 2019-2020 session in votes of 28-1 and 145-0, respectively. On April 9, 2021, the state Senate approved the amendment 29-1. On Feb. 4, the House approved it 139-3.
Feb. 8:
- Vermont Proposal 5, Right to Personal Reproductive Autonomy Amendment (2022) - This amendment would add language to the state constitution protecting the right to personal reproductive autonomy and prohibiting government infringement unless justified by a compelling state interest. The legislature approved the amendment in the 2019-2020 session by a vote of 28-2 in the Senate and 106-38 in the House. On April 9, 2021, the Senate approved the amendment 26-4. On Feb. 8, 2022, the House approved it 107-41.
Feb. 15:
- New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 3, Appointed Judge Elections Amendment (2022) - This amendment would provide that a judge appointed to fill a vacancy shall be up for election at the first general election one year after being appointed rather than the next general election after appointment. The Senate approved it 33-1, and the House approved it 58-0.
Feb. 16:
- New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 2, Authorizing Funds for Residential Services Infrastructure Amendment (2022) - This amendment would authorize the legislature to appropriate state funds for infrastructure that provides services primarily for residential use—such as internet, electric, natural gas, water, and wastewater—through a majority vote in each chamber. The amendment would add an exception for residential service infrastructure to Section 14 of Article IX of the state constitution, which is known as the anti-donation clause. The anti-donation clause says that the state, any county, any school district, or any city shall not "directly or indirectly lend or pledge its credit or make any donation to or in aid of any person, association or public or private corporation" and provides a list of specific exceptions. The amendment was approved unanimously in both chambers of the New Mexico Legislature.
- See also: Abortion policy ballot measures
Abortion has been a topic for statewide ballot measures since Roe v. Wade in 1973. Since 2000, there have been just two general election cycles, 2002 and 2016, without abortion-related statewide ballot measures. In 2022, there will be at least four ballot measures addressing abortion — the most since 1986. If proponents of another abortion-related initiative in Michigan collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, 2022 will be the year with the most abortion-related measures on record. Legislatures could also propose ballot measures before their sessions end.
Campaigns surrounding abortion-related ballot measures describe their positions as pro-choice or pro-life. Examples of ballot measures described as pro-life include policies to ban abortion at various fetal development stages, define person or personhood to include fetuses, prohibit the use of public funds for abortions, require parental notification before a minor can obtain an abortion, and declare that there is no state constitutional right to abortion. Examples of ballot measures described as pro-choice include policies to legalize or expand abortion, remove restrictions on abortion, allow the use of public funds for abortion, and declare a state constitutional right to abortion.
Since 1970, there have been 51 statewide ballot measures, including the four 2022 measures, addressing abortion. Most (84%) of them were designed to implement policies supported by pro-life campaigns. The remaining 8 ballot measures were supported by pro-choice campaigns, including this year’s Vermont Proposal 5.
Proposal 5 is the first abortion-related ballot measure since Maryland's 1992 Question 6 that has the support of pro-choice organizations. Maryland Question 6 prohibited state interference with a woman's decision to have an abortion before the fetus is viable. Vermont Proposal 5, which is set for a vote on Nov. 8, would enact a state constitutional amendment declaring a right to personal reproductive autonomy. In Michigan, a campaign backed by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU is collecting signatures for an initiated constitutional amendment to establish a state right to reproductive freedom, which the initiative would define to include abortion.
Besides Proposal 5, voters will decide abortion-related measures in Kansas, Kentucky, and Montana in 2022. In Kansas and Kentucky, the ballot measures would declare there is no state constitutional right to abortions. In Montana, a legislative referral would state that “an infant born alive is a legal person” and that present healthcare providers shall provide “all medically appropriate and reasonable actions to preserve the [infant’s] life and health."
New Mexico Legislature approves three bond issues, which would go to the Nov. 2022 ballot with the governor's signature
Besides approving two more constitutional amendments for the Nov. 8 ballot, the New Mexico Legislature also approved three bond issues totaling $259.7 million. The measures will be on the Nov. 8 ballot provided the governor signs the legislation. The bond questions would fund
- (1) senior citizen facility improvements ($24.47 million),
- (2) public libraries ($19.27 million), and
- (3) public education ($215.99 million).
The House approved the bond legislation (House Bill 153) by a vote of 66-2 on Feb. 12. The Senate approved HB 153 by a vote of 37-0 on Feb. 15.
Every even-year election in New Mexico has had at least three bond questions since at least 1998. Voters of New Mexico cast ballots on 28 bond issues, totaling approximately $1.4 billion in value, from 2006 through 2020. All but one bond issue since 2006, a $155.57 million bond in 2010 to provide capital expenditures for higher education and special schools, was approved.
See also
- 2022 ballot measures
- List of ballot measures by state
- List of ballot measures by year
- Ballot initiatives filed for the 2022 ballot
- Ballot Measure Scorecard, 2022
- Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2022
Related articles
Footnotes
- ↑ The numbers in the second column indicate how many ballot measures were certified for the ballot in the last month; for example a "+3" means that three measures were certified in the last month.
- ↑ This number includes citizen-initiated measures, legislative referrals, and an automatically referred measure.
- ↑ This was current as of February 1, 2022.
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