2013 ballot measure petition signature costs
This Ballotpedia report is an in-depth look at the "cost-per-required-signature" for measures that qualified for state ballots in 2013. The cost per required signature (CPRS) is a comparison of the amount of money spent on the petition drive to the number of signatures the state requires for an initiative to make the ballot. For more information about this report and how it is compiled, see the overview summary here.
Though there were a total of 31 measures on statewide ballots in 2013, only three measures in two states - Colorado and Washington - were initiatives that required the collection of signatures in order to achieve ballot access. Of these three, Colorado's Amendment 66 boasts the highest CPRS. Ballotpedia estimated the CPRS for Amendment 66 at between $8.18 and $11.47. It is exceptional that a ballot measure featured on an odd-numbered year ballot would achieve such a high CPRS, as especially prominent ballot measures are usually reserved for even-numbered year elections when voter turnout is traditionally higher. The other two measures featured in this report appeared on the ballot in Washington state and had an average CPRS of $1.45.
General Disclaimer: All calculations are only as accurate as the data made available through the data sources.
Overview
A total of 133 initiatives were filed for circulation in the 2013 election season; however, only three made it to a vote. The following table shows the average CPRS of those three measures, by state.
| Table 1: Overview Summary of Results | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | # of Initiatives | Average CPRS | |||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 1 | $8.18 - $11.47 | |||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 2 | $1.45 | |||||||||||||||||
State by state
Tables 2A and 2B below present individual CPRS data for all three of 2013's initiatives.
Colorado
| Table 2A: Colorado CPRS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Subject | Signature collection company | Cost | Signatures required | CPRS |
| Amendment 66 | Education | FieldWorks | $779,046[1][2][3][4] | 86,105 | $8.18 - $11.47 |
| TOTAL: | $779,046 | ||||
Washington
| Table 2B: Washington CPRS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Subject | Signature collection company | Cost | Signatures required | CPRS |
| Initiative 517 | Direct democracy | Citizens in Charge | $305,454[5] | 246,372 | $1.24 |
| Initiative 522 | Business regulation | Peoples Petitions LLC | $407,747[6] | 246,372 | $1.66 |
| TOTAL: | $713,201 | ||||
Signature collection companies
Three signature collection companies were used to gather signatures for the three initiatives featured on 2013 ballots:
- FieldWorks
- Citizens in Charge
- Peoples Petitions LLC
See also
- 2012 ballot measure petition signature costs
- 2013 ballot measures
- Analysis of the 2013 ballot measures
Footnotes
- ↑ Expenditure detail, Colorado Commits to Kids, July 1, 2013 report
- ↑ Expenditure detail, Colorado Commits to Kids, August 1, 2013 report
- ↑ Expenditure detail, Colorado Commits to Kids, September 3, 2013 report
- ↑ Expenditure detail, Colorado Commits to Kids, September 16, 2013 report
- ↑ Public Disclosure Commission, "Inkind Contributions for: PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE ON INITIATIVES," accessed October 1, 2013
- ↑ Public Disclosure Commission, "Expenditures for Label it WA," accessed October 1, 2013
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