With almost 150 ballot measures being considered statewide, it can be hard to keep track.
In 2024, voters around the country will decide on around 150 statewide ballot measures. These ballot measures will allow voters to decide on bills, propositions and state constitutional amendments directly, circumventing the state legislature. These ballot measures can range in effect from tweaking the names of bills and organizations, all the way up to profoundly altering electoral, tax or other policy. Despite the impact of ballot measures, many voters are not aware of which are even on the ballot until they get to the voting booth. A range of ballot measures are occurring across the country this election cycle.
Many in Oklahoma and other parts of middle America became aware of the idea of ballot measures in the midst of the controversy surrounding Missouri’s abortion ballot measure. Recently, the governor of Missouri tried to remove a referendum that, if approved, would protect a woman’s right to an abortion up to viability. However, Missouri is not the only state considering ballot measures on abortion in November. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion has been a top ballot measure around the country. In 2022, California, Michigan, Ohio and Vermont all passed ballot measures that would protect access to abortions. Kansas and Kentucky rejected measures that would have prevented the protection of abortions in the future. In 2024, 10 states are considering measures concerning abortion, most of which would protect the practice. Abortion is easily one of the most popular issues this year and is being considered by states that range in partisan alignment from New York to South Dakota. Abortion has been a top agenda item for Democrats and it has swung some elections in their favor. Abortion was one of the primary factors behind the reelection of Kentucky Democratic Governor Andy Bashear, as well as the Democratic victory in the Virginia legislature in the 2023 elections. These 10 ballot measures demonstrate a continued public interest in the issue.
Another top proposal this election season is measures that would explicitly prohibit non-citizens from voting. Specifically eight states, including Oklahoma, are considering the measure. Nevada is considering a voter ID measure that would effectively perform the same result while restricting some amount of citizen voters. Finally, Arizona is considering a complicated measure giving police the right to arrest non-citizens without the commission of a crime and would allow lower court judges to deport non-citizens. In previous years, voter ID had been the more popular issue. In 2022, Nebraska and Arizona both passed voter ID related measures while Ohio and Louisiana approved measures that prohibit non-citizen voting. The shift may indicate some fatigue among the populus surrounding voter ID or rather states are simply opting to push voter ID through the legislature. Whereas Democrats are largely behind abortion measures, the Republican party is using citizen voting as a marquee issue to drive out voters. Fears over illegal immigration has been a major selling point of Republicans, especially those in the southwest. With Arizona and Nevada as major swing states, the immigration issue is key to Republican strategy in both the presidential and Senate elections. This is also notably the only issue covered here that Oklahoma voters will be considering.
The final major issue in this election cycle is ranked choice voting. If you are not familiar, ranked choice voting is a system in which, if more than two candidates are facing off in a general election, voters will rank all the candidates. If a voter’s top candidate fails to be one of the top two when only considering top choices, their votes shift to their highest ranked candidate who was in the top two of the first count. The system is often paired with an open primary system where candidates run against the whole field in the primary with the top three to five candidates moving to the general election. A handful of states use the system currently including, as of 2020, Alaska which, under the system, elected its first Democrat to the House of Representatives in over fifty years. In 2022, Nevada voted to adopt the system. Now, in 2024, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Montana and Oregon are voting on whether or not to adopt the system. Alaska is voting on whether or not to roll back the system. Finally, Missouri is considering a hybrid ballot measure which would both prohibit non-citizens from voting as well as ban ranked choice voting in Missouri elections.
While abortion, citizen voting and ranked choice are the most popular measures this year, there are other initiatives being considered by multiple states. Marijuana has been a top issue for a number of years with Maryland, Ohio and Missouri legalizing its usage in 2022 while Oklahoma voted against recreational legalization in 2023. This year, Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota are considering legalizing marijuana. Another issue often considered is raising the minimum wage, $15 minimum wage being a popular topic nationwide. Alaska and Missouri are considering referendums that would enact a $15 minimum by 2026, while California is considering $18. If approved, it would pass the District of Columbia to become the highest minimum wage in the country. Finally, two states are considering abolishing the use of prisoners as unpaid laborers. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery for all except as a punishment for a crime but many states have been closing this loophole in recent years. In 2022, Vermont, Tennessee and Oregon abolished the practice while Louisiana voted to maintain the practice. This year, California and Nevada will vote on whether or not they too should abolish the practice.
While this article has covered 34 different state ballot measures, there are more than 100 more being considered statewide around the country. Even more still are considered at the local level. This is by no means a comprehensive list. If you want to find any other ballot measures, you can search all 2024 ballot measures on ballotpedia.com.
