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Indirect initiated state statute
 |
| Initiated |
| • Initiated constitutional amendment |
| • Initiated state statute |
| • Veto referendum |
| Legislative |
| • Legislative constitutional amendment |
| • Legislative state statute |
| • Legislative bond issue |
| • Advisory question |
| Other |
| • Automatic ballot referral |
| • Commission-referred measure |
| • Convention-referred amendment |
| Select a state from the menu below to learn more about that state's types of ballot measures. |
An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.
While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.
Legislatures in five states — Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, and Washington — can propose an alternative proposal to appear alongside the indirect initiated state statute as a competing ballot measure.
The nine states that provide for indirect initiated state statutes are:
States with indirect initiated statutes
The following map illustrates which states provide for initiated state statutes and information on whether the initiatives are direct or indirect:
List of states
The following table provides a list of what states provide for indirect initiated state statutes, as well as information on the signature requirements and legislative processes.
| States that provide for indirect initiated state statutes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Adopted | Constitutional provision | Signature number requirement | Legislative process | |
| Alaska | 1956 | Article XI, Section 1 of Alaska Constitution | 10% of votes cast in the last general election | • Legislature is not required to consider the initiative, and the initiative goes on the ballot after the legislative session adjourns • The governor cannot veto an indirect initiative approved by the Legislature. | |
| Maine | 1908 | Article IV, Section 18 of Maine Constitution | 10% of votes for governor at the last general election | • A simple majority vote is required for the Legislature to approve the initiative. • The Legislature can propose an alternative, competing measure. • The governor can veto an indirect initiative, which if not overridden would then be sent to the ballot. | |
| Massachusetts | 1918 | Article LXXIV of Massachusetts Constitution | 3.5% of the votes cast for governor in the last election | • A simple majority vote is required for the Legislature to approve the initiative. • The Legislature can propose an alternative, competing measure. • The governor can veto an indirect initiative, which if not overridden would then be sent to the ballot. | |
| Michigan | 1908 | Article II, Section 9 of Michigan Constitution | 8% of the votes cast for governor in the last election | • A simple majority vote is required for the Legislature to approve the initiative. • The Legislature can propose an alternative, competing measure. • The governor cannot veto an indirect initiative approved by the Legislature. | |
| Nevada | 1905 | Article 19, Section 2 of Nevada Constitution | 10% of the votes cast in the preceding general election | • A simple majority vote is required for the Legislature to approve the initiative. • The Legislature can propose an alternative, competing measure. • The governor can veto an indirect initiative, which if not overridden would then be sent to the ballot. | |
| Ohio | 1912 | Article II, Section 1b of Ohio Constitution | 3% of the total number of active voters for the legislature and an additional 3% for the ballot | • A simple majority vote is required for the Legislature to approve the initiative. • The governor can veto an indirect initiative, which if not overridden would then be sent to the ballot. | |
| Utah | 1900 | Article VI, Section 1 of Utah Constitution | 4% of the total number of active voters for the legislature and an additional 4% for the ballot | • A simple majority vote is required for the Legislature to approve the initiative. • The governor can veto an indirect initiative, which if not overridden would then be sent to the ballot. | |
| Washington | 1912 | Article II, Section 1 of Washington Constitution | 8% of the votes cast for governor in the last election | • A simple majority vote is required for the Legislature to approve the initiative. • The Legislature can propose an alternative, competing measure. • The governor cannot veto an indirect initiative approved by the Legislature. | |
| Wyoming | 1968 | Article 3 of Wyoming Constitution | 15% of the total ballots cast in the previous general election | • Legislature is not required to consider the initiative, and the initiative goes on the ballot after the legislative session adjourns. • The attorney general may determine a legislative act is the same as the initiative and remove the initiative from the ballot. | |
Types of citizen-initiated measures in each state
- See also: States with initiative or referendum
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 2025-2026 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 | 34,098 | Yes | 34,098 | |
| 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 | 871,500 | No | N/A | No | N/A | |
| Idaho | No | N/A | Yes | 70,725 | Yes | 70,725 | |
| 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 | 185,152[3] | Yes | 115,720[3] | Yes | 115,720[3] | |
| Montana | Yes | 60,240 | Yes | 30,120 | Yes | 30,120 | |
| Nebraska | Yes | 126,838 | Yes | 88,787 | Yes | 63,419[4] | |
| New Mexico | No | N/A | No | N/A | Yes | 92,829[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 | 140,748 | Yes | 140,748 | |
| Washington | No | N/A | Yes | 308,911 | Yes | 154,456 | |
| Wyoming | No | N/A | Yes | 40,669 | Yes | 40,669 | |
Other types of ballot measures
Most ballot measures are placed on the ballot through citizen initiatives or legislative processes. Others are placed on the ballot automatically, by a special commission, or by a state constitutional convention. The following is a list of different types of state ballot measures:
See also
- Forms of direct democracy in the American states
- States with initiative or referendum
- Types of ballot measures
- Types of citizen-initiated ballot measures
- Initiated state statute
- Indirect initiative
Footnotes
- ↑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.
- ↑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."
- ↑ 3.03.13.2This 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.
- ↑ To suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election, the requirement is 126,838 valid signatures.
- ↑This is 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 is 232,072 valid signatures.
- ↑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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