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2012 post-election ballot measure campaign contributions
Quick stats
A total of 188 ballot questions were certified for 39 statewide ballots in 2012, however, only 83 ballot measures had any type of campaign finance activity. A total of $491,026,994.64 was contributed to ballot measures in 2012, according to official reports filed as of December 2012.
Statewide
- Highest statewide contributions: California ($305,170,217.71)
- Lowest statewide contributions: Montana ($3,672.65)
Measures Top five:
- California Proposition 30 - $104,324,782
- Maryland Question 7 - $91,493,969
- California Proposition 37 - $48,893,123
- California Proposition 38 - $47,295,437
- California Proposition 39 - $28,248,681
Bottom five:
- Alabama Amendment 3 - $5,853
- Missouri Proposition A - $3,955.8
- Montana IR 124 - $3,672.65
- Maine Question 4 - $1,500
- Maine Question 5 - $1,500
Measure rankings
The following are the rankings for contributions made, both by supporting and opposing campaigns, toward each ballot measure on special, primary, and general election ballots in 2012. They are ordered from most contributed to least. Ballot measures that did not have any contributions made toward them were not included in the rankings. Totals featured in the chart below are rounded up to the nearest dollar.
# | Measure | Amount |
---|---|---|
1 | California Proposition 30 | $104,324,782 |
2 | Maryland Question 7 | $91,493,969 |
3 | California Proposition 37 | $48,893,123 |
4 | California Proposition 38 | $47,295,437 |
5 | California Proposition 39 | $28,248,682 |
6 | Washington Referendum 74 | $16,289,575 |
7 | Minnesota Amendment 1 | $13,514,638 |
8 | Washington Initiative 1240 | $11,508,397 |
9 | Maine Question 1 | $9,685,605 |
10 | Oregon Measure 82 and 83 | $8,608,010 |
11 | Michigan Proposal 3 | $8,509,593 |
12 | California Proposition 33 | $8,475,340 |
13 | Michigan Proposal 2 | $8,408,020 |
14 | California Proposition 34 | $7,365,716 |
15 | Michigan Proposal 6 | $6,296,850 |
16 | Massachusetts Question 2 | $6,236,591 |
17 | Washington Initiative 502 | $6,097,222 |
18 | Idaho Propositions 1,2, and 3 | $5,839,688 |
19 | Missouri Proposition B | $5,163,619 |
20 | Rhode Island Question 1 | $5,079,436 |
21 | Florida Amendment 4 | $4,701,075 |
22 | Florida Amendment 6 | $4,119,748 |
23 | Michigan Proposal 5 | $3,954,998 |
24 | Arizona Proposal 204 | $3,726,676 |
25 | North Carolina Amendment 1 | $3,533,443 |
26 | Florida Amendment 2, 9, and 11 | $3,392,754 |
# | Measure | Amount |
---|---|---|
55 | Rhode Island Question 2 | $419,415 |
56 | Missouri Amendment 3 | $322,539 |
57 | Maine Question 3 | $284,131 |
58 | Michigan Proposal 1 | $208,861 |
59 | Georgia Referendum 1 | $199,919 |
60 | Arizona Proposition 117 | $167,900 |
61 | Rhode Island Question 3 | $160,015 |
62 | Arizona Proposition 115 | $145,633 |
63 | Georgia Amendment 1 | $132,475 |
64 | Washington 8223 | $111,100 |
65 | Florida Amendment 10 | $99,900 |
66 | North Dakota Measure 3 | $87,226 |
67 | Maine Question 2 | $84,950 |
68 | Oregon Measure 80 | $67,246 |
69 | California Proposition 29 | $66,038,082 |
70 | Arizona Proposition 116 | $57,473 |
71 | Arizona Proposition 119 | $47,087 |
72 | Nebraska Amendment 3 | $41,722 |
73 | Idaho HJR 2 | $35,993 |
74 | Nebraska Amendment 4 | $24,492 |
75 | Maryland Question 5 | $18,925 |
76 | Arizona Proposition 118 | $17,674 |
77 | North Dakota Measure 4 (Primary) | $7,564 |
78 | Arizona Proposition 120 | $6,127 |
79 | Alabama Amendment 3 | $5,853 |
80 | Missouri Proposition A | $3,956 |
81 | Montana IR 124 | $3,673 |
82 | Maine Question 4 | $1,500 |
83 | Maine Question 5 | $1,500 |
By state
NOTE: The table below highlights the monetary contributions made in 2012 to both supporting and opposing political action committees before elections took place. Totals featured in the chart below are rounded up to the nearest dollar.
Legend State with most contributions States with no reported contributions |
State | # of measures per state | Support | Opposition | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | 12 | $877,173 | $3,717 | $880,890 |
Arizona | 9 | $3,783,918 | $2,189,765 | $5,973,683 |
Alaska | 4 | $63,689 | $767,995 | $831,684 |
Arkansas | 5 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
California | 13 | $166,415,417 | $138,754,801 | $305,170,218 |
Colorado | 3 | $2,660,346 | $664,834 | $3,325,180 |
Florida | 11 | $8,699,404 | $4,634,273 | $13,333,677 |
Georgia | 3 | $199,869 | $137,662 | $337,531 |
Hawaii | 2 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Idaho | 5 | $2,282,657 | $3,593,023 | $5,875,681 |
Illinois | 1 | $565,000 | $0 | $565,000 |
Kansas | 1 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Kentucky | 1 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Louisiana | 9 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Maine | 5 | $7,555,508 | $2,499,178 | $10,054,686 |
Maryland | 7 | $3,555,675 | $15,952,991 | $94,002,635 |
Massachusetts | 3 | $4,507,896 | $5,426,007 | $9,933,903 |
Michigan | 6 | $18,771,851 | $10,834,824 | $29,606,675 |
Minnesota | 2 | $5,203,160 | $9,774,657 | $14,977,816 |
Missouri | 5 | $5,243,719 | $246,395 | $5,490,114 |
Montana | 5 | $3,673 | $0 | $3,673 |
Nebraska | 4 | $41,722 | $24,492 | $66,214 |
Nevada | 1 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
New Hampshire | 3 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
New Jersey | 2 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
New Mexico | 8 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
North Carolina | 1 | $1,192,279 | $2,341,165 | $3,533,443 |
North Dakota | 9 | $963,697 | $1,146,942 | $2,110,639 |
Ohio | 2 | $1,128,186 | $0 | $1,128,186 |
Oklahoma | 6 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Oregon | 9 | $9,480,157 | $7,966,953 | $17,447,110 |
Rhode Island | 8 | $6,359,057 | $29,274 | $6,388,331 |
South Carolina | 1 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
South Dakota | 7 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Virginia | 1 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Washington | 8 | $32,102,454 | $3,375,379 | $35,477,833 |
West Virginia | 1 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Wyoming | 3 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total | 188 | $281,656,505 | $210,364,328 | $491,026,995 |
By topic
The table below displays the topics that appeared on the ballot in 2012. Each ballot measure is assigned a primary and, depending on the issue, various subtopics. The primary topics listed below are organized by the number of measures that featured that particular topic, the states where those measures appeared, and the amount raised. The topic that garnered the most contributions—taxes—is listed first, the one with the least contributions—motto and symbols—is last.
# | Topic | # of measures | States | Amount |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Taxes | 10 | CA, FL, MI, AZ, OR, WA, ND, GA, AZ | $272,140,068.23 |
2 | Business regulations | 2 | CA, MA | $51,437,472.08 |
3 | Marriage | 5 | WA, MN, ME, NC, MD | $44,491,832.55 |
4 | Gambling | 3 | MD, RI | $97,099,734.83 |
5 | Marijuana | 6 | OR, WA, CO, MA, MT | $18,227,687.85 |
6 | Education | 5 | WA, ID, MD, WA, GA | $18,011,944.96 |
7 | Law enforcement | 4 | MO, CA | $10,739,968.21 |
8 | Labor | 2 | MI | $10,636,372.99 |
9 | Energy | 1 | MI | $8,509,592.80 |
10 | Insurance | 1 | CA | $8,475,339.56 |
11 | Death penalty | 1 | CA | $7,365,716.18 |
12 | Transportation | 1 | MI | 6,296,850.00 |
13 | Assisted death | 1 | MA | $6,236,591.00 |
14 | Abortion | 1 | FL | $4,119,747.77 |
15 | Admin of gov't | 4 | AZ, CO, MI, AL | $2,566,430.82 |
16 | Term limits | 2 | CA, NE | $2,236,845.30 |
17 | Redistricting | 3 | OH, CA, MD | $2,033,748.25 |
18 | Elections | 2 | MN, CO | $1,943,178.97 |
19 | Environment | 3 | AL, AK, AZ | $1,712,848.32 |
20 | Religion | 3 | FL, ND | $1,550,339.40 |
21 | Bond issues | 6 | RI, ME | $1,261,561.60 |
22 | Treatment of animals | 1 | ND | $972,035.52 |
23 | Animal rights | 1 | OR | $911,902.25 |
24 | Pensions | 1 | IL | $565,000.00 |
25 | State judiciary | 2 | MO, AZ | $468,172.10 |
26 | Property | 1 | AZ | $47,087.35 |
27 | Hunting | 1 | ID | $35,992.63 |
28 | Legislative salaries | 1 | NE | $24,492.26 |
29 | Budgets | 1 | AZ | $17,673.75 |
30 | Motto and symbols | 1 | ND | $7,563.73 |
By type
There are several avenues by which a measure may qualify for the ballot: citizen initiative, legislative referral, automatic ballot measure, or commission-referral. The chart below organizes 2012's ballot measures by type or process by which each measure qualified for the ballot. Each avenue or type of measure includes varying requirements, which additionally vary by state. (See also: Forms of direct democracy.) The measures are listed in order of most campaign finance contributions to least.
By type summary | |
---|---|
Initiatives[1] | $421,011,149 |
Veto referendums (VR) | $25,343,698 |
Legislative referrals[2] | $133,308,943 |
Commission-referrals | $0 |
Automatic ballot referrals (ABR) | $0 |
Advisory questions (AQ) | $480,000 |
Footnotes
- ↑ Included under "Initiatives" are indirect initiated state statutes (IndISS), initiated constitutional amendments (ICA), initiated state statutes (ISS), initiatives to the legislature (ITL), and initiatives to the people (ITP).
- ↑ Included in the "Legislative-referred measures" category are legislative bond measures (LBM), bonds (BI), legislative-referred state statutes (LRSS), and legislatively referred constitutional amendments (LRCA).
Raw data
The chart below includes all of the information available on the "by state," "by topic," and "by type" tabs. It is automatically sorted to show the measure that gained the most contributions to the measure that gained the least. However, you can sort the data by clicking on the arrows directly above the column you would like re-ordered.
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