2008 Ballot Measure Update

October 7, 2008, Jennie Drage Bowser

Ballots are starting to shape up around the country.  To date, a total of 152 questions have qualified for statewide ballots.  59 of these are citizen initiatives -- most of the rest were referred to the ballot by state legislatures or, in the case of Florida, the state's Taxation and Budget Reform Commission.  Three are questions automatically referred by state constitutions, asking voters if they want to hold a constitutional convention.

The total number of ballot questions this year will stay around 160, with at most 63 initiatives.  In 2006, the number of initiatives totaled 76, the second-highest total ever (the highest total was 87, which occurred in both 1914 and 1996).

Lengthy Ballots

Ballots in Colorado, Oregon and California have the most measures -- a total of 14 in Colorado and 12 each in Oregon and California.  Colorado's longest ballot came in 1912, the first election held after the initiative process was adopted.  That year, there were 32 measures on the ballot, 20 of them initiatives.  The longest ballot in recent memory was in 1992, when Colorado voters considered 13 questions, 10 of them initiatives (the second highest number of initiatives ever on the ballot in Colorado in a single election).  This year's ballot in Colorado will bump 1992 for second place -- the total number of measures now stands at 14, and 10 of these are citizen initiatives.

Colorado voters will also consider in November whether the state's initiative process ought to be tightened up a bit.  Referendum O, referred to the ballot by the legislature, would slightly increase the number of signatures required on a petition for a constitutional amendment and require that they be gathered from all of the state's seven Congressional districts.  At the same time, it would slightly decrease the signature threshold for qualifying a statutory initiative, in hopes of providing some incentive to proponents to present their proposal as a statute, rather than a constitutional amendment.  It would also limit the legislature's ability to amend or repeal laws created by the initiative process.  There is growing sentiment in Colorado that this may be an idea whose time has come - 8 of the 10 initiatives on the ballot this year would amend the state's constitution.

Hot Button Issues in 2008

A number of conservative-leaning social issues are represented on statewide ballots this year.  Some of the most controversial issues include abortion (CA, CO and SD), anti-affirmative action (CO and NE), immigration (AZ, CA, MO and OR), and same-sex marriage (AZ, CA and FL, and a ban on adoption by gay couples in AR).  Other issues on the ballot in multiple states include environmental protection and land/water conservation (AK, AR, FL, GA, MN and OH), criminal justice (multiple measures in both CA and OR), elections (AR. CT, HI, IA, MD, NV, NM, OH and OR), campaign finance reform (AK, CO, OR and SD), legislatures (AR, CO and SD) and tax limitations (AZ, MA, ND and OR).

Pending Signature Verification

Deadlines for submitting petitions fell in six states between July 3 and July 7, and in another three states during the first week of August.  Just one measure remains pending for this year's ballot.  A popular referendum on a payday lending bill in Ohio initially failed to get enough signatures.  Under Ohio law, sponsors had ten days to gather more.  The new deadline to submit petitions was October 3.  Proponents turned in roughly four times the number of signatures they'll need to qualify for the ballot, and it is expected that this measure will soon be added to the ballot in Ohio.

To view details on the 152 measures already on the ballot, visit NCSL's Ballot Measures Database.

The measure currently undergoing signature verification is:

State	Petition No.	Description
Ohio	Issue 5	Popular referendum on payday lending bill.

                Source:  National Conference of State Legislatures, October 7, 2008

For more information, please contact Jennie Drage Bowser in NCSL's Denver office.