Ballot Measures & Initiatives News

Voters in many states decide policy questions directly at the ballot box. Read Ballot Measures & Initiatives News for explanations of referendums, citizen initiatives, proposed constitutional amendments, and tax measures, including the arguments surrounding each proposal and its election outcome.
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  • news

    Gov. DeWine Vetoed Voter ID for Mail-In Ballots. What’s Next?
    On Wednesday night, Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, vetoed House Bill 472, which in its final form included provisions requiring a photo ID for mail-in ballots. The fight for voter integrity does not appear to be over in the Buckeye State, however. In vetoing the bill, DeWine released a statement noting that the bill “would not…
    Rebecca Downs
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  • news

    Maine Is ‘Too Progressive’ to Allow Men in Women’s Sports, Girl Dad Leader Says as He Fights to Keep Initiative on the Ballot
    Maine fathers are standing up for their daughters, challenging the secretary of state’s decision to invalidate their ballot initiative that aims to protect women’s sports from men claiming to be transgender. “Maine is far too progressive to continue allowing sexist, regressive, and illegal sex-based discrimination in our schools, and the daily violation of the civil…
    Tyler O’Neil
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  • news

    Alaska’s ‘Sham’ Dan Sullivan Booted From Primary Election Ballot
    An Alaskan candidate for U.S. Senate who ran under the same name and party affiliation as incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan has been declared ineligible to appear on the primary ballot by the state’s elections director. On Monday, Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher stated in a letter to candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr….
    Francesca Cella
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  • news

    This New Swing State Ballot Measure Could Change Voting in 2028
    The Arizona state Legislature has advanced the Secure Elections Act, confirming it will appear on the November ballot to give voters the chance to secure statewide elections. The proposed constitutional amendment requires government-issued voter identification to ensure only American citizens vote in their elections. “For years, Arizonans have watched the same election problems repeat while…
    Virginia Grace McKinnon
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  • news

    Voter ID Gets Major Mail-In Ballot Boost From Ohio Legislature
    The Ohio Legislature passed a bill that would require photo ID to be submitted starting in 2027 for absentee voters’ mail-in ballots. That’s in addition to what’s coming this November, when voters get the opportunity to enshrine Ohio’s current voter ID law into the state constitution. If Gov. Mike DeWine signs House Bill 472 into…
    Rebecca Downs
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  • news

    ACLU Funnels Millions Into Abortion Ballot Initiative in ‘Reckless Disregard’ for the Law, Watchdog Says
    The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation has poured $2.5 million into a pro-abortion and pro-transgender ballot initiative campaign in Missouri after receiving millions from foreign sources. A watchdog group alleges the donations are in direct violation of the state’s law. Americans for Public Trust filed a complaint with the office of Missouri Attorney General Catherine…
    Tyler O’Neil
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  • news

    ‘Corruption’ or ‘Incompetence’? Maryland Rushes to Reprint, Resend 500,000 Mail Ballots
    Scrambling to repair its mail-ballot boondoggle, the Maryland State Board of Elections began reprinting ballots Thursday, with plans to have more than 500,000 ballots resent to voters by next Friday. The elections board first announced last week that an undetermined number of mail ballots for the June 23 party primary were sent to the wrong…
    Fred Lucas
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  • news

    House Panel Flags Maryland’s Mail Ballot ‘Error’
    After Maryland announced an error within a massive shipment of more than 500,000 mail-in ballots, Rep. Greg Murphy had a one-word description. “Oops,” the North Carolina Republican said during a hearing Wednesday of the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections. “What’s the deal going on with Maryland?” Murphy asked Don Palmer, a former chairman of the…
    Fred Lucas
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  • news

    Can California Elections Be Saved? Voter ID Qualifies for the Ballot
    Californians will get a chance to vote for more secure elections this November after a voter identification and citizenship verification initiative qualified for the ballot. Following a successful signature-gathering campaign led by Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, the ballot question, if approved, would require government-issued identification for in-person voting. Californians voting by mail would need…
    Angelina Delfin
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  • news

    DOJ Seeks 800,000 Ballots From Michigan
    Michigan state and local officials are ready for a showdown with the Justice Department over election data, expressing concern that election offices in the state could be targets of FBI search warrants. The Justice Department has sought ballots and election records related to the 2024 election from Wayne County, which includes Detroit, Fox News reported….
    Fred Lucas
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  • news

    Trump Mail-In Ballot Order Sets Up Battle With States
    President Donald Trump’s latest executive order on federal elections has set the stage for battles with Democrat state leaders. On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order to regulate the use of mail-in ballots in federal elections. The order requires the Department of Homeland Security to provide states with a list of citizens who are eligible…
    George Caldwell
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  • news

    Justices Skeptical of Counting Late-Arriving Ballots
    The Supreme Court’s conservative justices on Monday seemed particularly skeptical of arguments by the state of Mississippi that mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day should still be counted. Mississippi counts ballots that arrive up to five days after Election Day. At least 17 states and the District of Columbia count ballots that arrive late, with…
    Fred Lucas
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  • opinion

    SAVE America Act Will Make Absentee Ballots Great Again
    Most discussion of the SAVE America ACT has focused on how it would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and photo ID to cast ballots in federal elections. Lying Democrats claim that citizenship-confirming birth certificates are beyond the reach of mere mortals. Never mind that private and government websites help Americans order them online for home delivery.  Also, racist Democrats argue that black and brown voters are…
    Deroy Murdock
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  • news

    Largest ‘Precinct’: Why Some Mail Ballots Travel Across State Lines Before Counting Begins
    The U.S. Postal Service system of handling and delivering mail ballots often leads to rejected or late ballots, election security advocates contend.   The Election Integrity Network issued two recent reports on the handling of mail ballots by postal employees and the use of regional mail processing centers across state lines. The reports claim that current practices could either…
    Fred Lucas
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  • news

    Parental Rights, Election Integrity Among Key Ballot Measures Across the Country
    Texas voters approved a first-in-the-nation parental rights initiative Tuesday.  Lone Star state voters also approved a state constitutional amendment requiring citizenship to vote in the state. Meanwhile, Maine voters rejected an election reform measure that included adopting voter ID.  Voters in six states decided on 24 statewide measures on Tuesday, according to Ballotpedia, a handful…
    Fred Lucas
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  • opinion

    Transgender Ideology Is on the Ballot in NJ, VA
    Political parties routinely dispatch high-profile surrogates to campaign on behalf of their top-of-the-ticket candidates, especially in off-year election states. But Democrats have an added incentive this year because a marquee cause held dear by the party and embraced by its two gubernatorial candidates in next week’s elections is at risk of dissolving into irrelevancy.   The bedrock of transgender ideology got a seismic shock earlier this month when research from…
    Scott Hogenson
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  • news

    6 Ballot Measures to Watch in November
    A dose of direct democracy is hitting the off-year elections as some ballot measures have far-reaching implications, from redrawing congressional maps to gun control to election integrity.  Voters in six states will decide on 24 statewide measures, according to Ballotpedia. Overall, 17 of the measures will appear on the Texas ballots, according to the State…
    Fred Lucas
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  • news

    ‘FLIP YOUR BALLOT’: Opponents of Newsom’s Gerrymandering Agenda Have Advice for California Voters
    Opponents of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s gerrymandering plan to redraw congressional districts to favor Democrats are warning voters to “flip” over their mail-in ballots when returning them to ensure that their vote on the measure can’t be seen through the envelope.  This comes after critics of the Newsom-driven ballot measure noted that mail-in ballot return…
    Fred Lucas
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  • news

    Amid Shutdown, Jeffries Visits California to Support Gerrymandering Ballot Measure
    As the federal government shutdown nears the end of a third full week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., took time away from Washington and from his home district in New York to visit the blue bastion of California. In a visit to Los Angeles on Sunday, Jeffries advocated for California’s Proposition 50 ballot measure…
    Jacob Adams
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  • news

    Secrecy of Ballot, Election Security Could Be at Risk in Virginia Contests
    The secret ballot is at risk in a populous Virginia county near Washington, D.C., amid one of the most closely watched state elections of 2025, Republicans charge.  The Fairfax County Republican Committee sent a letter calling for the county’s General Registrar Eric Spicer to correct the design for the absentee ballot return envelope that potentially…
    Fred Lucas
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