State Ballot Measure Monthly: March 2023

2023 U.S. state ballot measures
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March 15, 2023

By Ballot Measures Project staff

This edition of the State Ballot Measure Monthly covers the certifications of 2023 and 2024 ballot measures, as well as notable ballot measure news, from February 15 through March 14.

HIGHLIGHTS

Voters in Nevada will decide on an amendment to repeal language permitting enslavement as criminal punishment in 2024.

The Utah State Legislature referred a pair of education and spending-related amendments to the ballot.

Arizonans will decide on whether a $20 charge should be added to fines to provide a $250,000 benefit to the family of a first responder killed in the line of duty.

2023 ballot measures

Overview: Nationally, five ballot measures have been certified in three states for elections in 2023.

Status of indirect initiatives: In Maine, signatures for four indirect initiatives were verified:

• Maine Creation of Pine Tree Power Company Initiative
• Maine Prohibit Foreign Spending in Elections Initiative
• Maine Voter Approval of Borrowing Above $1 Billion by State Entities and Electric Cooperatives Initiative
• Maine "Right to Repair Law" Vehicle Data Access Requirement Initiative (2023)

The Maine State Legislature has until the end of the legislative session to act on the proposals; rejection or no action would result in the initiatives going before voters in November.

In Ohio, one initiative to legalize marijuana has been certified to the legislature, which has four months to act on the proposal; rejection or no action would result in a second signature-gathering period for the initiative campaign, and, should enough second-round signatures be verified, the initiative would go on the ballot in November.

Changes in 2023 ballot measure numbers

See also: Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2023

States with 2023 ballot measures
State	Number	Change from Feb. SBMM
Louisiana	1	+0
Oklahoma	1	+0
Wisconsin	3	+0
Total	5	+0

Feb. 15 - March 14
Total measures	Change from Feb. SBMM	Filed initiatives
5	+0	227

Comparison to earlier years

From 2011 through 2021, an average of five ballot measures were certified for odd-numbered year ballots in mid-March of the election year. An average of 33 total ballot measures were certified for odd-numbered year ballots from 2011 through 2021.

2024 certifications

See also: Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2024

From February 15 through March 14, seven statewide measures were certified for the ballot in Arizona, Nevada, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming for the election on November 5, 2024.

Feb. 17:

• Utah Elections of County Sheriffs Amendment: The ballot measure would add language to the Utah Constitution requiring that counties must elect a sheriff, who would serve four-year terms. The constitutional amendment wouldn't change current practice as state law requires sheriffs to be elected. As constitutional law, however, a two-thirds legislative vote and voter approval would be required to change the practice in the future. Rep. Brad Wilson (R-15), who sponsored the proposal, said the amendment "creates an opportunity for the voters of the state of Utah to determine through amending our state constitution whether or not that's something they want to protect in perpetuity."

Feb. 23:

• Nevada Remove Slavery as Punishment for Crime from Constitution Amendment: Since 2018, seven states have amended their constitutions to eliminate language permitting enslavement or servitude as criminal punishments. The Nevada Constitution is one of 16 state constitutions that includes such language as of 2023. Voters will decide on whether to repeal this language in 2024. The proposal received unanimous support in the Legislature. Asm. Howard Watts (D-15), who co-sponsored the amendment, said, "I believe that it’s time for us to move forward and make it clear and unequivocal that nobody will ever live through the horror of state-sanctioned slavery, or servitude ever again."

Feb. 28:

• South Dakota Gender-Neutral Language for Persons Amendment: The ballot measure would amend the South Dakota Constitution to make references to officeholders and other persons gender-neutral. The amendment would change male pronouns to specific titles or nouns, such as replacing "He shall be commander-in-chief" with "The Governor shall be commander-in-chief." State Rep. Jess Olson (R-34), who voted for the amendment, said, "So we have had a long history of female leaders in South Dakota, and we will have many more to come. It’s time for our constitution to be updated to reflect the leaders we have elected in our great state." State Rep. Bethany Soye (R-9) voted against the amendment, saying, "Our constitution does not disenfranchise anyone. It equally applies to men and women. I think this is a frivolous change and, clearly, women already can rise to positions of authority."

March 2

• Utah Increase Annual State School Fund Distributions Amendment: The ballot measure would increase the cap on the annual distribution from the permanent State School Fund for public education from 4% to 5%. In the Utah State Legislature, the amendment received unanimous support from voting members.

• Wyoming Property Tax on Residential Property and Owner-Occupied Primary Residences Amendment: As of 2023, the Wyoming Constitution classified properties into three classes, and each class needed to be assessed in uniform ways. One of those classes was All other property, real and personal, which included residential, commercial, agricultural, and personal property. The constitutional amendment would create a fourth class, residential real property, allowing a residential property to be assessed differently from other types of property. The Legislature would also be allowed to create a subclass of residential real property called owner-occupied primary residences.

March 3

• Utah Income Tax and Intangible Property Tax Uses Amendment: The constitutional amendment would change the requirement on how revenue from intangible property taxes and income taxes are spent. As of 2023, Section 5 of Article XIII requires revenue from these taxes to be spent on supporting "the systems of public education and higher education," children, and persons with disabilities. The proposal would allow revenue to also go toward a statutory public education funding framework and, after funding this framework, other state needs. Most legislative Republicans (79 of 82 voting members) supported the amendment. All legislative Democrats opposed the amendment.

March 7

• Arizona Financial Benefit Upon Death of a First Responder Measure: The ballot measure would enact a $20 fine on each criminal conviction, and the revenue from this fine would be used to offer a $250,000 benefit to the family of a first responder who is killed in the line of duty. Sen. David Gowan (R-19), a legislative co-sponsor, said, "That $250,000 can go a long way to helping our families of those victims of crime, certainly when there are police officers and first responders who have sworn to defend and protect us." Sen. Lela Alston (D-5) voted against the measure, saying, "I do have a problem with this bill, and that is that it creates another fine that is disproportionate to certain members of our population. And it would be a preferable option to me if we were to pay that death benefit directly out of the general fund to the family of the firefighter or police officer who was killed and not do any more fines in our legal system."

Headlines

Voters in Oklahoma reject initiative to legalize marijuana

Voters in Oklahoma rejected State Question 820, an initiative to legalize marijuana, on March 7. Results showed 62% voting 'No' on Question 820 and 38% voting 'Yes', which was the largest vote margin against a legalization measure since 2015, when voters rejected Ohio Issue 3.

Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws, the campaign behind the initiative, wanted the issue on the general election ballot in 2022. However, due to delays in signature verification and the ballot printing deadline, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) called the March 7 special election for the measure.

As of March 2023, 21 states and Washington, D.C., had legalized the possession and personal use of marijuana for recreational purposes.

• In 12 states and D.C., the ballot initiative process was used to legalize marijuana.

• In two states, the legislature referred a measure to the ballot for voter approval.

• In seven states, bills to legalize marijuana were enacted into law.

In 2022, five states decided on marijuana legalization ballot measures. In the central U.S., voters in Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota considered citizen-initiated measures to legalize marijuana. In Missouri, the initiative was approved. In Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota, the measures were defeated. In Maryland, the state Legislature voted to put the issue before voters, who approved the measure.

For 2024, initiatives have been proposed in Florida and Nebraska.

See also

• 2023 ballot measures
• Ballot initiatives filed for the 2023 ballot
• Ballot Measure Scorecard, 2023
• Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2023

Related articles

• State Ballot Measure Monthly