Idaho I&R Lawsuit

Idaho I&R Lawsuit

Geographic Distribution Requirements for Signatures

December 12, 2001

On November 30, 2001, a U.S. District judge declared Idaho's geographic distribution requirement for signatures on initiative petitions unconstitutional. The suit was brought by term limits advocate Don Morgan, Kootenai County Commissioner Ron Rankin, the Idaho Coalition for Bears, and the Washington, D.C.-based Initiative and Referendum Institute

Idaho, and another twelve of the 24 initiative states, requires that signatures on petitions be gathered from various parts of the state. The idea behind geographic signature requirements is that initiative proponents should have to demonstrate that their idea has popular support all over the state, not just in the state's biggest city where it's easiest to gather a large number of signatures. In states without a geographic signature requirement, a petitioner can gather all signatures in one area.

Geographic distribution requirements vary from state to state. In Idaho, petitioners have to gather a number of signatures that's equal to 6% of the state's registered voters at the most recent general election. To qualify a measure for the November 2002 ballot, the total number comes to 43,685. Those 43,685 signatures have to have been gathered in half of the state's 44 counties. Proponents have to gather signatures in each of 22 counties that equal 6% of the registered voters in the county at the time of the last general election. For the 2002 election, those numbers range from a low of 31 signatures in Clark County to a high of 10,878 signatures in Ada County. Click here to view a complete breakdown of initiative petition signature requirements in Idaho. Click here to scroll down to a table of geographic distribution requirements in the states.

The judge said Idaho's requirement was unfair because more than 60% of Idaho's registered voters are concentrated in just nine counties. He wrote, "...it easy to envision a situation where three-fourths of Idaho's voters sign a petition but fail to get it on the ballot because they could not collect 6 percent of the vote in rural counties." Since Idaho passed the geographic distribution requirement in 1997, no initiatives have qualified for the ballot.

It is unknown whether an appeal will be filed in the case.

Signature Requirements in States Requiring Geographic Distribution

(Note: The numbers given for total signatures represent the total number of signatures required to qualify a measure for the November 2002 ballot)

	Total Signatures	Geographic Distribution
Alaska	10% of total votes cast in last general election (2002: 22,716)	At least one signature by a voter resident in each of at least 2/3 of the state's 27 election districts
Arkansas	Statutory Initiative: 8% of votes cast for governor in last election (2002: 56,481) Constitutional Amendment: 10% of votes cast for governor in last election (2002: 70,601)	Statutory Initiative: Signatures from 4% of registered voters from at least 15 of 75 counties Constitutional Amendment: Signatures from 5% of registered voters from at least 15 of 75 counties.
Florida	8% of total votes cast statewide in last presidential election (2002: 488,722)	8% of votes cast in at least 12 of the 23 congressional districts
Idaho	6% of qualified electors at previous election (2002: 43,685)	6% of registered voters in each of 22 of state's 44 counties
Massachusetts	3% of votes cast for governor in last election (2002: 57,100)	No more than 25% of signatures may be from one county
Mississippi	12% of votes cast for governor in last election (2002: 91,673)	No more than 1/5 of total signatures may be from one congressional district
Missouri	Statutory Initiative: 5% of votes cast for governor in last election (2002: 117,342) Constitutional Amendment: 8% of votes cast for governor in last election (2002: 187,746)	Statutory Initiative: 5% of votes cast for governor in last election from 6 of 9 congressional districts Constitutional Amendment: 8% of votes cast for governor in last election from 6 of 9 congressional districts
Montana	Statutory Initiative: 5% of qualified electors in state (2002: 20,510) Constitutional Amendment: 10% of qualified electors in state (2002: 41,020)	Statutory Initiative: 5% of voters in at least 34 of 100 legislative districts Constitutional Amendment: 10% of voters in at least 40 of 100 legislative districts
Nebraska	Statutory Initiative: 7% of registered voters at the filing deadline (2002: 75,969) Constitutional Amendment: 10% of registered voters at the filing deadline (2002: 108,527)	Statutory Initiative or Constitutional Amendment: 5% of registered voters in 38 of 93 counties
Nevada	10% of total votes cast in last general election (2002: 61,336)	10% of total votes cast in last general election from at least 13 of 17 counties
Ohio	Statutory Initiative: 3% of votes cast for governor in last election (2002: 100,626) Constitutional Amendment: 10% of votes cast for governor in last election (2002: 335,421)	Statutory Initiative: 1.5% of votes cast for governor in last election from 44 of 88 counties Constitutional Amendment: 5% of votes cast for governor in last general election from 44 of 88 counties
Utah	10% of votes cast for governor in last election (2002: 78,458)	10% of votes cast for governor in last election in 20 of 29 counties
Wyoming	15% of total votes cast in last general election (2002: 33,253)	15% of qualified voters in at least 2/3 of state's 23 counties

For more information please contact Jennie Bowser elections-info@ncsl.org in NCSL's Denver office.