Initiative and Referendum States

Initiative – a law or constitutional amendment introduced by citizens through a petition process either to the legislature or directly to the voters.

Popular Referendum – a process by which voters may petition to demand a popular vote on a new law passed by the legislature.

For more comprehensive information on each state's laws, visit our new Initiative and Referendum Processes resource.

Initiative and Referendum States
	Statutes		Constitution
State	Initiative	Popular Referendum	Initiative
Alaska	I^*	Yes	None
Arizona	D	Yes	D
Arkansas	D	Yes	D
California	D	Yes	D
Colorado	D	Yes	D
Florida	None	No	D
Idaho	D	Yes	None
Illinois	None	No	D
Maine	I	Yes	None
Maryland	None	Yes	None
Massachusetts	I	Yes	I
Michigan	I	Yes	D
Mississippi	None	No	I
Missouri	D	Yes	D
Montana	D	Yes	D
Nebraska	D	Yes	D
Nevada	I	Yes	D
New Mexico	None	Yes	None
North Dakota	D	Yes	D
Ohio	I	Yes	D
Oklahoma	D	Yes	D
Oregon	D	Yes	D
South Dakota	D	Yes	D
Utah	D & I	Yes	None
Washington	D & I	Yes	None
Wyoming	I^*	Yes	None
U.S. Virgin Islands	I	Yes	I

D – Direct Initiative; proposals that qualify go directly on the ballot

I – Indirect Initiative; proposals are submitted to the legislature, which has an opportunity to act on the proposed legislation. The initiative question will subsequently go on the ballot if the legislature rejects it, submits a different proposal or takes no action.

I^* -- Alaska and Wyoming’s initiative processes are usually considered indirect. However, instead of requiring that an initiative be submitted to the legislature for action, they only require that an initiative cannot be placed on the ballot until after a legislative session has convened and adjourned.

Initiative and Referendum States

For more information, contact: Wendy Underhill, NCSL Staff Liaison.