Many states and localities voted on critical ballot measures last month on key topics that cover voting rights and redistricting, energy and the environment, health care, criminal justice, taxes and labor, and even unusual proposals like one to create a city-run bank. At each of the preceding links, you can find a close look at the major measures that appeared before voters in each broad subject area, while below we summarize the complete picture of how 2018 unfolded. You can also find a complete spreadsheet here, where we've catalogued 80 ballot measures across 29 states and 12 cities and counties that we followed.
One of the most important success stories of 2018 was how pro-democracy measures passed almost everywhere they were on the ballot. Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, and Utah all passed varying versions of redistricting reforms. Florida voted to curtail a Jim Crow-era law that disenfranchised those convicted of felonies for life by automatically restoring voting rights to everyone who has served their sentences. Maryland, Michigan, and Nevada all passed measures to make voter registration easier and more accessible. However, a few states passed new GOP-backed voting restrictions, including voter ID in Arkansas and North Carolina.
Election-related issues weren’t the only measures on the ballot, though. We’ve rounded up the results for all 80 state or local ballot measures we tracked by topic in the charts below.
Elections, Voting Rights, Redistricting, and Campaign Finance
ALABAMA |
Amendment 4 |
Eliminates legislative special elections if a vacancy arises in the final year of the four-year term |
Passed |
ARKANSAS |
Issue 2 |
Requires a photo ID to vote (already required by statute) |
Passed |
COLORADO |
Amendment V |
Lowers the age requirement for to run for legislative office from 25 to 21 |
Failed |
COLORADO |
Amendment Y |
Establishes an independent congressional redistricting commission |
Passed |
COLORADO |
Amendment Z |
Establishes an independent legislative redistricting commission |
Passed |
FLORIDA |
Amendment 4 |
Automatically restores voting rights to those who have completed their felony sentences, except for murder or felony sexual offenses |
Passed |
LOUISIANA |
Amendment 1 |
Bans those with felony convictions from seeking office within five years of completing their sentence unless pardoned |
Passed |
MARYLAND |
Question 2 |
Allows for same-day voter registration on Election Day instead of just during early voting |
Passed |
MICHIGAN |
Proposal 2 |
Creates an independent redistricting commission |
Passed |
MICHIGAN |
Proposal 3 |
Implements automatic and same-day voter registration, no-excuse absentee voting, straight-ticket voting, and routine election audits |
Passed |
MISSOURI |
Amendment 1 |
Implements partisan fairness criterion for legislative redistricting, plus state lobbying and campaign finance restrictions |
Passed |
MONTANA |
LR-129 |
Restricts those who aren't postal workers, elections officials, family members, caregivers, or acquaintances from turning in someone else's mail ballot |
Passed |
NEVADA |
Question 5 |
Implements automatic voter registration |
Passed |
NORTH CAROLINA |
Legislative Appointments to Elections Board |
Transfers power to appoint the state board of elections from the governor to the legislature and creates a four-to-four deadlock between the major parties |
Failed |
NORTH CAROLINA |
Voter ID Amendment |
Requires photo ID to vote in person but not by mail absentee |
Passed |
NORTH DAKOTA |
Measure 2 |
Bans non-citizens from voting in state or local elections |
Passed |
OKLAHOMA |
State Question 798 |
Ends separate elections for lieutenant governor and provides for a joint ticket with the governor |
Failed |
SOUTH CAROLINA |
Amendment 1 |
Makes the superintendent of education an appointed position |
Failed |
SOUTH DAKOTA |
Constitutional Amendment W |
Restores ethics reforms repealed by the legislature in 2017 and prohibits future legislative tampering with ballot initiatives without voter input |
Failed |
SOUTH DAKOTA |
Constitutional Amendment X |
Requires a 55 percent supermajority for constitutional amendment ballot measures |
Failed |
SOUTH DAKOTA |
Constitutional Amendment Z |
Creates a single-subject rule for constitutional amendments |
Passed |
SOUTH DAKOTA |
Initiated Measure 24 |
Bans out-of-state contributions to ballot measure committees |
Passed |
UTAH |
Proposition 4 |
Creates a bipartisan advisory redistricting commission and imposes nonpartisan standards on legislatively drawn maps |
Passed |
BALTIMORE, MD |
Question H |
Establishes public campaign financing for local elections |
Passed |
DENVER, CO |
Measure 2E |
Creates a public financing system to match donations at a 9:1 ratio up to $50 for participating candidates; bans corporate, business, and labor contributions; and lowers all contribution limits |
Passed |
FARGO, ND |
Measure 1 |
Implements approval voting for local elections |
Passed |
GOLDEN, CO |
Question 2E |
Lowers the voting age to 16 in local elections |
Failed |
LANE COUNTY, OR |
Measure 20-290 |
Implements "Score Then Automatic Runoff" for county elections and eliminates primaries |
Failed |
LOS ANGELES, CA |
Measure E |
Realigns local primary election dates with state primary dates |
Passed |
MEMPHIS, TN |
Referendum Ordinance No. 5677 |
Repeals instant-runoff voting law that hasn't been implemented yet |
Failed |
NEW YORK, NY |
Question 1 |
Lowers the campaign contribution limit and increases the amount of matching public funds |
Passed |
PORTLAND, OR |
Measure 26-200 |
Creates campaign contribution and expenditure limits for local office |
Passed |
Health Care
Jurisdiction |
Name |
Proposal |
Outcome |
Alabama |
Amendment 2 |
Establishes no right to an abortion or funding of abortions |
Passed |
Idaho |
Proposition 2 |
Expands Medicaid under Obamacare |
Passed |
Montana |
I-185 |
Eliminate 2019 expiration date for Medicaid expansion and raises tobacco taxes to pay for it and other healthcare services |
Failed |
Nebraska |
Initiative 427 |
Expands Medicaid under Obamacare |
Passed |
Oregon |
Measure 106 |
Bans public funding for abortions |
Failed |
Utah |
Proposition 3 |
Expands Medicaid under Obamacare |
Passed |
West Virginia |
Amendment 1 |
Establishes no right to an abortion or funding of |
Passed |
Energy and the Environment
Jurisdiction |
Name |
Proposal |
Outcome |
Arizona |
Proposition 127 |
Requires 50 percent renewable energy by 2030 |
Failed |
Colorado |
Amendment 74 |
Attempt by the oil and gas industry to invalidate Proposition 112 by requiring compensation if any government law or regulation reduces property values, even if the value is future energy extraction |
Failed |
Colorado |
Proposition 112 |
Bans new oil, gas, and fracking projects within 2,500 feet of occupied buildings and other vulnerable areas |
Failed |
Florida |
Amendment 9 |
Bans offshore oil and gas drilling, plus vaping in indoor workplaces |
Passed |
Nevada |
Question 6 |
Requires 50 percent renewable energy by 2030 |
Passed |
Washington |
Initiative 1631 |
Creates an extensive carbon fee on polluters to fund environmental programs |
Failed |
Criminal Justice, Marijuana, and the Judiciary
Jurisdiction |
Name |
Proposal |
Outcome |
Colorado |
Amendment A |
Repeals the exception to the ban on slavery that allows it as punishment for crime |
Passed |
Florida |
Amendment 11 |
Allows retroactive re-sentencing when criminal statutes are revised, repeals the ban on aliens from owning property, and repeals outdated high-speed transportation language |
Passed |
Florida |
Amendment 6 |
Raises the mandatory judicial retirement age from 70 to 75, bans judicial deference to administrative agencies on statutory interpretation, and enacts "Marsy's Law" |
Passed |
Georgia |
Amendment 4 |
Enacts Marsy's Law |
Passed |
Kentucky |
Marsy's Law Amendment |
Enacts Marsy's Law |
Passed |
Louisiana |
Amendment 2 |
Requires unanimous juries for felony convictions instead of 10 votes out of 12 |
Passed |
Michigan |
Proposal 1 |
Legalizes recreational marijuana |
Passed |
Missouri |
Amendment 2, Amendment 3 & Proposition C |
Legalizes medical marijuana |
Passed (Amendment 2 only) |
Nevada |
Question 1 |
Enacts Marsy's Law |
Passed |
North Carolina |
Judicial Selection for Midterm Vacancies |
Transfers the power to fill judicial vacancies from the governor to the legislature under the deceptive language of "nonpartisan merit" selection |
Failed |
North Carolina |
Marsy's Law Amendment |
Enacts Marsy's Law |
Passed |
North Dakota |
Measure 3 |
Legalizes recreational marijuana |
Failed |
Ohio |
Issue 1 |
Makes drug possession and use offenses no more than misdemeanors includes other criminal justice reforms |
Failed |
Oklahoma |
State Question 794 |
Enacts Marsy's Law |
Passed |
Utah |
Proposition 2 |
Legalizes medical marijuana |
Passed |
Washington |
Initiative 940 |
Creates a "good faith" test for when the use of deadly force is justified and requires law enforcement to receive de-escalation training, undergo mental health training, and provide first aid |
Passed |
West Virginia |
Amendment 2 |
Grants the legislature the power to reduce the judiciary's budget by up to 15 percent a year |
Passed |
Nashville, TN |
Amendment 1 |
Creates an independent police oversight board |
Passed |
Taxes and Labor
Jurisdiction |
Name |
Proposal |
Outcome |
Arizona |
Proposition 126 |
Bans new or increased taxes on all services |
Passed |
Arkansas |
Issue 5 |
Sets a $11 minimum wage by 2022 |
Passed |
California |
Proposition 6 |
Repeals the 2017 gas tax increase and requires a public vote on future increases |
Failed |
Colorado |
Amendment 73 |
Replaces the flat income tax with progressive brackets and uses the increased funding for education |
Failed |
Florida |
Amendment 5 |
Requires a two-thirds supermajority for the legislature to raise taxes or fees |
Passed |
Maine |
Question 1 |
Creates payroll and non-wage income taxes to fund universal home care for the elderly and disabled |
Failed |
Missouri |
Proposition B |
Sets a $12 minimum wage by 2023 and indexes it to the Consumer Price Index thereafter |
Passed |
North Carolina |
Income Tax Cap |
Cuts the income tax cap from 10 percent to 7 percent but doesn't actually cut the existing 5.75 percent flat tax rate |
Passed |
Oregon |
Measure 104 |
Extends the three-fifths supermajority requirement to raise taxes to any laws that increase revenue |
Failed |
Cook County, IL |
Earned Sick time for Workers Measure |
Allows municipalities to establish five paid sick days |
Passed |
Cook County, IL |
Minimum Wage Measure |
Sets a $13 minimum wage for adults by 2020 and indexes it to the Consumer Price Index thereafter |
Passed |
San Francisco, CA |
Proposition C |
Creates a tax on corporations to fund programs for the homeless |
Passed |
Other Topics
Jurisdiction |
Name |
Proposal |
Outcome |
California |
Proposition 10 |
Allows local governments to impose rent control on all types of housing |
Failed |
Hawaii |
Constitutional Convention |
Calls for a constitutional convention |
Failed |
Massachusetts |
Question 3 |
Upholds ban on gender-identity discrimination in public places |
Passed |
Oregon |
Measure 105 |
Repeals sanctuary state law |
Failed |
Los Angeles, CA |
Amendment B |
Creates a city-owned bank to strengthen local banks and provide investment funds |
Failed |