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Ballot measure petition deadlines and requirements, 2026

From Ballotpedia
2026 U.S. state
ballot measures
2027»
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Initiatives filed

Aballot initiative is a citizen-initiatedballot measure. The ballot initiative process allows citizens to proposestatutes orconstitutional amendments, depending on the state, and collect signatures to place their proposals on the ballot for voters to decide. Some states have anindirect process in which legislatures have the option to approve the proposals outright. A citizen-initiated ballot measure can also be aveto referendum, which asks voters whether to uphold or repeal an enacted law.

There are26 states that allow for citizen-initiated ballot measures. However, in Mississippi, the process has been suspended due to a court ruling.

Signatures must be collected for citizen-initiated ballot measures. Requirements related to signatures and deadlines are state-specific. This page provides information on these requirements for2026. To see the filing deadline requirements for state and federal candidates, clickhere.

See also:2026 ballot measures

Requirements

The tables below provide information on signature deadlines and dates for citizen-initiated ballot measures in 2026.

Notes:

  • Red padlock.png This symbol signifies that a signature deadline has passed for a type of ballot measure in a state.

Initiatives

The tables below provide information on signature deadlines and dates for initiatives, including initiated constitutional amendments and initiated statutes, in 2026.

Deadlines and Requirements for 2026
StateTypeDeadlinesExplanationSignatures
AlaskaIndISSBallotpedia:Calendar 01/20/2026Signatures must be submitted before the start of the legislative session34,098
ArizonaCICA07/02/2026Signatures must be submitted at least four months before the general election383,923
ArizonaCISS07/02/2026Signatures must be submitted at least four months before the general election255,949
ArkansasCICA07/03/2026Signatures must be submitted at least four months before the general election90,704
ArkansasCISS07/03/2026Signatures must be submitted at least four months before the general election72,563
CaliforniaCICA06/25/2026Signatures must be verified at least 131 days before the general election874,641
CaliforniaCISS06/25/2026Signatures must be verified at least 131 days before the general election546,651
ColoradoCICA08/03/2026Signatures must be submitted at least three months before the general election124,238
ColoradoCISS08/03/2026Signatures must be submitted at least three months before the general election124,238
FloridaCICABallotpedia:Calendar 02/01/2026Signatures must be verified on or before February 1880,062
IdahoCISS05/01/2026Signatures must be verified on or before May 170,725
IllinoisCICA05/03/2026Signatures must be submitted at least six months before the general election328,371
MaineIndISSBallotpedia:Calendar 02/02/2026Signatures must be submitted within 25 days after the convening of the legislative session67,682
MassachusettsIndICABallotpedia:Calendar 11/19/2025Signatures must be submitted two weeks before the first Wednesday in December74,574
MassachusettsIndISSBallotpedia:Calendar 11/19/2025 (Round 1)
06/17/2026 (Round 2)		Round 1: Signatures must be submitted two weeks before the first Wednesday in December
Round 2: Signatures must be submitted two weeks before the first Wednesday in July		74,574 (Round 1)
12,429 (Round 2)
MichiganCICA07/06/2026Signatures must be submitted at least 120 days before the general election446,198
MichiganIndISS05/27/2026Signatures must be submitted at least 160 days before the general election356,958
MississippiIndICABallotpedia:Calendar Suspended[1]Signatures must be submitted at least 90 days before the next regular legislative session106,190
MissouriCICA05/03/2026Signatures must be submitted at least six months before the general election170,215
MissouriCISS05/03/2026Signatures must be submitted at least six months before the general election106,384
MontanaCICA06/21/2026Signatures must be verified on or before the third Friday of June60,241
MontanaCISS06/21/2026Signatures must be verified on or before the third Friday of June30,121
NebraskaCICA07/02/2026Signatures must be submitted at least four months before the general election10% of registered voters at time of deadline
NebraskaCISS07/02/2026Signatures must be submitted at least four months before the general election7% of registered voters at time of deadline
NevadaCICA06/24/2026[2]Signatures must be filed by 15 days after the primary election148,788
NevadaIndISSBallotpedia:Calendar 11/20/24Signatures must be filed by 15 days after the general election102,362
North DakotaCICA07/06/2026Signatures must be submitted at least 120 days before the general election31,164
North DakotaCISS07/06/2026Signatures must be submitted at least 120 days before the general election15,582
OhioCICA07/01/2026Signatures must be submitted at least 125 days before the general election413,487
OhioIndISSBallotpedia:Calendar 12/26/2025 (Round 1)
07/01/2026 (Round 2)		Round 1: Signatures must be submitted at least 10 days before the legislative session begins
Round 2: Signatures must be submitted at least 125 days before the general election[3]		124,046 (Round 1)
124,046 (Round 2)
OklahomaCICA08/25/2026Signatures must be verified at least 70 days before the general election172,993
OklahomaCISS08/25/2026Signatures must be verified at least 70 days before the general election92,263
OregonCICA07/02/2026Signatures must be submitted at least four months before the general election156,231
OregonCISS07/02/2026Signatures must be submitted at least four months before the general election117,173
South DakotaCICA05/05/2026Signatures must be filed by the first Tuesday in May of a general election year35,017
South DakotaCISS05/05/2026Signatures must be filed by the first Tuesday in May of a general election year17,508
UtahCISSBallotpedia:Calendar 02/15/2026Signatures must be submitted on or before February 15140,748
UtahIndISSBallotpedia:Calendar 11/15/2025 (Round 1)
Ballotpedia:Calendar 02/15/2026 (Round 2)		Round 1: Signatures must be submitted on or before November 15
Round 2: Signatures must be submitted on or before February 15		70,374 (Round 1)
70,374 (Round 2)
WashingtonCISS07/02/2026Signatures must be submitted at least four months before the general election308,911
WashingtonIndISSBallotpedia:Calendar 01/02/2026Signatures must be submitted at least 10 days before the legislative session308,911
WyomingIndISSBallotpedia:Calendar 02/06/2026Signatures must be submitted before the legislative session40,669

Referendums

Note: Deadlines forveto referendums will be added in 2026 based on state legislative session schedules.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑Mississippi has an initiated constitutional amendment process, including asignature distribution requirement based on five congressional districts. However, the requirements cannot be met, according to theMississippi Supreme Court, because the state has four congressional districts following reapportionment in 2001. As a result, the process remains part of the state constitution but cannot be carried out in practice.
  2. ↑This deadline is a projection based on state law.
  3. ↑The requirement for each indirect initiative is 90 days following the legislature's four-month deadline to address the initiative. While signatures can be submitted within that time frame, after July 1, 2026, the initiative would appear on the following year's ballot.
2026 ballot measures
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Overviews
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Signature requirements
v • e
Signature requirements
Signature
requirements

Alabama •Alaska •Arizona •Arkansas •California •Colorado •Connecticut •Delaware •Florida •Georgia •Hawaii •Idaho •Illinois •Indiana •Iowa •Kansas •Kentucky •Louisiana •Maine •Maryland •Massachusetts •Michigan •Minnesota •Mississippi •Missouri •Montana •Nebraska •Nevada •New Hampshire •New Jersey •New Mexico •New York •North Carolina •North Dakota •Ohio •Oklahoma •Oregon •Pennsylvania •Rhode Island •South Carolina •South Dakota •Tennessee •Texas •Utah •Vermont •Virginia •Washington •West Virginia •Wisconsin •Wyoming

Petition
companies

American Petition Consultants •Arno Political Consultants •Bader & Associates, Inc. •Canvasser Services •Capitol Assets •Democracy Direct •Democracy Resources •Discovery Petition Management •FieldWorks •JSM, Inc. •Kimball Petition Management •LAMM Political Partners, LLC •Masterson & Wright •National Ballot Access •National Petition Management •National Solutions •National Voter Outreach •PCI Consultants, Inc.

Terms

Approved for circulation •Initiative petition circulation periods •Circulator •Circulator affidavit •Forged signature •Fraudulent signature •Invalid signature •Paid circulator •Petition •Random sampling •Registered voter •Signature certification •Signer •Signer intent •Valid signature •Volunteer circulator •Signature transcription

Petition drive
deadlines

2008 deadlines •2009 deadlines •2010 deadlines •2011 deadlines •2012 deadlines •2013 deadlines •2014 deadlines •2015 deadlines •2016 deadlines •2017 deadlines •2018 deadlines •2019 deadlines •2020 deadlines •2021 deadlines •2022 deadlines •2023 deadlines •2024 deadlines •2025 deadlines •2026 deadlines •

Signature law

States where signature requirements are based on votes cast for governor