Voters Defend Direct Democracy by Defeating Restrictive Measures

Voters in seven states resoundingly affirmed their power to pass laws without going through their lawmakers on Tuesday, approving ballot measures that protect future citizen-led ballot initiatives and rejecting efforts to restrict them, Bolts reported.

Voter Rejection of Supermajority Mandates in the Dakotas, Utah, and California

In North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and California, voters decided whether to require 60-percent supermajorities to pass certain constitutional amendments or tax-related initiatives. The Associated Press projected all of these restrictive measures to lose by double-digit margins, except for California’s Proposition 43, where the slow count left the race undecided.

Advocates pointed to these outcomes as clear pushback against legislative overreach. Hanna Ledford, executive director of the Fairness Project, noted that politicians attempted to strip rights away from voters on an epic scale, but overwhelmingly, voters said no way.

In Utah, voters rejected Amendment B by nearly 25 points. That measure would have required a 60 percent supermajority for citizen initiatives that raise taxes, which would have doomed the 2018 Medicaid expansion funded by a sales tax increase. Meanwhile, California’s Proposition 43 faced opposition as the measure was down in the count with no final call yet. The measure trailed 55 to 45 percent.

Constitutional Protections Secured in Missouri and Montana

Missouri and Montana took a proactive stance by placing measures on the ballot to enshrine a fundamental right to direct democracy, shielding citizen-led campaigns from ongoing restrictions and litigation by state officials. Missourians approved Amendment 6 by a margin of 20 percentage points, and Montana’s proposal also prevailed.

In Missouri, the new rules make it significantly harder for lawmakers to undo the will of the voters. Legislators must now muster an 80 percent supermajority to amend any measure approved by the electorate or to reinstate a law voters previously rejected. Missouri voters also rejected a GOP-sponsored amendment to repeal a 2024 abortion rights measure by a 10-point margin.

Idaho Defeats Drug Policy Initiative Ban

Idaho lawmakers pursued a different strategy by targeting a single policy area, asking voters to preemptively ban all future initiatives on drug policy. Idaho voters rejected the measure.

Opponents argued that permitting an exemption for drug policy would set a dangerous precedent: “Many of the same legislators who would prefer to take away citizens’ ability to weigh in on drug policy would also prefer to take away their ability to weigh in on taxation or education, or any type of workers’ rights policy.”

San Francisco Officials Propose Quadrupling Ballot Signature Requirements

In San Francisco, officials put forward a charter amendment proposing to quadruple the signature requirement for local ballot items from 2 to 8 percent of registered voters.

In California, the final outcome of Proposition 43 remained open as election officials processed late-cast ballots.