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State Ballot Measure Monthly: July 2024

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July 9, 2024

By Ballot Measures Project Staff

This edition of the State Ballot Measure Monthly covers the certifications of state ballot measures, as well as notable ballot measure news, from June 11 through July 9.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Two more abortion-related measures added to ballots in Nevada and New York, with five more pending signature verification
  • Voters in seven states will decide on constitutional amendments to prohibit non-citizen voting in November.
  • The list of ballot measures in California was shuffled in late June, with four measures added and a record eight withdrawn or removed

    • 2024 ballot measures

    Overview: Nationally, 125 ballot measures have been certified in 37 states for elections in 2024.

    Signatures submitted: Signatures have been submitted and are pending verification for the following citizen-initiated ballot measures:

    Changes in 2024 ballot measure numbers

    Comparison to earlier years

    So far, 125 state ballot measures have been certified for 2024. From 2012 through 2022, an average of 128 state ballot measures through the second week of June of a general election year. An average of 157 total ballot measures were certified for even-numbered year ballots from 2012 through 2022.

    2024 certifications

    See also: Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2024

    From June 11 through July 9, 15 statewide measures qualified for the ballot in six states: Arizona, California, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. However, eight measures were removed from the ballot in California.

    June 12

    • Arizona Legal Challenges to Constitutionality of Initiatives Amendment: The constitutional amendment would allow for lawsuits to be filed challenging the constitutionality of a proposed citizen-initiated measure after it has been filed with the secretary of state and at least 100 days before it is scheduled to appear on the ballot. According to the measure's purpose statement, "The Arizona Supreme Court has long maintained, however, that it lacks authority to adjudicate challenges to the constitutionality of an initiative unless and until the initiative is adopted." In the Arizona State Legislature, Republicans supported the proposal, and Democrats opposed it.
    • Arizona Legislative Ratification of State Agency Rules that Increase Regulatory Costs Measure: The constitutional amendment would require state agencies to submit a proposed rule to the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity if the rule is estimated to increase regulatory costs by more than $100,000 within five years of implementation. The measure would prohibit a proposed rule from becoming effective if that rule is estimated to increase regulatory costs by more than $500,000 within five years after implementation until and unless the legislature enacts legislation ratifying the proposed rule. In the Arizona State Legislature, Republicans supported the proposal, and Democrats opposed it.
    • Arizona Wages for Tipped Workers Amendment: The constitutional amendment would allow businesses to pay tipped employees 25% less per hour than the minimum wage, provided that the total tips received by the employee amount to at least the minimum wage plus $2 for every hour worked. In the Arizona State Legislature, Republicans and four House Democrats supported the proposal, and the remaining Democrats opposed it.

    June 17:

    • Rhode Island Bond Measures: On June 17, Gov. Daniel McKee signed appropriations legislation, which included four general obligation bond measures.

    June 18

    • New York Equal Protection of Law Amendment: The constitutional amendment was certified for the ballot in January 2023. However, on May 7, 2024, a court removed the amendment from the ballot. On June 18, an appellate court overturned the prior ruling, allowing the amendment to appear on the ballot. The constitutional amendment would add language to the New York Bill of Rights to provide that people cannot be denied rights based on their "ethnicity, national origin, age, and disability" or "sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy."

    June 20

    • Removed — California Two-Thirds Legislative Vote and Voter Approval for New or Increased Taxes Initiative: The California Supreme Court ruled that the ballot initiative could not appear on the ballot because the proposed changes amount to a revision of the state constitution, which cannot be enacted via a citizen initiative. A revision to the constitution can only occur through a constitutional convention ratified by popular vote or by submission to the voters from a supermajority of the state legislature. The ballot measure would have amended the state constitution to define all state and local levies, charges, and fees as taxes and to require new state taxes proposed by the state legislature to be enacted via a two-thirds legislative vote and voter approval and new local taxes to be enacted via a two-thirds vote of the electorate.


    June 21

    • California Changes to the State Children's Services Program Initiative: The ballot initiative was designed to change California Children's Services (CCS) Program eligibility requirements and authorize the program to cover the costs of life-saving specialty drugs. The initiative would formally specify all qualifying diseases in state law by adopting DHCS's regulations and guidance as of January 1, 2022. The initiative would also require DHCS to collaborate with stakeholders every five years to determine whether additional diseases should be added to CCS's qualifying list. After qualifying on June 21, the ballot initiative was withdrawn on June 27.

    June 24

    • Removed — California Remove Voter Approval Requirement for Public Low-Rent Housing Projects Amendment: The constitutional amendment would have repealed Article 34 of the California Constitution, which required local voter approval via a ballot measure for federal and/or state government-funded housing projects classified as low rent. The amendment received unanimous support from legislative Democrats and Republicans. However, on June 24, the legislature passed a resolution withdrawing the measure. Sen. Ben Allen (D) explained the removal, saying, "While (the repeal) was one of many efforts to help address the housing crisis, the November ballot will be very crowded and reaching voters will be difficult and expensive."[1]

    June 27

    • California Remove Involuntary Servitude as Punishment for Crime Amendment: The constitutional amendment would amend the state constitution to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime and authorize the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to award credits to incarcerated persons who voluntarily participate in work assignments. In the California State Legislature, Democrats supported the proposal, along with 32% of Republicans. Remaining Republicans voted against the amendment or abstained.
    • North Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment: The constitutional amendment would prohibit non-citizen voting. The ballot measure would amend language to the state constitutions to provide that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections. In the North Carolina State Legislature, Republicans supported the proposal, and Democrats were divided, with 72% supporting the proposal.
    • Removed — California Employee Civil Action Law and PAGA Repeal Initiative: The ballot initiative would have repealed the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) and replaced it with a new law. On June 18, 2024, the sponsors of the initiative and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced a legislative compromise that would require the withdrawal of the initiative from the ballot once it is passed. Jennifer Barrera, president and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce, said, "This package provides meaningful reforms that ensure workers continue to have a strong vehicle to get labor claims resolved, while also limiting the frivolous litigation that has cost employers billions without benefiting workers."[2] It was formally withdrawn on June 27.
    • Removed — California Pandemic Early Detection and Prevention Institute Initiative: The ballot initiative would have increased the income tax by 0.75% for individuals with income over $5 million for 10 years and dedicated revenue to the California Institute for Pandemic Prevention, the Community Pandemic Response Fund, and the School Disease Spread Prevention Fund. Sponsors withdrew the initiative after Gov. Newsom announced that the state would invest in preventing the next pandemic by integrating the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine into the California Health and Human Services Agency.
    • Removed — California Require Personal Finance Course for High School Graduation Initiative: The ballot initiative would have required a personal finance course to be offered by the 2026-2027 academic year for all public high school students and required public school students graduating during the 2029-2030 academic year to complete a one-semester personal finance course. Sponsors withdrew the initiative after Gov. Newsom said the state was adding financial literacy as a requirement to graduate high school.
    • Removed — California Oil and Gas Well Regulations Referendum: The veto referendum sought to overturn Senate Bill 1137 (SB 1137), which prohibits new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes, and hospitals and require companies to adopt health, safety, and environmental requirements. On June 26, 2024, the campaign announced that it would be withdrawing the referendum. The campaign said, "While CIPA is confident in its ability to be successful at the ballot box, we also recognize the likelihood of the Legislature simply introducing other similar bills. Therefore, judicial intervention is necessary to truly resolve this matter."[3]

    June 28

    • Nevada Right to Abortion Initiative: The citizen-initiated constitutional amendment would provide a state constitutional right to an abortion, providing for the state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, except where medically indicated to protect the life, physical health, or mental health of the pregnant patient.

    July 3

    • Moved to 2026 — California Vote Requirements for Initiatives Requiring Supermajority Votes Amendment: On July 3, the state legislature voted to move the constitutional amendment from the November 5, 2024, ballot to the November 3, 2026, ballot. The constitutional amendment would require initiated constitutional amendments proposing increased voter approval requirements for state or local measures to be approved by the same majority requirements they propose, as well as authorizing local government to place advisory questions on local ballots.

    Headlines

    Voters in seven states will decide on constitutional amendments to prohibit non-citizen voting in 2024

    Voters in seven states will decide on ballot measures to prohibit non-citizen voting in Nov. 2024. The seven states are North Carolina, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Each state voting on one of these amendments in 2024 has a Republican-controlled state legislature.

    The constitutional amendments would amend the states' constitutions to provide that only a citizen rather than every citizen may vote in a state's elections.

    In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections, such as U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections. The federal law did not address state or local elections. As of 2024, Washington, D.C., and municipalities in California, Maryland, and Vermont allowed noncitizens to vote in certain local elections.

    Each of the 50 state constitutions mentions U.S. citizenship when discussing who can vote in state elections. In 43, constitutional language discusses citizenship in regard to who can vote (e.g., citizens can vote) but does not state that noncitizens cannot vote. The other seven states provide that citizens, but not non-citizens, have the right to vote. The seven states are Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio.

    Arizona was the first state to provide that citizenship is required to vote. Voters approved the amendment in 1962. The next state was North Dakota in 2018. In 2020, three states—Alabama, Colorado, and Florida—approved citizenship requirements for voting ballot measures. In 2022, voters in Ohio and Louisiana approved constitutional amendments. All of these ballot measures were approved.

    From 2018 to 2024, voters decided on 14 ballot measures related to adding language about citizenship requirements for voting. Voters approved all 14 measures.

    StateYearBallot MeasureTypeStatus
    North Dakota2018North Dakota Measure 2Initiated constitutional amendmentApproved
    Alabama2020Alabama Amendment 1Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    Florida2020Florida Amendment 1Initiated constitutional amendmentApproved
    Colorado2020Colorado Amendment 76Initiated constitutional amendmentApproved
    Ohio2022Ohio Issue 2Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    Louisiana2022Louisiana Amendment 1Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    Iowa2024Iowa Amendment 1Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    Wisconsin2024Wisconsin Citizenship Voting Requirement AmendmentLegislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    Kentucky2024Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 1Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    Idaho2024Idaho HJR 5Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    South Carolina2024South Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting AmendmentLegislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    Missouri2024Missouri Amendment 7Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    Oklahoma2024Oklahoma State Question 834Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    North Carolina2024North Carolina Citizenship Requirement for Voting AmendmentLegislatively referred constitutional amendmentApproved
    South Dakota2026South Dakota Constitutional Amendment JLegislatively referred constitutional amendmentOn the ballot
    Kansas2026Kansas Citizenship Voting Requirement AmendmentLegislatively referred constitutional amendmentOn the ballot
    Arkansas2026Arkansas Citizenship Requirement for Voting AmendmentLegislatively referred constitutional amendmentOn the ballot
    Texas2025Texas Proposition 16Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentOn the ballot


    Partisanship of legislative votes on referred measures

    In 16 states that placed constitutional amendments on the ballot to require citizenship to vote in state and local elections, Republican legislators supported the amendments, averaging 99.7%. In all but one state—South Dakota (2026)—every Republican legislator voted in favor; in South Dakota, 95.3% supported the amendment. Democratic support varied between states, averaging 43.1% and ranging from 0% in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin to 100% in Alabama (2020) and Iowa (2024).


    Partisan Support Diverging Bar Chart

    Democratic support is shown to the left, Republican to the right. Data from 2020–2025.

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ ABC News, "California lawmakers abandon attempt to repeal law requiring voter approval for some public housing," June 24, 2024
    2. ↑ Governor Gavin Newsom, "Governor Newsom & legislative leaders announce agreement on PAGA reform," June 18, 2024
    3. ↑ Politico, "Oil industry group drops ballot initiative to drill near California homes," June 26, 2024

    See also

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