Direct Democracy Under Attack
How politicians are scheming to make ballot initiatives impossible to pass
When politicians fail to act, ballot initiatives are the only way voters can go around them to pass laws. But now, self-interested politicians and special interests are trying to silence the voters by making initiatives all-but-impossible to pass. Their plan goes through state legislatures and the Supreme Court, and would mean decades of democracy victories are overturned and the people no longer have a voice.
Find out where these attacks are underway using the interactive map below.
The Attack on
Ballot Initiatives
- Requires super-majority vote for passage
- Requires simple-majority vote for passage
- Does not have a state-wide ballot initiative process
- # of state attacks in the last 5 years
- Where key voter-passed laws are threatened by SCOTUS case
- Where super-majority attack is on the ballot in November
Hover overTap table cells for source information and links:
State
Does your state have a citizens initiative process?
What is the threshold to pass a ballot initiative?
# of attacks on the ballot initiative process in the last 5 years
This is a sampling of key pro-voter wins that could be at risk following the Moore v. Harper SCOTUS case. An unfavorable ruling next year could mean that down the road, these laws wouldn’t apply to federal elections. We will be updating this list for all 50 states in the coming weeks.
For more information, see Moore v. Harper, Explained.
Does SCOTUS case threaten key citizen-initiated election law?
Alabama
Does your state have a citizens initiative process?
No
What is the threshold to pass a ballot initiative?
n/a
# of attacks on the ballot initiative process in the last 5 years
n/a