Attacks on the Initiative Process in America
2024 Attacks
Arizona:
A legislatively referred Constitutional Amendment to approve a signature distribution requirement will be on the General Election ballot. If approved by voters on November 5, 2024, it would establish geographic distribution requirements for initiative petitions in Arizona. Each petition would require a proportion of signatures to come from every legislative district, rather than just a total signature requirement. Signature distribution requirements make signature drives exponentially more expensive and would allow singular legislative districts to effectively block initiatives from making it on the ballot.
Arizona voters may also have a chance to vote on a measure that would require constitutional amendments to receive 60% of votes in order to be approved.
North Dakota:
Constitutional Measure 2 would establish a single-subject requirement for initiatives and would require constitutional initiatives to be passed twice (once in the Primary Election and again in the General Election). This measure was referred by the legislature and could significantly hinder citizen’s abilities to pass ballot initiatives. Measure 2 will be voted on by North Dakota voters at the November 5, 2024 General Election.
Missouri:
Missouri citizens are currently collecting signatures to place new requirements for referendums on the ballot. If approved, the requirements would be that either petitions must be signed by 5% of voters in each of two-thirds of the congressional districts or one-third vote of the members of either house of the general assembly. If enough valid signatures are collected, this initiative would be on the November 5, 2024 ballot.
2023 Attacks
Ohio:
On August 8, 2023, Ohio voters defeated a measure that would have established a 60% vote requirement to approve constitutional amendments. On top of increasing the voter approval threshold to 60%, this measure also would have required citizen-initiated constitutional amendment campaigns to collect signatures from each of the state’s 88 counties (and increase from the current 44 counties required), and it would have eliminated the current cure period of 10 days for campaigns to gather additional signatures if the original submission did not have enough valid signatures.
2022 Attacks
Arkansas:
Issue 2 would have established a 60% supermajority vote requirement for constitutional amendments and ballot initiatives. This was legislatively referred and was defeated by voters on November 8, 2022.
Arizona:
Proposition 128 was defeated on November 8, 2022, but would have allowed the Arizona State Legislature to amend or repeal voter-approved ballot initiatives if any portion has been declared unconstitutional or illegal by the Arizona Supreme Court or U.S. Supreme Court.
Proposition 129 was passed on November 8, 2022, establishing a single-subject requirement for ballot initiatives.
Proposition 132 also passed on November 8, 2022, establishing a 60% vote requirement for ballot measures that add or increase taxes.
South Dakota:
Constitutional Amendment C was defeated on June 7, 2022. Amendment C would have established a 60% supermajority for ballot measures that increased taxes or appropriated $10 million.