Our most recent book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics. Among other things, it discusses state and congressional elections.
By the numbers: This year, voters in 41 states will have considered 159 ballot measures, with most appearing on Nov. 5, according to Ballotpedia, a tracking service.The vast majority were referred to voters by state lawmakers and commissions, while the remainder came from citizens who collected petitions to qualify.
What they're saying: The presidential election is a prime time for ballot measures because of the high turnout, said Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, the executive director at the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a progressive group.Other factors include partisan blockages at the state level, political parties trying to turn out issue-driven voters and the Dobbs decision, which has led to a record number of abortion-related referendums.
The big picture: The referendum count is on par with even-year elections when the average number of ballot measures is 161, said Ryan Byrne at Ballotpedia.
- 10 states — including Arizona, Colorado, Florida and New York — are deciding whether to protect access to abortion or place limits on it.
- Five states and Washington, D.C., are considering overhauls to how elected leaders are picked, whether through changes to primary elections, ranked choice voting or both.
- Three states — Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota — are weighing whether to legalize marijuana.
The intrigue: Though the overall numbers are consistent, the 57 citizen-led initiatives this year are the most in a presidential election year since the 76 in 2016.
PPIC shows that Californians still have a conservative streak on crime:
Proposition 36 would allow felony charges for possessing certain drugs and for theft under $950, if the defendant has two prior drug or theft convictions. After reading the Proposition 36 ballot title and summary, 73 percent of likely voters say they would vote yes, while 25 percent would vote no. In September, findings were nearly identical (71% yes, 26% no). Today, as there was last month, there is broad—and bipartisan—support for Proposition 36. Regionally, support is highest in the Inland Empire (80%) and lowest in Los Angeles (70%, 71% Orange/San Diego, 73% Central Valley, 73% San Francisco Bay Area). Two in three or more across demographic groups would vote yes on Proposition 36.
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Proposition 6 (Eliminates Constitutional Provision Allowing Involuntary Servitude for Incarcerated Persons). Likely voters are slightly more likely to say they would vote no (56%) than yes (41%) on this legislative constitutional amendment. Support for this measure has declined slightly since September (46% yes, 50% no).
