In November, voters will decide on 147 statewide ballot measures in 41 states. Earlier in 2024, voters in five states decided on nine ballot measures. In December, voters in Louisiana will decide on four more. That’s a total of 160 statewide ballot measures for 2024. There is one ballot initiative still pending signature verification in Arkansas, which could increase that number to 161, and ongoing lawsuits could result in invalidating some measures before Election Day.
This year features the most state ballot measures, including citizen-initiated ballot measures, since 2018, following declines in 2020 and 2022.
Some of the biggest trends for state ballot measures this year are abortion policies, citizenship and voting, electoral systems, minimum wage and benefits, criminal justice, drug use policies, and more. The following are summaries of these trends across the states.
Abortion has been a topic for statewide ballot measures since the 1970s. However, in 2022, following Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a then-record number of abortion-related measures were on the ballot, including three from campaigns that described themselves as pro-choice or pro-reproductive rights. In 2023, voters in Ohio approved Issue 1.
On November 5, 2024, voters will decide on 11 abortion-related ballot measures—the most on record for a single year. Ten would provide for state constitutional rights to abortion: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, and South Dakota. One, in Nebraska, would limit the timeframe for when an abortion can be performed.
Both Vice President Kamala Harris (D) and former President Donald Trump (R) commented on the ballot measure trend. Harris said, “Since Roe was overturned, every time reproductive freedom has been on the ballot, the people of America voted for freedom. From Kansas to California to Kentucky, in Michigan, Montana, Vermont, and Ohio, the people of America voted for freedom.”[1] Harris endorsed several of the right-to-abortion ballot initiatives in 2024. Trump said, “But the people of Ohio decided. The people of Kansas decided. The people are now deciding, and it’s taken it off the shoulders of the federal government. They always wanted it to be decided by the states, and Roe v. Wade didn’t do that. It put it into the federal government. So, now, states are voting on it.” Trump, a resident of Florida, said he will vote “no” on Florida Amendment 4, which would provide a state constitutional right to abortion.
Since 2018, state bans on noncitizen voting have become more frequent. Voters in six states approved ballot measures banning noncitizen voting from 2018 to 2022. In 2024, eight state legislatures referred constitutional amendments to the ballot to prohibit the state or local governments from allowing non-citizen voting. Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin are the eight states.
As of 2024, municipalities in California, Maryland, and Vermont, along with Washington, D.C., allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections. In November, Santa Ana, California, voters will decide on a ballot measure to allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections.
Jack Tomczak, Vice President of Americans for Citizen Voting, which supports the ballot measures, said, “We, and legislators who sponsor these, are getting ahead of fixing a problem that maybe has not reared its head as much in these states. It’s not like it’s happening everywhere and must be stopped immediately. But preemption is not a bad thing.” Jonathan Diaz, Director of Voting Advocacy for the Campaign Legal Center, said, “These proposed constitutional amendments are aimed really at two things: preventing local governments in those states from allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections, and advancing this false narrative that non-U.S. citizens are somehow participating in U.S. elections in large numbers, which is totally unsupported by any evidence or facts.”
In 1996, Congress passed legislation making noncitizen voting in federal elections a crime.
The ballot initiative has played a prominent role in proposing changes to state and local electoral systems across the United States. In 2024, voters will decide on a record number of statewide ballot measures on ranked-choice voting (RCV). In Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon, voters will decide on measures to adopt RCV. Washington, D.C. voters will also decide on a ballot initiative to establish RCV. In Alaska, voters will decide on an initiative to repeal RCV, which was adopted in 2020. In Missouri, voters will decide on a constitutional amendment preempting RCV.
There are other electoral system changes on the ballot, some of which could lead to the adoption of RCV. In Arizona, Proposition 140 would replace partisan primaries with primaries in which candidates, regardless of partisan affiliation, appear on a single ballot and a certain number advance to the general election, such as top-two or top-four primaries. RCV would be used for anything above the top two for single-winner districts. Arizona Proposition 133, on the other hand, would not address RCV but would prohibit systems like top-two and top-four primaries in the state constitution, meaning Proposition 133 and Proposition 140 are competing measures. In Montana, voters will decide on two electoral system measures, one to adopt top-four primaries and another to require a majoritarian vote system for general elections, such as run-off elections or RCV.
In South Dakota, voters will decide on Amendment H, replacing partisan primaries with top-two primaries.
In 2024, voters in Arizona, California, and Colorado will decide on ballot measures related to criminal justice, law enforcement, and police funding.
In Arizona, there are two ballot measures related to criminal justice. Proposition 313 would require that anyone convicted of child sex trafficking must receive a sentence of life imprisonment. Proposition 314 would make several changes to criminal and immigration law, including allowing police to arrest noncitizens who enter Arizona from foreign countries at locations other than official ports, allowing state judges to order deportations, and providing for a new felony offense, called the sale of lethal fentanyl, among other provisions.
In California, voters will decide on Proposition 36, increasing penalties for certain drug crimes and theft convictions. Proposition 36 would also change 2014’s Proposition 47. The effect of Proposition 47 on criminal activities in succeeding years is a topic of debate in California.
Colorado has three ballot measures related to criminal justice and police funding. Amendment I would remove the right to bail in cases of first-degree murder when the proof is evident or the presumption is great. Proposition 128 would require that persons convicted of certain violent crimes serve more of their sentences before being eligible for parole. Proposition 130 would allocate state revenue to a new fund for law enforcement recruitment, retention, training, and death benefits.
Between 1996 and 2022, 28 ballot measures increased a state’s minimum wage. Voters approved 26 of these initiatives (92.86%) and rejected two (7.14%). The last time voters rejected a minimum wage increase was in 1996 when measures were defeated in Missouri and Montana.
In 2024, voters in Alaska, California, Massachusetts, and Missouri will decide on minimum wage initiatives. In Alaska and Missouri, the initiatives propose raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour and enacting paid sick leave requirements. The measure would raise California’s minimum wage to $18 per hour. In Massachusetts, the ballot measure would increase the minimum wage for tipped workers to match the general minimum wage. Voters in Nebraska will also decide on an initiative to require paid sick leave for employees.
In Arizona, voters will be asked to decide Proposition 138, allowing tipped workers to be paid 25% less per hour than the minimum wage. The current law allows tipped workers to be paid $3 less than the minimum wage. In 2024, the state’s minimum wage is $14.35, which means tipped workers can earn $11.35 per hour, provided their tips bring them up to at least the minimum wage. Under Proposition 138, tipped workers could be paid 25% less, which would be, using this year’s minimum wage, $10.77 per hour, as long as their combined wage and tips total at least $2 above the minimum wage.
Heading into November, marijuana was legal in 24 states and D.C. Of those 24 states, 13 and D.C. had legalized marijuana through the ballot measure process. In 2024, three more states will decide on marijuana legalization ballot measures: Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Voters in North Dakota and South Dakota will decide on legalization initiatives for the third time after previous defeats or, in South Dakota, one initiative overturned in court.
In Florida, voters will decide on a legalization initiative, Amendment 3, for the first time. It’s one of the most expensive ballot measure campaigns this year and, between supporters and opponents, the most expensive marijuana-related ballot measure election on record.
Voters in Nebraska are deciding on a pair of ballot measures related to legalizing and regulating the medical use of marijuana in the state.
Massachusetts could be the third state to legalize certain psychedelic substances and services, following Oregon in 2020 and Colorado in 2022. Voters will decide on Question 4 to legalize natural psychedelic substances, including psilocybin.
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There are several important trends in the upcoming elections, each involving three measures.
In Arizona, Proposition 134 aims to introduce a signature distribution requirement for ballot initiatives based on legislative districts, while Proposition 136 would require lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of a voter-initiated ballot measure to be filed before the election. In North Dakota, Measure 2 would establish a single-subject rule for initiatives, increase the signature requirement for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments, and mandate that voters approve citizen-initiated constitutional amendments twice.
Voters in California, Colorado, and Hawaii will decide on constitutional amendments to repeal bans or limits on same-sex marriage. Following Obergefell v. Hodges, these constitutional bans became ineffective, but most remain in state constitutions.
Colorado Amendment 80 seeks to provide in the state constitution that “each K-12 child has the right to school choice.” Kentucky Amendment 2 would allow the legislature to provide state funding to students outside of public schools. In Nebraska, a veto referendum seeks to overturn a bill authorizing a program to provide public grants to eligible students to attend private schools.
The results of these measures will significantly impact the future of these topics, shaping how they will be addressed in the future, both through ballot measures and other forms of legislation.
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