Single-subject rule for ballot initiatives

Laws governing ballot measures
State
• Laws governing state initiative processes
• Laws governing state recall processes
• Changes to ballot measure law in 2025
• Difficulty analysis of changes to laws governing ballot measures
• Analysis of 2024 changes to laws governing ballot measures
Local
• Laws governing local ballot measures
Learn about Ballotpedia's election legislation tracker.
2026 » « 2024

A single-subject rule is a state law that requires ballot initiatives to address a single subject, topic, or issue. There are 26 states that provide for at least one type of statewide citizen-initiated measure. Of those 26 states, 16 have single-subject rules.

There is a similar rule called the separate-vote requirement, which applies to constitutional amendments, whether citizen-initiated or legislative, in at least six states. The separate-vote requirement prohibits constitutional amendments from changing more than one article or section of the state constitution.

HIGHLIGHTS

Adopted in 2022: Arizona voters adopted a single-subject rule with the passage of Proposition 129, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.

Looking to 2024: Voters in North Dakota decided on a constitutional amendment to establish single-subject rules for initiatives, increase the signature requirement for constitutional initiatives, and require constitutional initiatives to be approved at two elections.

Requirements by state

Sixteen (16) states provide for at least one type of statewide citizen-initiated measure and have a single-subject rule. Ten (10) states that provide for an initiative process do not have a single-subject rule. The following map provides information on single-subject rules for citizen-initiated measures.