Signature requirements for ballot measures

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The following 26 states, as well as Washington, D.C., have a process for citizen initiatives and/or veto referendums. Click on the links below to read about signature requirements and deadlines for ballot initiatives in each state.

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Chart of powers in each state

There are 26 states that provide citizens with the power of initiative, referendum, or both. The following table shows the type of citizen-initiated ballot measures in each of those states. The table also provides the signature requirements for each type of measure for the 2023-2024 election cycle.

States that provide for types of citizen-initiated measures and current signature requirements
State Constitutional Signatures Statute Signatures Referendum Signatures
Alaska No N/A Yes 26,705 Yes 26,705
Arizona Yes 383,923 Yes 255,949 Yes 127,975
Arkansas Yes 90,704 Yes 72,563 Yes 54,422
California Yes 874,641 Yes 546,651 Yes 546,651
Colorado Yes 124,238 Yes 124,238 Yes 124,238
Florida Yes 891,589 No N/A No N/A
Idaho No N/A Yes 62,895 Yes 62,895
Illinois Yes 328,371 No N/A No N/A
Maine No N/A Yes 67,682 Yes 67,682
Maryland No N/A No N/A Yes 60,157
Massachusetts Yes 74,490 Yes 74,490 Yes 37,245[1]
Michigan Yes 446,198 Yes 356,958 Yes 223,099
Mississippi[2] Yes 106,190 No N/A No N/A
Missouri Yes 171,592[3] Yes 107,246[3] Yes 107,246[3]
Montana Yes 60,359 Yes 30,179 Yes 30,179
Nebraska Yes 126,838 Yes 88,787 Yes 63,419[4]
New Mexico No N/A No N/A Yes 71,475[5]
Nevada Yes 102,362 Yes 135,561 Yes 102,362
North Dakota Yes 31,164 Yes 15,582 Yes 15,582
Ohio Yes 413,487 Yes 248,092[6] Yes 248,093
Oklahoma Yes 172,993 Yes 92,263 Yes 57,664
Oregon Yes 156,231 Yes 117,173 Yes 78,115
South Dakota Yes 35,017 Yes 17,508 Yes 17,508
Utah No N/A Yes 134,298 Yes 134,298
Washington No N/A Yes 324,516 Yes 162,258
Wyoming No N/A Yes 29,730 Yes 29,730

See also

External links

Foot notes

  1. ↑ This was the number of signatures required to put a targeted law before voters. To suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election, the requirement was 49,660 valid signatures.
  2. ↑ On May 14, 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision stating that it is impossible for any petition to meet the state's distribution requirement and has been impossible since congressional reapportionment in 2001. The six justices wrote, "... Whether with intent, by oversight, or for some other reason, the drafters of [the constitutional signature distribution requirement] wrote a ballot initiative process that cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress. To work in today’s reality, it will need amending—something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court."
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 This is the minimum required if signatures are collected in the congressional districts with the lowest numbers of votes cast in 2020. The signature requirement varies based on what districts are targeted for signature collection.
  4. ↑ To suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election, the requirement is 126,838 valid signatures.
  5. ↑ This was the number of signatures required to put a targeted law before voters. To suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election, the requirement was 178,689 valid signatures.
  6. ↑ This is the requirement for two rounds of signatures to get an initiated statute on the ballot; half the number of signatures—124,046—is required to place the initiative before the legislature.
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