In the United States, a ballot measure is a law, issue, or question that appears on a statewide or local ballot for voters of that jurisdiction to decide.
- There are citizen-initiated ballot measures in 26 states, in which people collect signatures to place an issue on the ballot.
- There are legislative ballot measures, in which legislators vote to place a statute or constitutional amendment on the ballot.
While citizen initiatives and legislative referrals are the most common types of ballot measures, there are also automatic ballot referrals, constitutional convention-referred amendments, and commission-referred measures.
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of state ballot measures and local ballot measures in the 100 largest U.S. cities, state capitals, and throughout California.
This page provides access to state and local ballot measures in the United States, along with related research and analysis.
Check out this year's state and local ballot measures.
Explore state ballot measures by state or year.
Explore local ballot measures by state or year.
Read Ballotpedia’s original, nonpartisan research and data analysis on state and local ballot measures.
Learn more about Ballotpedia's ballot measures project, which is divided into five core areas:
- MeasuresState and local ballot measures, along with analyses
- TopicsTopics that ballot measures have addressed
- LawRules governing ballot measures
- HistoryNearly 200 years of direct democracy
- CampaignsBallot measure campaigns, spending, polls, and more
Current ballot measures
- See also: 2026 ballot measures and 2026 local ballot measures
As of March 13, 2026, 77 statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in 32 states for elections in 2026.
In 2026, Ballotpedia is covering local ballot measures that appear on the ballot for voters within the 100 largest cities in the U.S., within state capitals, and throughout California and Virginia. Ballotpedia is also covering electoral system-related ballot measures, like ranked-choice voting, outside of the largest cities.
State ballot measures
State ballot measures have been decided by voters in all 50 states. In 49 states, at least one type of ballot measure—the legislatively referred constitutional amendment—is required because state constitutional changes must be approved by voters.
By state
Click a state below to explore its state ballot measures.
List of states
Open the following table to view the state pages in a list format:
By year
Click on a year in the following table to view that year’s state ballot measures.
Local ballot measures
By state
In 2026, Ballotpedia is covering local ballot measures that appear on the ballot for voters within the 100 largest cities in the U.S., within state capitals, and throughout California and Virginia. Ballotpedia is also covering electoral system-related ballot measures, like ranked-choice voting, outside of the largest cities.
Click a state to view its local ballot measures, or click a city to view the measures in its county.
By year
Click on a year below to view that year’s local ballot measures.
- 2026 local ballot measures
- 2025 local ballot measures
- 2024 local ballot measures
- 2023 local ballot measures
- 2022 local ballot measures
- 2021 local ballot measures
- 2020 local ballot measures
- 2019 local ballot measures
- 2018 local ballot measures
Ballot measure analyses
Ballotpedia provides nonpartisan analyses of statewide and local ballot measures, including counts, campaign finance, signature costs, textual analysis, legislative voting patterns, and more.
State ballot measures
- Weekly ballot measure countBallotpedia's Tuesday CountBallotpedia's Tuesday Count is a weekly update that tracks the number of statewide ballot measures certified for upcoming elections. It’s updated every Tuesday to align with the timing of general elections and to provide a consistent reference point for comparing ballot measure activity across years.
- Ballot measure campaign financeReview of contributions supporting and opposing ballot measuresThis page provides an overview of campaign finance for state ballot measures, including total contributions, the measures and states with the most fundraising, and comparisons to prior years.
- Ballot measure signature costsCost-per-required-signature (CPRS) reportThis page summarizes cost-per-required-signature (CPRS), which measures how much initiative campaigns spent on signature gathering relative to the number of valid signatures required. CPRS compares signature-gathering costs across states and between individual measures.
- Ballot measure readability scoresReadability analysis of ballot measure titles and summariesThis page analyzes the readability of state ballot measure titles and summaries using established formulas and provides historical context for comparing readability across states, ballot measure types, authors, and election years.
- Partisanship analysis of state legislative votes on ballot measuresHow Democrats and Republicans voted on legislatively referred ballot measuresThis page analyzes how Democrats and Republicans voted on legislatively referred ballot measures. Each ballot measure includes its legislative vote, partisan classification, and election outcome.
Local ballot measures
- Analysis of local ballot measures in the largest U.S. cities and state capitalsTrends across the top 100 U.S. cities and state capitalsThis page provides an overview and analysis of local ballot measures in the top 100 largest U.S. cities and state capitals, summarizing approval rates, measure types, state and election-date distribution, and trends.
- Analysis of local ballot measures in CaliforniaTrends across CaliforniaThis page provides an overview and analysis of local ballot measures across California, summarizing approval rates, measure types, state and election-date distribution, and trends.
Additional research
This analysis examines the validity rates of signatures submitted for initiative petitions.
This analysis examines how often state legislatures amend or repeal voter-approved ballot initiatives.
This analysis examines state ballot measures disqualified by courts after certification, including their frequency, types, and reasons for removal.
This analysis examines indirect initiated state statutes, including how often state legislatures approved them instead of placing them on the ballot.
This analysis examines the relationship between state government trifecta status and the number of citizen initiatives certified for statewide ballots.
See also
Footnotes
