How to Get an Issue on the Ballot

The Ballot Initiative Process

Times change. So does the will of the people. That’s why many of our states allow concerned citizens to take an active role in creating change by putting their proposed statutes and/or amendments to the state’s constitution on the ballot using ballot initiatives.

Many people don’t understand the power that ballot initiatives give them. Aside from elections, citizens usually do not have the opportunity to give any input to the way that their state is governed. Ballot initiatives empower the people to put the issues that matter most to them on the ballot for popular vote.

Any citizen or organization who can gather the required number of signatures on a petition can secure a place for their measure on a ballot in a future election. Initiatives can be statutory, which generally create policy, or command or prohibit a specific thing, or they can be amendments to the state constitution.  

There is no provision for ballot initiatives at the federal level. 

Statutory Initiatives

Statutory Initiatives are generally easier to qualify because they typically require fewer signatures and have fewer additional requirements. There are currently 21 states that allow initiatives for new state statutes:

Constitutional Amendment Initiatives

Constitutional amendments are above statutes in the hierarchy, and all laws that are passed must be compatible with all constitutional amendments. Amendments are usually more difficult to qualify than statutes. They normally require more signatures and often have stringent additional requirements. 

The 18 states that allow initiatives for amendments to the state constitution are:

Getting Started

Once you’ve established that your state allows ballot initiatives and/or constitutional amendments, it’s time to get to work. Each state has different requirements, but this guide will give you a general overview of the process that you can then refine for your particular state.  

Step 1—Do Your Research

Your Secretary of State’s website is an excellent place to start. Look up the laws relating to initiating ballot measures at your local or state level. If you have any questions, contact your Secretary of State’s office directly. 

Read the requirements more than once to ensure that you have a full understanding of everything that you need to provide. This is an essential part of the process, so be as thorough as possible. If you misunderstand something here, it could end up costing you time and money later.

Step 2—Register as a Political Committee, if applicable

Some states, such as Florida and Ohio, require that individuals or organizations who wish to propose an amendment to the state constitution first register as a political committee.

Step 3—Write your Proposed Law

Your Secretary of State’s offices are generally willing to review your petition, but they are primarily concerned with formatting and proper filing. The substance of your text is entirely your responsibility. It is highly recommended that you consult an attorney who has experience in drafting initiatives to help you with this part of the process. 

California takes things further by offering assistance with drafting the actual language of the law if you meet their requirements and if your law stands a reasonable chance of passing. Californians can even request that the Secretary of State review their petitions and obtain a statement of fiscal impact from the Legislative Analyst’s Office for the proposed measure.

Step 4—File Your Proposed Law with the Appropriate State Agency

Some states have special requirements, such as fees that must accompany the filing. Ohio requires an initial written petition, signed by 1,000 registered voters along with the filing. These 1,000 signatures are in addition to the required signatures needed to get on the ballot. 

Once your petition is filed, the agency will review it for proper formatting and other issues. A public review period may be required. The amount of time that a petition spends and the amount of assistance that you will receive in this step will vary, depending on your state.

Washington’s Attorney General provides a ballot title and summary to all filed initiatives.

Missouri approves or rejects the form of the proposed petition within 15 days after receiving proposed petitions.  If your petition is approved, Missouri will prepare your ballot summary language, a fiscal note and fiscal note summary for your proposed measure.

 Step 5—Circulate Your Petition

Each state has different requirements as to how many signatures must be obtained in order for a measure to make it on the ballot. It is generally a percentage of the votes that were cast in the last general election, although there may be additional requirements.

California requires 623,212 signatures for a statutory measure, and 997,139 signatures for constitutional amendments.

Michigan requires 252,523 signatures for a statutory measure, and 315,654 signatures for constitutional amendments.

Washington requires 246,372 signatures for a statutory measure.

Ohio requires 132,887 signatures for a statutory measure, with the additional requirement that signatures must have been obtained from at least 44 of the 88 counties in Ohio, with each county contributing at least 1.5 percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor in that county at the last gubernatorial election. Depending on the county that would mean anywhere from 60-7,310 from each county.

For constitutional amendments, Ohio requires 442,958 signatures, with the additional requirement that signatures must have been obtained from at least 44 of the 88 counties in Ohio with each county contributing at least 5 percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor in that county at the last gubernatorial election. Depending on the county that would mean anywhere from 231-24,367 from each county.

Missouri requires 100,126 signatures for a statutory measure, and 160,199 signatures for constitutional amendments.

Florida requires 766,200 signatures for constitutional amendments which must come from at least 14 of Florida’s 27 congressional districts.

Step 6—Submit the Signed Petitions to the state elections official for signature verification

While this may sound fairly simple and straightforward, there are several factors which can make qualifying your measure challenging.

Signature Verification 

Due to the possibility of fraud or mistakes, voter signatures need to be verified before they are accepted by the state. This can be a very lengthy process, depending on how many signatures need to be verified and whether or not there is a backlog of petitions that need to be checked.

Some common problems that are looked for are signatures from non-registered voters, voters who sign petitions for areas other than their own and incorrect addresses. 

One problem that is always best to avoid is having duplicate signatures. Penalties for duplicate signatures can be quite severe. California, for example, deducts 1700 signatures from the total count for every duplicate that they find. Having a number of duplicate signatures on your petition can reduce your total signature count significantly, putting your initiative in danger of not making it on to the ballot.

In order to give your initiative the best chance of passing, you need to make sure that you have signatures far in excess of the minimum required. Although California only requires 623,212 signatures to get a statutory measure on the ballot, securing 900,000-1.1 million signatures is recommended to make your measure much more likely to pass verification.

Some states, such as California and Florida, allow random sample checks for signature validation. This greatly speeds up the verification process, because only 2-10% of the signatures need to be verified. If 110% of the required number of signatures are presumed valid, the measure will make it on to the ballot. If fewer than 110% are presumed valid, every single signature on the petition must be counted individually.

Timeframe

Although some states have up to 12 months to secure the signatures needed to get a measure on the ballot, others have tighter timeframes, such as California’s scant 6 months. With tight timeframes coupled with large numbers of required signatures, you need to have a plan. Having an experienced political consultant on your side with a team of high-quality, professional circulators is essential to being able to meet the requirements before the deadline.

Referendums

Referendums have many similarities to initiatives. They are measures that come from the legislature and are put up before the people for a popular vote. There are four different types of referendum: compulsory, voluntary, advisory and popular. 

The legislature is required to put certain measures on the ballot for approval by the voters. These compulsory referendums are generally required for items such as bond measures or changes to the constitution. On occasion the legislature may choose to enact a voluntary referendum to let the people decide whether or not a law should be enacted. 

An advisory referendum, sometimes referred to as an advisory question, may be called if the legislature or governor wishes to gauge public opinion with being bound to action. Advisory referendums are seldom used at the state level and are more frequently seen on local ballots. These referendums are initiated by the legislature.

The popular referendum, on the other hand, begins with the people. In some states, if the people do not agree with a law that the legislature passes, they can take action to place it on the ballot to be decided by vote.

The 23 states that allow citizens to participate in popular referendums are:

Similar to ballot initiatives, popular referendums require a certain number of signatures on a petition in order to qualify.

With signature requirements for both initiatives and referendums at an all-time high, there is very little room for error. It only takes one misstep to disqualify your measure. You can set yourself up for success by carefully selecting the right political consultant with a proven track record of getting issues on the ballot to guide your campaign.