Supermajority Vote Requirements

Supermajority Vote Requirements

Overview

Several states require a particular type of supermajority vote for ballot measures. In these states, not only must a majority of votes cast on the measure be affirmative, but a certain percentage of votes cast in the election must be in favor of the measure. For instance, in Massachusetts, an initiative must receive a simple majority, and the votes in favor of the initiative must be equal to at least 30 percent of the total votes cast in the election. Such restrictions are intended to address the problem of voters who choose not to cast a vote on an initiative. In effect, such restrictions count the lack of any vote as a "no" vote. They presume that a non-vote is an indication of the voter's preference to maintain the status quo in favor of any change. Opponents of this idea say that it creates a disadvantage for measures that appear later on the ballot, and that it is unfair because the same requirement is not imposed on candidate elections.

Supermajority Initiative Passage Requirements

	Passage Requirement	Applies to
Florida	Any measure imposing a tax or fee not in place in November 1994 must receive a 2/3 vote in order to pass	Constitutional amendments
Illinois	Passage by 3/5 of those voting on the measure, or a majority of those voting in the election	Constitutional amendments
Massachusetts	Majority vote, provided that the total number of votes cast on the initiative equals at least 30% of the total votes cast in the election	Statutory initiatives and constitutional amendments
Mississippi	Majority vote, provided that the total number of votes cast on the initiative equals at least 40% of the total votes cast in the election.	Constitutional amendments
Nebraska	Majority vote, provided that the total number of votes cast on the initiative equals at least 35% of the total votes cast in the election	Statutory initiatives and constitutional amendments
Nevada	An initiative constitutional amendment must receive a majority vote in two successive general elections in order to pass	Constitutional amendments
Oregon	Any measure that includes any proposed requirement for more than a majority of votes cast by the electorate to approve any change in law or government action must be approved by at least the same percentage of voters specified in the proposed voting requirement	Statutory initiatives
Washington	Majority vote, provided that the vote cast upon the measure equals at least one-third of the total votes cast at such election	Statutory initiatives
Wyoming	Majority vote, provided that an amount in excess of 50% of those voting in the preceding general election must cast votes on an initiative or the initiative fails	Statutory initiatives

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, January 2002.

Wyoming's supermajority requirement was challenged in 1997 by the proponents of an initiative that received a simple majority but failed to reach the supermajority requirement (Brady vs. Ohman, 105 F.3d 726 (1998)). The 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the challenge and wrote that Wyoming had the right to prevent "... abuse of the initiated process and make it difficult for a relatively small special-interest group to enact its views into law." The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the Circuit Court ruling.

Most states require a simple majority vote to pass an initiative measure, whether statutory or constitutional in nature. By contrast, a supermajority vote of the legislature is necessary in almost all states to refer to the voters a measure to amend the constitution. All states except Delaware also require a vote of the people to pass a constitutional amendment. Supermajorities are intended to prevent a "tyranny of the minority," and also encourage deliberation and compromise as proponents attempt to gather enough votes to reach a supermajority. Supermajorities in the legislature often are required for constitutional amendments because of the belief that constitutions should not be amended without careful deliberation. Many states also require a supermajority vote of the legislature to increase taxes.

In most states, however, the initiative constitutional amendment process is not subject to the same supermajority vote requirement as the legislature. Some experts question why supermajorities are required of the legislature but not of the people. They point out that the initiative process lacks checks found in the legislature that promote compromise and consensus and suggest that a supermajority vote requirement might help to prevent the passage of initiatives that are supported only by a narrow majority.

For more information on Initiative and Referendum - contact Jennie Drage Bowser elections-info@ncsl.org.