Taking the Initiative: Ballot Measure Money, 2004

Publication Date: April 2006

Publisher: National Institute on Money in State Politics (U.S.)

Author(s):

Research Area: Politics

Type: Report

Abstract:

Across the country in the 2003 and 2004 elections, voters decided a plethora of issues brought directly to the ballot, ranging from whether ambling should be allowed or expanded to whether limits should be placed on lawsuits or on the definition of marriage. In 32 states, legislatures either placed referenda on the ballot or citizens took the initiative to place their own measures before voters. The result: voters across the country had the opportunity to approve or reject more than 130 proposals to change state laws or constitutions through the ballot process. The ballot questions often spurred heated advertising campaigns and generated millions of dollars for the committees trying to pass or defeat them.