History of initiative and referendum in the U.S.

• On this page:
• Historical foundations
• Populist and Progressive eras
• Modern movement

Ballot basics
Ballot measure history
U.S. history
State histories

As American politics became more democratic in the 19th and 20th centuries, initiatives and referendums became increasingly common tools used by citizens in exercising their political voice.

Adapted from:

The Initiative and Referendum Almanac

M. Dane Waters

HIGHLIGHTS

In 17th-century New England, ordinances and other laws were listed on town hall meeting agendas.

Massachusetts was the first state to hold a statewide legislative referendum in 1778.

The most recent state to add the initiative process to its constitution was Mississippi in 1992.

Historical foundations of initiative and referendum

The use of the initiative and referendum (I&R) process has ebbed and flowed throughout U.S. history. Initiatives and referendums, which come from a variety of ideologies, can enact changes within governments at the local, state and national levels.

Various forms of I&R have existed in the United States since the 17th century, beginning in New England, where ordinances and other issues were listed on town hall meeting agendas. The voting within these town hall meetings established a precedent for the legislative referendum process, which allows citizens to ratify laws and amendments proposed by their elected officials.

Legislative referendum was proposed by Thomas Jefferson in 1775, for Virginia's state constitution. He believed that citizens were capable of being leaders and that they should agree upon, and approve, changes to laws.

Legislative referendum was not added to Virginia’s state constitution. Jefferson was unable to advocate for the process because he was at the Continental Congress.

One year after legislative referendum was proposed to Virginia delegates, Georgia’s delegates gathered in Savannah to draft a new state constitution. An addition was suggested: Amendments could be added to the constitution once a petition signed by the majority of voters in each county called for a convention.

Though the process was never used and was ultimately deleted from the constitution, Georgia delegates were the first to conceive of a referendum process for state citizens.

In an essay, "Federalist No. 49," James Madison wrote:

“	As the people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter, under which the several branches of government hold their power, is derived, it seems strictly consonant to the republican theory to recur to the same original authority ... whenever it may be necessary to enlarge, diminish, or new-model the powers of government.	”
—James Madison

Massachusetts was the first state to hold a statewide legislative referendum; citizens ratified the state constitution in 1778. New Hampshire followed in 1792. Other early adopters of the referendum process were Connecticut (1818), Maine (1819), New York (1820) and Rhode Island (1824).

James Madison

Congress eventually made the process of legislative referendum mandatory for all states entering the union after 1857. Today, legislative referendum is exercised in every state.

The populist and progressive eras

By the late 19th century, many citizens wanted to increase their check on representative government. Members of the populist and progressive movements were dissatisfied with the government; they felt that wealthy special interest groups controlled the government and that citizens had no power to break this control.

A comprehensive platform of political reforms was proposed that included women’s suffrage, secret ballots, direct election of senators, recall elections and primary elections. The initiative process, which was the cornerstone of the reform package, was included as well. Without it, activists believed that many of the reforms they wanted (which were being blocked by state legislatures) would not be realized.

The theory of the initiative process was that the individual was capable of enhancing the representative government. The populists—who believed citizens should rule the elected and not allow the elected to rule the people—and the progressives took advantage of methods that were already in place for amending state constitutions, and they began pushing state legislators to add an amendment that would allow for an initiative and popular referendum process.

In 1897, Nebraska became the first state to allow cities to place initiative and referendum in their charters. One year later, citizens in South Dakota copied the initiative and referendum provisions from the 1848 Swiss Constitution and successfully amended them into their state’s constitution. South Dakota became the first state to adopt the statewide initiative and popular referendum process in 1898. Utah followed in 1900. Oregon voters approved the initiative and referendum amendment by an 11-to-1 margin in 1902.

Other states soon followed. Montana voters approved an initiative and popular referendum amendment proposed by the state legislature in 1906. One year later, Oklahoma became the first state to include the initiative and popular referendum in its original constitution. Maine and Michigan passed initiative and popular referendum amendments in 1908, and California placed initiative and popular referendum in its constitution in 1911.

Votes on adopting the initiative process

See also: History of ballot measures to establish initiative and referendum processes

Constitutional amendments

The table below lists constitutional amendments to establish state initiative and referendum processes in the United States:

State	Year	Measure	Origin	Yes	No	Outcome
Mississippi	1992	Amendment 8: Initiated Constitutional Amendments Measure	Legislature	70.22%	29.78%	a
Rhode Island	1986	Question 5: Citizen-Initiated Ballot Measure Process and Nonpartisan Constitutional Convention Candidates Amendment	Legislature	48.14%	51.86%	d
Minnesota	1980	Amendment 5: Initiative and Referendum Measure	Legislature	53.19%	46.81%	d
South Dakota	1972	Amendment E: Initiated Constitutional Amendment and Constitution Revision Measure	Legislature	67.14%	32.86%	a
Illinois	1970	Constitution Revision Measure	Convention	57.25%	42.75%	a
Florida	1968	Amendment 1: Constitution Ratification Measure	Legislature	55.42%	44.58%	a
Wyoming	1968	Amendment 2: Initiative and Referendum Process Measure	Legislature	74.77%	25.23%	a
Alaska	1956	Proposition 1: Constitution Ratification Measure	Convention	68.12%	31.88%	a
Massachusetts	1918	Question 1: Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Convention	51.28%	48.72%	a
Minnesota	1916	Amendment 7: Initiative and Referendum Measure	Legislature	78.46%	21.54%	d
Maryland	1915	Amendment 4: Veto Referendum Process Amendment	Legislature	76.78%	23.22%	a
Minnesota	1914	Amendment 1: Initiative and Referendum Measure	Legislature	80.16%	19.84%	d
Mississippi	1914	Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	68.68%	31.32%	a
North Dakota	1914	Initiated Constitutional Amendments Measure	Legislature	66.40%	33.60%	a
North Dakota	1914	Initiated State Statutes and Referendums Measure	Legislature	70.96%	29.04%	a
Texas	1914	Proposition 1: Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	48.29%	51.71%	d
Wisconsin	1914	Question 8: Initiated Constitutional Amendments Measure	Legislature	36.38%	63.62%	d
Wisconsin	1914	Question 2: Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	31.30%	68.70%	d
Idaho	1912	SJR 12: Veto Referendum Process Amendment	Legislature	76.39%	23.61%	a
Idaho	1912	SJR 13: Initiative Process Amendment	Legislature	71.92%	28.08%	a
Mississippi	1912	Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	65.27%	34.73%	d
Nebraska	1912	Amendment 1: Initiative and Referendum Measure	Legislature	92.51%	7.49%	a
Nevada	1912	Question 3: Initiative Process Amendment	Legislature	90.65%	9.35%	a
Ohio	1912	Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Convention	57.47%	42.53%	a
Washington	1912	Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	71.49%	28.51%	a
Wyoming	1912	Initiative and Referendum Measure	Legislature	85.66%	14.34%	d
Arizona	1911	Constitution Ratification Measure (Version 2)	Convention	88.79%	11.21%	a
Arizona	1911	Constitution Ratification Measure (Version 1)	Convention	78.68%	21.32%	a
California	1911	Proposition 7: Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	76.41%	23.59%	a
New Mexico	1911	Constitution Ratification Measure	Convention	70.32%	29.68%	a
Arkansas	1910	Amendment 10: Initiative and Referendum Measure	Legislature	70.59%	29.41%	a
Colorado	1910	Referendum 3: Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	76.95%	23.05%	a
Maine	1908	Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	68.67%	31.33%	a
Michigan	1908	Constitution Ratification Measure	Convention	65.17%	34.83%	a
Missouri	1908	Amendment 3: Initiative and Referendum Measure	Legislature	54.67%	45.33%	a
Oklahoma	1907	State Constitution Ratification Measure	Convention	71.17%	28.83%	a
Montana	1906	Amendment 1: Initiative and Referendum Measure	Legislature	84.61%	15.39%	a
Missouri	1904	Amendment 2: Initiative and Referendum Measure	Legislature	40.61%	59.39%	d
Nevada	1904	Question 1: Veto Referendum Process Amendment	Legislature	84.72%	15.28%	a
Oregon	1902	Measure Nos. 105-106: Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	91.63%	8.37%	a
Utah	1900	Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	71.17%	28.83%	a
South Dakota	1898	Initiative and Referendum Amendment	Legislature	59.10%	40.90%	a

Advisory questions

The table below lists non-binding questions about establishing initiative and referendum processes:

State	Year	Measure	Origin	Yes	No	Outcome
Rhode Island	1996	Initiative Process Advisory Question	Legislature	53.14%	46.86%	a
Illinois	1910	Initiative and Referendum Process Advisory Question	Initiative	77.72%	22.28%	a
Delaware	1906	Initiative and Referendum Advisory Question	Legislature	88.86%	11.14%	a
Illinois	1902	Local Initiative and Referendum Process Advisory Question	Initiative	82.42%	17.58%	a
Illinois	1902	State Initiative and Referendum Process Advisory Question	Initiative	83.02%	16.98%	a

Initiative usage

Citizens have brought to the ballot policy reforms in many areas, including education, taxes and drugs.

Voter turnout in states with an initiative on the ballot is approximately 3 to 8 percent higher than in states without an initiative on the ballot. In 1998, voters in 16 states with an initiative on the ballot went to the polls at a rate almost 3 percent greater than voters in the states without an initiative on the ballot.

Within the states that allow the initiative process, almost 850 statewide initiatives (out of more than 2,000 proposed) have been adopted since 1904. The initiative process is allowed in at least 24 states, but more than 60 percent of initiative activity has occurred in just six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, North Dakota, Oregon and Washington.

Many initiatives do not reach the ballot. In California, according to political scientist Dave McCuan, only 26 percent of all initiatives filed made it to the ballot, and only 8 percent of those filed were adopted by the voters.

During the 2000 election cycle, more than 350 initiatives were filed, and only 76 (approximately 22 percent) were placed on the ballot.

Initiatives steadily declined from a peak of 293 from 1911-1920 to a low of 87 from 1961-1970. Many factors contributed to this, including World War I, World War II, the Great Depression and the Korean War.

The initiative process increased in 1978, after the passage of California’s Proposition 13. Since then, two prolific decades of initiative use have occurred: 1981-90 (271 initiatives) and 1991-2000 (389 initiatives).

Scholars refer to 1996 as the “high watermark” year for the use of the initiative process; out of 93 initiatives on statewide ballots, 44 were adopted (47 percent). Also that year, a combined amount of more than 14,000 laws and resolutions were adopted by state legislators in those same states.

Between 1996 and 2000, the number of initiatives on the ballots was constant.

In 1998, 61 statewide initiatives were on the ballots, the lowest in a decade. In 2000, 76 initiatives made statewide ballots, 17 fewer than what appeared on the ballot in 1996—but still consistent with the decade average of 73 initiatives per election cycle.

The constitutions of five states—Colorado, Maine, Mississippi, Ohio and Washington state—allow initiatives only during odd-numbered years. Therefore, only four initiatives were on statewide ballots in 2001, two fewer than the number of initiatives appearing on the 1991 general election ballot.

Decades with the highest number of statewide initiatives on the ballot	Number proposed	Number adopted	Passage rate
1991-2000	389	188	48%
1911-1920	293	116	40%
1981-1990	271	115	42%

Decades with the lowest number of statewide initiatives on the ballot	Number proposed	Number adopted	Passage rate
1901-1910	56	25	45%
1961-1970	87	37	41%
1951-1960	1114	45	39%

States with the highest number of statewide initiatives on the ballot	Number proposed	Number adopted	Passage rate
Oregon	325	115	36%
California	279	98	35%
Colorado	183	65	36%
North Dakota	168	76	45%
Arizona	154	64	42%

Footnotes

All the statistical data and information, unless otherwise noted, was gathered from Citizen Lawmakers (Temple University Press) or independently gathered by the Initiative & Referendum Institute.