Contributions per vote analysis of 2017 ballot measure campaigns

2017 U.S. State; Ballot Measures
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In 2017, there were twenty-seven (27) statewide ballot measures on the ballot in nine states. A total of about $107.80 million was contributed to the campaigns surrounding these measures, with 94 percent of the contributions going to the campaigns surrounding the four citizen initiatives on the ballot: two in Ohio and two in Maine. Ohio Issue 2, the Drug Price Standards initiative, accounted for $77.4 million on its own.

One method for analyzing the effectiveness of campaigns is to look at the size of their funds relative to the number of votes their position received. This is a "contributions per votes" (CPV) amount. This report looks at the contributions per vote for each statewide measure in 2017.

For a full report on the campaign contributions surrounding 2017 ballot measures, click here.

HIGHLIGHTS

All four citizen initiatives had significant campaign spending in support and three of the four had significant campaign spending in opposition.

The support campaigns for three of these initiatives had the first, second, and fourth highest contributions per vote amounts in 2017; the third highest was for the campaign in opposition to Ohio Issue 2.

Of the measures that were not citizen initiatives, one—New York Proposal 1 (constitutional convention)—featured campaign contributions in both support and opposition, and four others had contributions to the support campaign.

The CPV for the support campaigns of each measure with significant campaign spending was higher than for the opposition campaign—including the four citizen initiatives.

The difference between support and opposition CPV's for the four initiatives ranged from $5.5 to $161.45; two support campaigns won, and two lost.

Initiatives

The measures listed in this section were put on the ballot through citizen signature petition campaigns to propose a new law.^[1]

The highest contributions per vote amount was for the campaign in support of Maine Question 1, an initiative to authorize a specific owner—Shawn Scott—to operate a casino or slot machines in York County, Maine. The campaign behind the initiative received $9.4 million in contributions and ultimately spent $8.57 million to get Question 1 on the ballot and try to get it approved. The measure ultimately received 57,538 votes (16.71 percent) in favor of it for a contributions-per-vote of $163.97 and spending per vote equal to $148.96. This campaign had CPV that was more than four times higher than the contributions per vote of the campaign with the next highest CPV. The campaign in support of this initiative spent $2.7 million on the signature petition drive alone, paying $43.97 for each signature required to put the measure on the ballot. This cost per required signature was eight times the average in 2016.

Ohio Issue 2 stood out in 2017 as the most expensive measure battle of the year and the most expensive ballot measure battle in Ohio's history. It also ranked among the most expensive ballot

measure battles ever outside of California. The support and opposition campaigns for Issue 2 also featured the second and third highest contributions-per-vote amounts in 2017. The support campaign received $18.3 million—99.99 percent of which came from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation—and lost, garnering 483,983 votes (20.83 percent). The opposition campaign received $59.1 million—all of which came from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and a subsidiary of PhRMA—and won, garnering 1,837,608 votes (79.15 percent).

A chart showing the four citizen initiatives, the outcomes of the measures, and the CPV for both the support and opposition campaigns is below:

Measure	Status	Support	Opposition	Difference
Maine Question 1: Casino Initiative	d	$163.97	$2.52	$161.45
Maine Question 2: Medicaid Expansion	a	$13.15	$3.02	$10.13
Ohio Issue 1: Marsy's Law	a	$5.50	$0.00	$5.50
Ohio Issue 2: Drug Price	d	$37.79	$32.18	$5.61

The data used to calculate the contributions per vote information above is in the chart below. Click [show] to expand the data.

Data for initiatives:
Ballot Measure:	Support contributions:	Opposition contributions:	Yes votes:	No votes:	Outcome:
Ohio Issue 1, Marsy's Law Crime Victim Rights Initiative (2017)	$	$	1,921,172	404,957	a
Ohio Issue 2, Drug Price Standards Initiative (2017)	$	$	483,983	1,837,608	d
Maine Question 1, Casino or Slot Machines in York County Initiative (2017)	$	$	57,538	286,847	d
Maine Question 2, Medicaid Expansion Initiative (2017)	$	$	203,080	141,436	a

Legislative and automatic referrals

The measures listed below were put on the ballot by the state legislature or automatically required by a state law or the state constitution. These types of measures usually generate less campaign spending than initiatives and veto referendums.

Besides the citizen initiatives that were on the ballot, which all had active support and opposition campaign spending, five measures had campaigns in support or opposition that received contributions and made expenditures. The other measures of this type had no campaign finance data and, therefore, had no contributions per vote

Measure	Status	Support	Opposition	Difference
Louisiana Amendment 1: Property Taxes Exemption	a	$2.01	$0.00	$2.01
Maine Question 1: Business Stimulus Bond Issue	a	$1.89	$0.00	$1.89
New York Proposal 1: Constitutional Convention Question	d	$1.69	$1.47	$0.22
Texas Proposition 2: Home Equity Loans	a	$1.03	$0.00	$1.03
Texas Proposition 7: Prizes to Promote Savings	a	$0.93	$0.00	$0.93

The data used to calculate the contributions per vote information above is in the chart below. Click [show] to expand the data.

Data for initiatives:
Ballot Measure:	Support contributions:	Opposition contributions:	Yes votes:	No votes:	Outcome:
Washington Advisory Vote 18, State Property Tax for Schools Bill (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	606,075	874,043	d
Washington Advisory Vote 17, Sales and Use Tax and Business and Occupation Tax Bill (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	553,425	916,050	d
Washington Advisory Vote 16, Commercial Fishing Licenses, Fees, and Taxes Bill (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	671,095	800,896	d
New York Proposal 1, Constitutional Convention Question (2017)	$1,006,227.46	$4,282,178.99	594,820	2,910,868	d
Maine Question 1, Technology Sectors Funds and Business Loans Bond Issue (June 2017)	$119,750.00	$0.00	63,468	39,549	a
New Jersey Public Question 1, Bonds for Public Libraries Measure (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	970,334	646,110	a
Maine Question 3, Transportation Bond Issue (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	246,828	96,017	a
Pennsylvania Allow Local Taxing Authorities to Exempt Full Value of Homestead Amendment (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	963,324	821,002	a
New Jersey Public Question 2, Revenue from Environmental Damage Lawsuits Dedicated to Environmental Projects Amendment (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	1,093,448	490,763	a
New York Proposal 3, Forest Preserve Land Bank Amendment (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	1,755,081	1,600,167	a
New York Proposal 2, Pension Forfeiture for Convicted Officials Amendment (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	2,512,671	922,195	a
West Virginia Amendment 1, Bonds for Roads and Bridges Measure (October 2017)	$0.00	$0.00	89,186	33,233	a
Texas Proposition 7, Financial Institutions to Offer Prizes to Promote Savings Amendment (2017)	$	$	511,806	345,556	a
Maine Question 4, Public Pension Unfunded Liabilities from Experience Losses Amendment (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	208,924	122,545	a
Texas Proposition 4, Require Court to Provide Notice to Attorney General Amendment (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	554,040	300,096	a
Texas Proposition 6, Property Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of First Responders Killed in Line of Duty Amendment (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	739,452	134,167	a
Louisiana Amendment 1, No Property Tax on Properties Under Construction Measure (October 2017)	$535,900.00	$0.00	266,133	139,549	a
Texas Proposition 3, Appointed Officer Term Expiration Amendment (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	722,753	146,390	a
Texas Proposition 5, Definition of Professional Sports Team in Charitable Raffles Amendment (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	510,363	335,582	a
Texas Proposition 1, Property Tax Exemption for Partially Disabled Veteran with Donated House Amendment (2017)	$0.00	$0.00	754,739	122,864	a
Texas Proposition 2, Home Equity Loan Amendment (2017)	$	$	593,052	270,780	a
Louisiana Amendment 2, Property Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Emergency Responders Killed Performing Duties Measure (October 2017)	$0.00	$0.00	272,042	131,704	a
Louisiana Amendment 3, Dedicate New Taxes on Fuel to Transportation Construction Fund Measure (October 2017)	$0.00	$0.00	213,433	188,263	a

Comparison to 2016

Ballotpedia did a CPV analysis for 2016 as well, which featured 76 citizen-initiated measures and a total of 162 statewide ballot measures.^[2]

Support

The highest CPV amount for a campaign supporting a ballot measure was $35.30. The campaign was Nevadans for Background Checks, which backed Nevada Question 1, and it raised $19,720,674.58. The measure was narrowly approved with 558,631 votes.

The following table illustrates the support campaigns with the highest CPV amounts. Five of the six are ballot initiatives and one, Rhode Island Question 1, is a legislative referral. Click [show] to expand.

Measure	Status	Support	Opposition	Difference
Nevada Question 1	a	$35.30	$12.08	$23.22
Oregon Measure 97	d	$23.32	$24.07	-$0.76
Massachusetts Question 2	d	$22.13	$8.56	$13.56
Rhode Island Question 1	a	$20.68	$0.00	$20.68
Maine Question 3	d	$16.48	$2.58	$13.90
South Dakota Amendment U	d	$14.39	$0.08	$14.31

Opposition

The highest CPV amount for a campaign opposing a ballot measure was for No On Measure 97, which opposed Oregon Measure 97. With a CPV of $24.07, the "No" campaign raised $28,038,124 and received 1,164,658 votes.

The following table illustrates the opposition campaigns with the highest CPV amounts. All five are ballot initiatives. Click [show] to expand.

Measure	Status	Support	Opposition	Difference
Oregon Measure 97	d	$23.32	$24.07	-$0.76
North Dakota Measure 4	d	$0.17	$17.31	-$17.14
California Proposition 61	d	$3.05	$15.34	-$12.29
South Dakota Measure 21	a	$0.26	$14.45	-$14.19
California Proposition 56	a	$3.96	$14.37	-$10.42

Difference

The greatest difference between the CPV amounts of support and oppositions campaigns for the same measure is for Nevada Question 1, which was approved. Supporters had a CPV of $35.30, and opponents had a CPV of $12.08. The difference between the two scores was $23.22.

The following table illustrates the largest differences between the CPV amounts of support and opposition campaigns. Only measures that had both support and opposition campaigns are included. All five measures are ballot initiatives. Click [show] to expand.

Measure	Status	Support	Opposition	Difference
Nevada Question 1	a	$35.30	$12.08	$23.22
North Dakota Measure 4	d	$0.17	$17.31	-$17.14
South Dakota Amendment U	d	$14.39	$0.08	$14.31
South Dakota Measure 21	a	$0.26	$14.45	-$14.19
Maine Question 3	d	$16.48	$2.58	$13.90

Foot notes

↑ There were no statewide veto referendums—measures put on the ballot through a citizen signature petition to challenge a law passed by the legislature instead of proposing a new law—on the ballot in 2017.
↑ The data for 2016 is from a report released by Ballotpedia in December 2016. A number of states still had one more filing deadline at that time, meaning the CPV amounts could have increased slightly."

[1] There were no statewide veto referendums—measures put on the ballot through a citizen signature petition to challenge a law passed by the legislature instead of proposing a new law—on the ballot in 2017.

[2] The data for 2016 is from a report released by Ballotpedia in December 2016. A number of states still had one more filing deadline at that time, meaning the CPV amounts could have increased slightly."

[1]

[2]

Contributions per vote analysis of 2017 ballot measure campaigns

Contents

Initiatives

Legislative and automatic referrals

Comparison to 2016

See also

Foot notes

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2017 U.S. State Ballot Measures
2018 » « 2016

Overview
Election results
Scorecard
Tuesday Count
Deadlines
Lawsuits
Readability
Initiatives filed
Voter guides
Year-end analysis
Campaigns
Polls
Media editorials
Finances
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Signature costs
Ballot Measure Monthly
Signature requirements
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