2016 ballot measures

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In 2016, 162 statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in 35 states. Of these measures, 76 were put on the ballot by citizens through signature petitions, rather than by state legislatures. Eight measures were on pre-November elections, leaving 154 measures for statewide ballots in November.

Note: 165 measures had qualified for the ballot. The Arkansas Supreme Court, however, removed two certified measures from the ballot on October 13, 2016, and another on October 27, reducing to 162 the number of measures voters considered.

For election results for all statewide ballot measures, click here.

HIGHLIGHTS
Measures related to marijuana, gun control, universal healthcare, minimum wage, and other controversial topics were certified for 2016 ballots.
Low 2014 voter turnout lowered many states' signature requirements for 2016; more than twice as many citizen initiatives qualified for the ballot this year than in 2014.
In 2016, 37 citizen initiatives were certified for the ballot; this was the highest number of citizen initiatives to go before voters since 2006.

Aftermath

Initiative challenges, repeals, and changes

See also: Legislative repeal or amendment of initiatives

There are 11 states with no restrictions on how soon or with what majority the legislature can amend or repeal initiated state statutes. Moreover, in every state featuring an initiative or veto referendum process, post-election lawsuits challenging the validity of citizen initiatives—either in part or in whole—are common. There are also cases in which the legislature passes implementing legislation prescribing the details of enactment for initiated constitutional amendments that is opposed or criticized by initiative proponents. Initiated constitutional amendments cannot, themselves, be amended or repealed without voter approval since constitutional amendments require voter approval in every state but Delaware.

Below are instances of 2016 initiatives that were approved by voters but were considered for amendment or repeal by state legislatures, were overturned in court, or otherwise featured setbacks with enforcement or enactment:

Arkansas

See also: Arkansas 2016 ballot measures

The Arkansas General Assembly made several changes to Issue 6—the medical marijuana legalization initiative. These amendments were explicitly allowed by the language of the initiative and, thus, did not require voter approval.

Florida

See also: Florida 2016 ballot measures

The Florida legislature passed a bill—Senate Bill 8A—as implementing legislation for Amendment 2, which legalized medical marijuana. Senate Bill 8A banned smoking medical marijuana, determined qualifying conditions, required doctors to take a two-hour $500 course before prescribing marijuana, and banned doctors with a financial interest in marijuana growing or testing facilities from prescribing marijuana. On July 5, 2017, John Morgan, the chairperson of People United for Medical Marijuana (PUMM), filed litigation in the Florida 2nd Circuit Court. He said that Senate Bill 8A's ban on smoking medical marijuana violated Amendment 2. The lawsuit argued the amendment was designed to leave the administration of marijuana to the judgment of a licensed physician and was intended to allow for medical marijuana to be smoked.^[1]^[2]

Maine

See also: Maine 2016 ballot measures

As of 2017, Maine was one of the 11 states with no restrictions on how soon or with what majority the legislature could repeal or amend initiated state statutes. Maine voters approved four out of five initiatives on the ballot in 2016, and legislation designed to amend or repeal each of them was introduced in the 2017 legislative session. Ultimately, Question 1 was amended to delay implementation, Question 2 was repealed in its entirety, Question 4 was repealed in part, and Question 5 was delayed and conditionally set to be repealed:

The Maine State Legislature made changes to Question 1—the marijuana legalization initiative—to delay the full implementation of the measure.

Maine lawmakers—as part of a final budget agreement—repealed 2016 Question 2. Question 2 was designed to add a 3 percent income tax on income above $200,000 in order to fund education.

The Maine State Legislature approved a bill to reinstate a tip wage credit, which was repealed by minimum wage initiative Question 4. The tip wage credit allows employers to apply tips as a credit to up to 50 percent of the minimum wage. In other words, it allows the minimum wage of tipped workers to be reduced by up to half of the prescribed wage, while Question 4 was designed to incrementally increase the minimum wage for tipped workers to be equal to the minimum wage for non-tipped workers—$12 per hour—by 2024.

On February 2, 2017, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court—as requested by the Maine State Senate—gave an advisory ruling on the constitutionality of Question 5, the initiative designed to establish a ranked-choice voting (RCV) system. The court said that ranked-choice voting was unconstitutional for the offices of governor and for state legislative elections because RCV requires a majority for approval, while the state constitution explicitly states that a plurality—more votes than other candidates but not necessarily a majority—dictates a winner. The legislature considered bills to both amend the constitution to make it compatible with RCV and to repeal Question 5 entirely. Neither bill was approved in the regular session, but, in a one-day special session on October 23, the legislature passed a bill—LD 1646—to delay implementation and automatically repeal the ranked-choice voting initiative in December 2021 if a constitutional amendment to address the legal concerns is not enacted. Proponents of Question 5, however, collected signatures for a veto referendum targeting the repeal of LD 1646 and, in June 2018, voters rejected LD 1646 and voted in favor of implementing ranked-choice voting under Question 5.

Massachusetts

See also: Massachusetts 2016 ballot measures

As of 2017, Massachusetts was one of the 11 states with no restrictions on how soon or with what majority the legislature could repeal or amend initiated state statutes.

On December 28, 2016, the Massachusetts legislature voted to amend Question 4—the marijuana legalization initiative—to delay sales of recreational marijuana for six months. Under the measure, licensing for cannabis shops was originally set to begin on January 1, 2018, but the delay approved by legislators moved the date to July 1, 2018. Personal use, possession, and cultivation of marijuana became legal on December 15, 2016. On July 19, 2017, the state legislature approved a bill that increased the tax rate allowed for marijuana sales, allowed municipalities in which a majority of voters rejected Question 4 to ban marijuana stores without a referendum, and made other changes. To read details, click here.^[3]^[4]

Missouri

See also: Missouri 2016 ballot measures

The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri ruled certain certain provisions of Missouri Amendment 2 unconstitutional. Amendment 2 concerned elections and campaign finance.

Montana

See also: Montana 2016 ballot measures

As of 2017, Montana was one of the 11 states with no restrictions on how soon or with what majority the legislature could repeal or amend initiated state statutes.

The Montana State Legislature amended I-182—the medical marijuana initiative—to fix a clerical error and repeal the state’s law limiting the number of patients one medical marijuana provider could have to three immediately rather than on June 30, 2017. Unlike with other 2017 instances of state legislatures amending or repealing initiatives, this action by the legislature was in line with the stated intention of initiative proponents.

Nevada

See also: Nevada 2016 ballot measures

Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt (R) said that Question 1—the initiative requiring background checks for all gun purchases— could not be enforced due to the refusal of the FBI to participate in the expanded background checks and the fact that the initiative was designed specifically to require the use of the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Oklahoma

See also: Oklahoma 2016 ballot measures

As of 2017, Oklahoma was one of the 11 states with no restrictions on how soon or with what majority the legislature could repeal or amend initiated state statutes.

A bill to repeal sections of State Question 781—the initiative that reclassified certain property offenses and drug possession violations as misdemeanor crimes—was introduced in the Oklahoma State Legislature, but it was not approved in the 2017 session.^[5]

South Dakota

See also: South Dakota 2016 ballot measures

As of 2017, South Dakota was one of the 11 states with no restrictions on how soon or with what majority the legislature could repeal or amend initiated state statutes.

The South Dakota State Legislature repealed Measure 22—a citizen initiative enacting campaign finance and lobbying restrictions and a publicly funded campaign finance system. This repeal motivated an initiative effort by Measure 22 proponents to restrict the legislature's ability to repeal or amend initiated state statutes.

Changes in initiative laws following 2016 initiatives

See also: Changes in 2017 to laws governing ballot measures

In the 2017 legislative session, the legislatures of Arkansas, Arizona, Maine, North Dakota, and South Dakota considered laws to restrict initiative processes following the approval of 2016 initiatives about marijuana, minimum wage, tax increases, payday lending restrictions, law enforcement, campaign finance laws, and elections. Arizona passed a pay-per-signature ban and a bill to require strict compliance with all technical initiative process requirements. Both bills were targeted by veto referendum efforts. South Dakota and North Dakota legislators approved the formation of an initiative and referendum task force to consider the states' processes and suggested changes.

November election results summary

See also: 2016 statewide ballot measure election results and 2016 ballot measures: November election results analysis

Of the 162 statewide measures decided in 2016, 154 of them were on the ballot on November 8, 2016.

Topic	On the ballot	a Approved	d Defeated
Marijuana	5	4	1
Minimum wage	4	3	1
Healthcare	4	2	2
Gun laws	1	1	0
All^[6]	77	53	24

Marijuana:

Notably, the number of U.S. residents living in a state with legal recreational marijuana nearly quadrupled from 17.4 million to 67.5 million.

Arizona voters rejected marijuana legalization, but voters in the following states approved it:

Medical marijuana measures were approved in Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota, and the program in Montana was expanded by removing the three-patient limit for providers.

Minimum wage:

All four minimum wage initiatives on the ballot were approved, increasing the minimum wage in the following states:

Arizona - Proposition 206 - $12 per hour by 2020 (with paid time off)
Colorado - Amendment 70 - $12 per hour by 2020
Maine - Question 4 - $12 per hour by 2020
Washington - Initiative 1433 - $13.50 by 2020

Also, voters in South Dakota overturned the state legislature's attempt to decrease the minimum wage for those under 18 through the veto referendum Referred Law 20. Thus, the minimum wage for youth in South Dakota will be $8.50 per hour according to the will of the voters instead of $7.50 per hour as state legislators wanted.

Gun Control:

Gun control expansion was defeated in Maine and approved in the following three states:

Death penalty:

Electors in all three states featuring death penalty-related measures voted in favor of the death penalty and against efforts to repeal it:

California Proposition 62, which would have repealed the death penalty in California was defeated.
Nebraska voters chose to overturn the state legislature's effort to end the death penalty by voting "repeal" on Referendum 426. Thus, the death penalty will remain in Nebraska according to the will of the voters instead of being repealed as the state legislature wanted.
Oklahoma State Question 776 was approved, constitutionally protecting the death penalty in the state.

Moreover, a proposition in California to speed up the appeals process for death row inmates was approved.

Notable measures:

California Proposition 61, Drug Price Standards

California Proposition 60, Condoms in Porn

Maine Question 5, Ranked Choice Voting

Florida Amendment 1, Solar Power

Colorado Amendment 69, ColoradoCare

Oklahoma Question 780, Drug Crime Penalty Reduction and Oklahoma Question 781, Prison Savings Allocation

Marsy's Laws (three states):

Overview

Over 205 million residents were affected by the results of ballot measure elections in November.

Notable topics on the ballot

Ballot measures often touch on hot-button issues. The 2016 ballot was not an exception; it included measures about marijuana, gun control, universal healthcare, minimum wage, and other controversial topics, as well as a referendum on California's first-in-the-nation, statewide plastic bag ban, an initiative for a new system of voting in Maine, and an initiative in California designed to require condoms to be used in pornographic films.

Populations affected

Below is a breakdown of notable issues on the November ballot according to the populations that were affected by certain ballot measure topics:

Marijuana - 82.0 million residents live in states that featured ballot measures to loosen rules on marijuana.
Minimum wage - 21.6 million residents live in states that featured measure to increase minimum wages.
Gun control - 50.5 million residents live in states that featured measure to provide additional gun control regulations.
Tobacco - 51.4 million residents live in states that featured measures to increase tobacco taxes.
Taxes - 123.3 million residents live in states that featured ballot measures concerning tax policy, including issues like tax increases, tax revenue allocation, and tax exemptions.

Elections and deadlines in 2016

Eight of 2016's measures were scheduled for a pre-November ballot; the first was approved on March 1, 2016, in Alabama. Voters in Florida approved Amendment 4, a measure to provide property tax exemptions for solar equipment, on August 30, 2016. Most of the measures were decided on November 8, 2016.

States allowing initiatives and referendums have different filing deadlines for initiative and referendum signature petitions. South Dakota had the earliest filing deadline on November 9, 2015. Colorado had the second-to-last filing deadline on August 8, 2016. Oklahoma had the last deadline on September 7, 2016.

Historical context for 2016 elections

This year continued a two-decade-long trend of a decreasing number of ballot measures.

In 2016, 82 statewide ballot measures were certified to appear before voters.
In 1998, the number of measures peaked at 274.
The average number of measures that appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years between 2008-2014 is 175.
The average from 1980 through 2014 is 194.

This year, there was a spike, however, in the number of measures put on the ballot through citizen initiative or veto referendum petitions rather than by state legislatures.

In 2016, 37 citizen initiatives and five veto referendums were certified for the ballot.
From 1980 through 2014, an average of 54 citizen initiatives appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years.
From 2008 through 2014, this average decreased to 49.

Notable topics in 2016

See also: List of ballot measures by topic

Topic	On the ballot	a Approved	d Defeated
Marijuana	5	4	1
Minimum wage	4	3	1
Healthcare	4	2	2
Gun laws	1	1	0
All^[7]	82	57	24

Marijuana

A record number of measures to legalize or decriminalize marijuana were proposed for 2016. The chart below shows the measures that qualified for the ballot in 2016.

The proposal in California affected the largest population and featured the most expensive campaigns in support and opposition.
The medical marijuana amendment in Florida and Nevada's marijuana legalization initiative could have boosted voter turnout, making the issue an important aspect of the presidential race in these two swing states.
2015 saw a high-profile marijuana measure defeated in Ohio.

Marijuana measures on the ballot in 2016
State	Measures
Florida	Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization, Amendment 2 a
California	California Proposition 64, California Marijuana Legalization a
Arkansas	Arkansas Medical Marijuana, Issue 6 a
Arizona	Arizona Marijuana Legalization, Proposition 205 d
North Dakota	North Dakota Medical Marijuana Legalization, Initiated Statutory Measure 5 a

Minimum wage

Measures aiming to increase the minimum wage were popular proposals in 2016. South Dakotans voted on a veto referendum to do the opposite by lowering, rather than raising, the minimum wage for minors.

Minimum wage measures on the ballot in 2016
State	Measures
Arizona	Arizona Minimum Wage and Paid Time Off, Proposition 206 a
South Dakota	South Dakota Decreased Youth Minimum Wage Veto Referendum, Referred Law 20 d
Washington	Washington Minimum Wage Increase, Initiative 1433 a
Colorado	Colorado $12 Minimum Wage, Amendment 70 a

Healthcare

Several notable healthcare-related measures were certified for 2016 ballots, including California's Drug Price Standards Initiative, Prop. 61, and Colorado Amendment 69, which was designed to create the nation's first single-payer healthcare system. As of October 2016, the opposition campaign for California Proposition 61 had campaign contributions totalling nearly $109 million, while the support campaign for another California initiative, Proposition 52, which was designed to extend and earmark hospital fees and matching federal funds, raised over $60 million. Proposition 61 was the most expensive ballot measure battle in 2016.

Healthcare measures on the ballot in 2016
State	Measures
California	California Proposition 61, California Drug Price Standards d
Washington	Washington Taxation of Stand-Alone Dental Plans, Advisory Vote 14 d
Nevada	Nevada Medical Equipment Sales Tax Exemption, Question 4 a
Colorado	Colorado Proposition 106: Physician-Assisted Death Initiative a

Gun control

Firearms measures on the ballot in 2016
State	Measures
California	California Proposition 63: Background Checks for Ammunition Purchases and Large-Capacity Ammunition Magazine Ban a

Death penalty

Death penalty measures on the ballot in 2016
State	Measures
Nebraska	Nebraska Death Penalty Repeal, Referendum 426 d
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Death Penalty, State Question 776 a

Interesting and unusual

Porn actors in California could have been required to wear condoms during filming if Proposition 60 were approved. Californians also decided another measure to ban plastic shopping bags, which was on the ballot as Proposition 67. Electors in Maine decided on an overhaul of their voting system.

Context of the 2016 elections

Fewer measures on the ballot

The total number of statewide measures on the ballot has declined in recent years. An unusually low number of measures qualified, only 158, in 2014. The last time the number of statewide ballot measures dipped below 160 was in 1988; the recent high point was in 1998, with 272 measures.

HIGHLIGHTS

In 2016, 82 measures were certified to appear on statewide ballots. A total of 158 measures, including legislative referrals, were certified for the ballot in 2014.

In 2014, only 35 initiated measures went before voters. This was an unusually low number of initiated measures; the last time the number dipped below 36 was in 1974.

However, in 2016, 37 initiated measures were certified for the ballot. This means that 2016 saw at least twice as many initiated measures as 2014.

Nevertheless, 2016 still had a lower-than-average number of statewide ballot measures. This is because the number of measures referred to the ballot by state legislatures was lower than average.

See also: Ballotpedia's Tuesday Count for 2016

Lower signature requirements

Lowered signature requirements indicated that we would see an increase in the number of citizen-initiated measures on the ballot.

HIGHLIGHTS

In 2016, citizen initiatives and veto referendums made up 40 out of the 82 ballot measures that were on the ballot. This compares to a total of 35 citizen initiatives certified for the ballot in 2014.

The number of signatures required to get an initiative on a ballot is based on a percentage of votes cast in an election in all but three of the states offering citizens the power of initiative; the three states with different requirements are North Dakota, Idaho, and Nebraska, which base signature requirements on the number of registered voters or the state's population.

Voter turnout for the 2014 general election was the lowest since World War II, which caused signature requirements to drop by an average of 10.5 percent in the 15 states basing their requirements on the 2014 general election.^[8]^[9]

In California, for example, signature requirements plunged 27.5 percent to 585,407 for initiated constitutional amendments and 365,880 for initiated state statutes. Signature requirements had not been set this low in California since 1979, when the state's population was only 60 percent of what it was in 2014. This led commentators to speculate that 2016 would be an "initiative avalanche" or "initiative carnival," at least in California. Ultimately, 15 measures were put on the ballot in California through citizen petitions. This compares to four in 2014, 13 in 2012, and 11 in 2010.^[10]^[11]

The drop was even more pronounced in Nevada, where signature requirements fell by 45.7 percent. Nevada is unique, however, because the state's signature requirements are based on votes cast in the general election; therefore, requirements fluctuate every two years.

Only Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, and Oregon saw signature requirements for 2016 initiatives increase relative to 2014 requirements.

About 1,000 initiatives were filed for circulation with state officials across the nation. This compares to approximately 616 initiatives filed in 2014.

Signature requirements for initiated statutes by state, 2014 to 2016
	2014 requirements	2016 requirements	Percent change
Alaska	30,169	28,545	-5.38%
Arizona	172,809	150,642	-12.83%
Arkansas	62,507	67,887	8.61%
California	504,760	365,880	-27.51%
Colorado	86,105	98,492	14.39%
Illinois	298,399	290,216	-2.74%
Maine	57,277	61,123	6.71%
Massachusetts	68,911	64,750	-6.04%
Michigan	258,087	252,523	-2.16%
Nevada	101,666	55,237	-45.67%
Ohio	115,574	91,677	-20.68%
Oklahoma	82,782	65,987	-20.29%
Oregon	116,284	117,578	1.11%
South Dakota	15,854	13,870	-12.51%
Wyoming	37,606	25,673	-31.73%

Types of measures

The chart below breaks out the statewide ballot measures certified for the 2016 ballot by type and compares these numbers to data from previous even-numbered years.

Type	2016	2014	2012	2010	Average (2010-2020)
Initiated ballot measures	76	40	61	50	57
Initiated constitutional amendments^[12]	25	8	19	17	17
Initiated state statutes	46	27	29	29	33
Veto referendums	5	5	13	4	7
Referred ballot measures	86	118	125	134	116
Legislative constitutional amendment	69	91	98	106	91
Legislative state statute	2	5	8	8	6
Commission-referred measure	0	1	0	0	0
Automatically referred measure	1	1	3	4	2
Bond issues	11	15	14	15	14
Advisory question	3	5	2	1	3
Total:	162	158	186	184	173

By date

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May 17

June 7

California Suspension of Legislators Amendment a

June 14

North Dakota Corporate Dairy and Swine Farming Referendum d

August 30

Florida Tax Exemptions for Renewable Energy Equipment, Amendment 4 a

November 8

See 2016 Ballot Measure Scorecard

By state

Alabama

Alabama 2016 ballot measures

March 1:

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Amendment 1	Wages and pay	Changes retirement plans for Alabama judicial officials	a

November 8:

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Amendment 1	Education	Auburn University's Board of Trustees	a
LRCA	Amendment 2	Forests and parks	Prohibit reallocation of state park funds for other uses	a
LRCA	Amendment 3	Local gov't	Rules governing local constitutional amendments	a
LRCA	Amendment 4	Local gov't	Administration of county affairs	a
LRCA	Amendment 5	Constitution	Separation of powers	a
LRCA	Amendment 6	Legislature	Establish new rules for impeachment	a
LRCA	Amendment 7	Law enforcement	Supervision of Etowah County Sheriff employees	a
LRCA	Amendment 8	Labor and unions	A "right-to-work" amendment	a
LRCA	Amendment 9	Judges	Pickens County Judge of Probate maximum qualifying age	d
LRCA	Amendment 10	Local gov't	Police and planning jurisdiction over Calhoun County land	a
LRCA	Amendment 11	Taxes, local gov't	Manufacturing Zone Tax Revenue	a
LRCA	Amendment 12	Transportation, bonds	Toll bridge and toll road districts	d
LRCA	Amendment 13	Civil service	Age restrictions for government officials	a
LRCA	Amendment 14	Budget	Budget isolation resolution on local laws	a

Alaska

Alaska 2016 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
IndISS	Measure 1	Suffrage	Ability to register to vote when applying for permanent fund dividend	a
LRCA	Measure 2	Gov't finance	Allows state debt to be contracted for postsecondary student loans	d