Ballot Measures Preview 2006
November 6, 2006
It’s shaping up to be a banner year for initiatives, both in terms of the number of measures on the ballot and the subject matter of the various proposals.
The total number of measures on the ballot is as follows:
76 citizen initiatives
5 popular referenda
121 legislative referenda
3 other
205 Total
Active Year for Initiatives
This year brings us the second-highest total number of initiatives on the ballot in the last 100 years. So far, a total of 76 initiatives have qualified for the ballot, and five popular referenda (citizen-initiated votes that approve or reject bills passed by the legislature). The high water mark this century was in both 1914 and 1996, when there were a total of 87 initiatives on the November ballot. The total number of initiatives on the November 2006 ballot could grow by a handful if pending court challenges are resolved in favor of initiative proponents, but it will not reach the high of 1996 and 1914.
Crowded Ballots in Some States
Voters in several states will face very long ballots this November. Here’s a run-down of the states with the most questions on the ballot:
19 in Arizona
14 in Colorado
13 in California
11 in South Dakota
10 in Nevada and Oregon
9 in Nebraska and Rhode Island
This Year’s Hot Issues
The following are brief summaries of some this year’s key issues on ballots across the country. In the coming weeks, these summaries will be expanded. Keep an eye on our StateVote 2006 ballot measures page for links to the expanded summaries.
Property Rights
While land use may not be as emotionally-charged as 2004’s highest profile issue – same-sex marriage – it will definitely be the stand-out issue this year. 12 states will have land use questions on the ballot in November. All five of the measures that were referred by legislatures (the other seven are initiatives) deal solely with eminent domain. Many of the initiatives go much further than simply prohibiting government from taking private property for another private use, however – three of these initiatives combine eminent domain and regulatory takings in a single proposal. A fourth initiative in Nevada was originally proposed as a combined eminent domain-regulatory takings measure, but the state’s supreme court ruled that the measure violated the single-subject rule for initiatives and stripped the regulatory takings portion from the ballot, leaving only the eminent domain sections.
The regulatory takings proposals are modeled on Oregon’s successful 2004 Measure 37, which requires government to compensate property owners when a land use regulation restricts the use and reduces the value of a property. In Oregon, the potential cost to state and local governments has been more than they could bear, and they have ended up waiving land use restrictions.
Same-Sex Marriage
While not on quite as many ballots as it was in 2004 (13, if you count the primary votes in Louisiana and Missouri), it’s still a prevalent issue around the country. Bans on same-sex marriage are on the ballot in eight states (six were referred by legislatures and two are initiatives). Colorado voters will face two separate questions on marriage in November – a legislative measure legalizing civil unions, and an initiative banning same-sex marriage.
Tobacco
Seven states will consider either banning or restricting smoking in public places, increasing tobacco taxes, dedicating revenue from the tobacco settlement, or some combination of the three. And three states – Arizona, Nevada and Ohio – will see dueling smoking bans on the ballot. In all three cases, one is a fairly strict ban that would prohibit smoking in all enclosed public spaces and places of employment, and the second is a less restrictive ban that includes a lengthy list of exceptions. The stricter bans are sponsored by coalitions of health care groups, while the looser bans are sponsored by industry coalitions.
Minimum Wage & Labor Issues
Earlier this year, it looked like minimum wage would be the hot issue of the year on state ballots, but signature campaigns were abandoned in several states, and in some cases following action by state legislatures to raise minimum wages. Still, minimum wage increases will be on the ballot in six states. Other labor issues include a collective bargaining measure for in-home child care workers in Massachusetts and an attempt to repeal a cut in workers' compensation benifits.
Education Funding
An issue that has begun to percolate in the initiative process over the past few years, education funding proposals will be on the ballot in eleven states. Colorado voters face competing proposals – one is an initiative that mandates at least 65% of school district expenditures be spent in classrooms, and the other is a competing proposal from the legislature. A new gambling proposals in Ohio would fund college scholarships. Funding for early childhood education is on the ballot in Arizona and Nebraska. Tax increases to fund K-12 education are on the ballot in California, Idaho and South Dakota. A proposed repeal of the estate tax in Washington would reduce revenues for education. And a wide array of bond measures propose improvements in K-12 and higher education facilities.
Tax and Spending Limits
This was one of the hot issues on the ballot in the 1990s, and along with term limits, was largely responsible for the dramatic increase in the number of initiatives on the ballot in that period. It came back in full force this year, in spite of the bad press Colorado’s TABOR (Taxpayers Bill of Rights) initiative got leading up to that state’s successful vote to roll back TABOR limits in 2005. Three states will consider broad tax and spending limitations this year. A month or so ago, it looked like that number would be much higher, but TABOR initiatives in four states were removed from the ballot by the courts for alleged fraud in the signature-gathering process, and Ohio’s was removed by its sponsors.
Term Limits
Since we’re flashing back to the 1990s, let’s talk about term limits too. Oregon voters will have a second chance to impose term limits on their legislators. Originally passed in 1992, they were declared unconstitutional in 2002. This year’s measure looks as if it avoids the constitutional problems the earlier measure had, but it’s not without its own quirks – it’s retroactive. Current legislators who are re-elected this year can serve the term they’re elected for, but after that, if they’ve had six years in the House or eight years in the Senate, they will be termed out in 2008. A measure in Colorado would impose term limits on supreme court and appellate judges. Like the Oregon measure, this one is retroactive too.
Judiciary
Three (possibly four if an appeal in Montana is successful) states will consider initiatives dealing with the judiciary. The most sweeping is South Dakota’s Amendment E, which would allow a committee of 13 volunteers to draft rules for how judges, jury members, and certain local officials should behave. If the committee finds a decision is made in violation of the rules, the violator may be punished with fines and jail, the loss of public insurance coverage, and the loss of up to half their retirement benefits. And it’s retroactive, applying to any decision maker still alive, regardless of how long ago the decision was made. Other measures include proposals for judicial term limits in Colorado, recalling judges in Montana, and electing judges by district in Oregon.
While Montana’s judicial recall measure still remains on the ballot, as it stands right now, signatures won’t be counted on election day. It was ruled off the ballot by the courts on the grounds that petition signatures were gathered in violation of state laws. An appeal before the state’s supreme court is pending.
Abortion
Abortion is on the ballot in three states. The highest-profile measure is in South Dakota, where a popular referendum seeks to overturn a legislative bill banning nearly all abortions. The other two states are California and Oregon, where proposals would require parental notification before an abortion could be performed on a minor.
Drug Policy
Nevada and Colorado will decide whether marijuana should be legalized, and South Dakota voters will consider legalizing it for medical use. The Colorado measure follows a successful effort to legalize marijuana in the city of Denver last year. The city has continued to enforce state law criminalizing the use and possession of marijuana.
Campaign Finance, Ethics and Lobbying
Campaign finance proposals are on the ballot in Alaska (in the primary), California and Oregon. Montana and Colorado voters will consider stricter ethics and lobbying regulations.
Other Standouts (but not necessarily trends)
Missouri voters will consider legalizing stem cell research in the state.
A proposal designed to boost voter turnout in Arizona would hold a random drawing after each statewide election and awarding one voter a $1 million prize.
California and Washington will consider renewable energy proposals.
Oregon voters will consider an expansion of the state’s prescription drug coverage program.
Arizona and Colorado voters will face measures referred by their legislatures designed to crack down on illegal immigration.
An initiative in Colorado would make the initiative process significantly easier to use, and a Florida legislative proposal would set a higher threshold for the passage of constitutional amendments.
For more information on initiative & referendum, contact Jennie Drage Bowser in NCSL’s Denver office at 303-856-1356, or visit NCSL’s ballot measures database.
