Types of ballot measures in Iowa

Types of ballot measures
Initiated
• Initiated constitutional amendment
• Initiated state statute
• Veto referendum
Legislative
• Legislative constitutional amendment
• Legislative state statute
• Legislative bond issue
• Advisory question
Other
• Automatic ballot referral
• Commission-referred measure
• Convention-referred amendment
Select a state from the menu below to learn more about that state's types of ballot measures.
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In Iowa, the state Legislature can vote to refer measures to the ballot. Citizens of Iowa do not have the power to initiate statewide ballot measures. This page provides an overview of the different types of ballot measures that can appear on state ballots in Iowa.

The types of state ballot measures in Iowa are:

• Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
• Constitutional convention questions

Citizen-initiated ballot measures

In Iowa, citizens do not have the power to initiate ballot measures at the state level.

Legislative referrals

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions with an election for state legislators in between for the Iowa State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 51 votes in the Iowa House of Representatives and 26 votes in the Iowa State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Constitutional Convention Questions

See also: State constitutional conventions

According to Section 3 of Article X of the Iowa Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 10 years starting in 1970. Iowa is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.

The table below shows the last and next constitutional convention question election years:

State	Interval	Last question on the ballot	Next question on the ballot
Iowa	10 years	2020	2030

Other types of ballot measures

Most ballot measures are placed on the ballot through citizen initiatives or legislative processes. Others are placed on the ballot automatically, by a special commission, or by a state constitutional convention. The following is a list of different types of state ballot measures:

Types of state ballot measures

Citizen-initiated ballot measure

• Initiated constitutional amendment

• Direct initiated constitutional amendment

• Indirect initiated constitutional amendment

• Initiated state statute

• Direct initiated state statute

• Indirect initiated state statute

• Combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute

• Veto referendum

• Statute affirmation (Nevada)

Legislatively referred ballot measure

• Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

• Legislatively referred state statute

• Legislatively referred bond measure

• Advisory question

Other type of state ballot measure

• Automatic ballot referral

• Constitutional convention question

• Commission-referred ballot measure

• Convention-referred constitutional amendment

• Political party advisory question

See also

• List of Iowa ballot measures
• Laws governing ballot measures in Iowa
• Laws governing the initiative process
• States with initiative or referendum
• States without initiative or referendum
• Amending state constitutions