Initiated constitutional amendment
 |
| 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 |
Aninitiated constitutional amendment is acitizen-initiated ballot measure that amends astate's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments. Proponents of a ballot initiative collect petition signatures from a certain minimum number of registered voters in a state.
The 18 states that provide for initiated constitutional amendments are:
An initiated constitutional amendment (ICA) can be direct orindirect. Of the 18 states that provide for initiated constitutional amendments, these measures are direct in 16 states and indirect in two states - Massachusetts and Mississippi. While a direct initiative goes to voters, an indirect initiative goes to the state legislature, which can take various actions on the proposal, before voters. You can read more about indirect initiated constitutional amendmentshere.
Note on Mississippi:
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.[1]
Initiated constitutional amendments on the ballot
- See also:2026 ballot measures and2027 ballot measures
2026
States that provide for initiated constitutional amendments
The following map illustrates which states provide for initiated constitutional amendments and information on whether the initiatives are direct or indirect:
List of states
The following table provides a list of what states provide for initiated constitutional amendments, as well as information on signature requirements and vote requirements.
| States that provide for initiated constitutional amendments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Type | Constitutional provision | Signature number requirement | Vote requirement |
| Arizona | Direct | Article 21, Section 1 of Arizona Constitution | 15% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | 60% for tax increase-related measures; Simple majority for other initiated constitutional amendments |
| Arkansas | Direct | Article 5, Section 1 of Arkansas Constitution | 10% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments |
| California | Direct | Article 2, Section 8 of California Constitution | 8% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments |
| Colorado | Direct | Article 5, Section 1 of Colorado Constitution | 5% of votes cast in the last secretary of state election | 55% for initiated constitutional amendments |
| Florida | Direct | Article 11, Section 3 of Florida Constitution | 8% of votes cast in the last presidential election | 60% for initiated constitutional amendments |
| Illinois | Direct | Article 14, Section 3 of Illinois Constitution | 8% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | 60% for initiated constitutional amendments or a simple majority (50%+1) of total ballots cast |
| Massachusetts | Indirect | Article 48 of Massachusetts Constitution | 3% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments provided that the number of votes cast on the initiative is equal to at least 30% of total ballots cast |
| Michigan | Direct | Article 12, Section 2 of Michigan Constitution | 10% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments |
| Mississippi | Indirect | Article 15, Section 273 of Mississippi Constitution | 12% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments provided that the number of votes cast on the initiative is equal to at least 40% of total ballots cast |
| Missouri | Direct | Article 3, Section 49 of Missouri Constitution | 8% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election from each of two-thirds of the state's congressional districts | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments |
| Montana | Direct | Article 14, Section 9 of Montana Constitution | 10% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments |
| Nebraska | Direct | Article 3, Section 1 of Nebraska Constitution | 10% of registered voters | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments provided that the number of votes cast on the initiative is equal to at least 35% of total ballots cast |
| Nevada | Direct | Article 19, Section 2 of Nevada Constitution | 10% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments at two successive general elections |
| North Dakota | Direct | Article 3, Section 1 of North Dakota Constitution | 4% of the population at the last census | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments |
| Ohio | Direct | Article 2, Section 1a of Ohio Constitution | 10% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments |
| Oklahoma | Direct | Article 5, Section 1 of Oklahoma Constitution | 15% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments |
| Oregon | Direct | Article 4, Section 1 of Oregon Constitution | 8% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments |
| South Dakota | Direct | Article 23, Section 1 of South Dakota Constitution | 10% of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election | Simple majority (50%+1) for initiated constitutional amendments |
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 | 880,062 | 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[2] | |
| Michigan | Yes | 446,198 | Yes | 356,958 | Yes | 223,099 | |
| Mississippi[3] | Yes | 106,190 | No | N/A | No | N/A | |
| Missouri | Yes | 170,215[4] | Yes | 106,384[4] | Yes | 106,384[4] | |
| Montana | Yes | 60,241 | Yes | 30,121 | Yes | 30,121 | |
| Nebraska | Yes | 126,838 | Yes | 88,787 | Yes | 63,419[5] | |
| New Mexico | No | N/A | No | N/A | Yes | 92,829[6] | |
| 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[7] | 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 | |
Types of ballot measures
- See also:Ballot measure
Most ballot measures are placed on the ballot throughcitizen initiatives orlegislative 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
- Indirect initiated constitutional amendment
Footnotes
- ↑Mississippi Supreme Court, "In Re Initiative Measure No. 65: Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler V Michael Watson, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of State for the State of Mississippi," May 14, 2021
- ↑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."
- ↑4.04.14.2This 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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