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Edited by Al Ortiz

Two more ballot measure certifications are needed for Ballotpedia’s Tuesday Count to hit the century mark. However, until then the total number of ballot-certified measures stands at 98 measures in 31 states with four ballot additions this week. The states which had a hand in bumping up the total were Alaska, Arizona and Missouri, which all sent legislative referrals to their 2012 general election ballots for voters to decide.

Starting in Arizona, a whopping three ballot measures secured a spot on the ballot, leaving the state with a total of seven measures that are up for a public vote in the fall.

The three measures deal with various topics including government financing, property and taxes.

Proposals in Arizona included House Concurrent Resolution 2056, which would mandate that the annual distribution from the state Permanent Fund be 2.5 percent of the average monthly market values of the fund for the immediately preceding five calendar years. This would take effect from fiscal year 2013 to fiscal year 2021.

The next proposal, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1001, authorizes the Arizona Legislature to enact a process to exchange trust land if the exchange is related to protecting military installations and managing lands. The last measure, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1025, would limit the annual growth in the limited property value of locally assessed properties. The limit would begin in 2015.

All three proposals are legislatively-referred constitutional amendments.

A majority vote is required in the Arizona State Legislature to send a constitutional amendment to the ballot. Arizona is one of ten states that allow a referred amendment to go on the ballot after a majority vote in one session of the state’s legislature.

Jumping to Alaska, in 2010, two bonding propositions found their way onto the ballot via legislative referral, where they were both approved. This year, state lawmakers added another bonding proposition, this time in hopes of improving the state’s public transportation.

Bonding Proposition A would allow for a general obligation bond to be issued for the purpose of transportation projects in the state. The general obligation bond would not exceed $453,499,200. This brings Alaska’s statewide ballot measure count to four.

Finally in Missouri, a judicial appointment question survived legislative session to make the ballot in November. The state constitutional amendment, which was certified on May 10, would grant the governor the power to appoint 4 persons to the Appellate Judicial Commission, the body responsible for choosing nominees for the Court of Appeals and the Missouri Supreme Court. The governor currently has the power to chose three of the seven total members.

In other ballot measure news, citizen initiative supporters in Massachusetts will now try to clear their last hurdle in order for their proposals to obtain ballot access this year. Since the state implements anindirect initiated state statute process, initiative organizers who turned in sufficient signatures by the initial November 23 petition drive deadline had their potential ballot measures reviewed by theMassachusetts General Assembly. Four efforts successfully turned in signatures by this deadline, therefore all four were reviewed by the state lawmaking body.

May 2, 2012 was the last day for the assembly to enact legislation similar to any proposed law. However, since the general assembly did not choose to make any of the four ballot proposals a law, supporters must now gather additional signatures to obtain ballot access. Those signatures must be obtained from about 1/2 of 1% of voters who voted in the last gubernatorial election and supporters must submit them to local clerks.

Validated signatures must then be turned in by the first Wednesday of July to the Massachusetts Secretary of State‘s office. Since the deadline falls on a national holiday, July 4, that deadline could be either July 3 or 5.

North Carolina Amendment 1 approved

On May 8, North Carolina Amendment 1 was approved by state voters. The highly-scrutinized measure was enacted with 61.05% of the vote.

The measure will add to the state constitution that the definition of marriage is between one man and one woman, according to the measure’s text. Also, the measure will ban any other type of “domestic legal union” such as civil unions and domestic partnerships.

Official election results will be posted when the North Carolina State Board of Elections website completes those numbers.

To view ballot measure election results, click here.

Quick hits

• Poll released on North Dakota Measure 2: A Forum Communications poll conducted May 3 to 8 of 500 likely voters found that nearly 3 to 1 of those surveyed oppose Measure 2. Of those who responded, 74% said they would be voting against the measure, while 26% said they would vote for it. The poll has a margin of error of +/-4.3 percent and was conducted by Essman/Research of Des Moines, Iowa.^[1]

• Voters may be barred from wearing “Fighting Sioux” related gear at polls: According to Mike Montplaisir, auditor for Cass County, North Dakota, voters who show up at the polls wearing clothing sporting the “Fighting Sioux” logo or nickname could be asked to remove it or cover it up. The county is prohibiting this because the nickname is the subject of Measure 4 and state elections law prevents wearing buttons or other materials designed to promote measures or candidates at a polling place. Montplaisir says, “It’s just a fairness issue. You can’t be campaigning at the polls.”^[2]

• Signatures still quite short for Michigan Marijuana Legalization Amendment: On Tuesday, May 15, supporters of the Michigan Marijuana Legalization Amendment are rallying at the state Capitol in Lansing in a late attempt to gather enough signatures to send the measure to the ballot. Proponents need 323,000 signatures by July 9 to qualify for November, but have currently only 25,000 signatures. According to campaign organizer, Matthew Abel, the problem is funding and lack of a major political lobby. In spite of this Abel remains positive, saying, “Our polling has shown that it’s very close to 50-50 and the poll numbers have been moving our way steadily for 40 years. We’re confident that if we can get it on the ballot that it will pass.”^[3]

SPOTLIGHT:Springfield measure given court injunction

In Springfield, Missouri, a local measure which was approved in February has been put under an injunction by a local judge who deemed the measure illegal.

The measure sought to implement an “E-verify system” within the city so that any business who was looking to hire a new employee would have to use the system to verify that the potential employee was not illegally in the country. The Ozark Minutemen, who brought the issue to the ballot, were urging the city officials to fight the injunction and allow the measure to be implemented.

City officials though had noted that the ordinance, if the judge deems it illegal, should not be implemented since it would be against state laws. The ordinance will not be enforced as it stands, though the Ozark Minutemen have stated that they would further fight the injunction.

Also, today in Oregon, resident will go to the polls and decide on several local issues.

The next petition drive deadline for citizen initiatives is in Montana. True or False? Click here to find out!

BALLOT LAW UPDATE

Libertarian Party challenges VA residency requirement: On May 14, the Libertarian Party filed a lawsuit challenging Virginia’s in-state residency requirement for candidate petition circulators. Earlier this year, a U.S. District Court overturned the state’s in-district residency requirement in Lux v. Judd. Although Virginia does not have initiative and referendum, anearlier ruling in Lux  has already had broader implications for ballot measure law.^[4]

A new update will be released on May 30, 2012. Click here for past Ballot Law Update reports!

By Ballotpedia’s Congressional, State Legislative, State Executive and Ballot Measure teams

The May 8 primary elections are now over, capping one of the busiest election days of the 2012 season. Here at Ballotpedia, we’ve got you covered in all aspects of the ballot. That includes filling you in on the overall occurrences of Tuesday’s events.

Here you fill find stories giving recaps on what happened during the primary elections held in the states below. Additionally, you will find links to the pages about the recalls that happened in Wisconsin. More recap articles are coming soon, so check back here for more updates!

Here are a few notable developments from the May 8 elections:

• North Carolina Amendment 1 was approved with 61.05% of voters casting “yes” votes. The measure intends to define marriage as between one man and one woman in the state constitution.
• Incumbent Richard Lugar, Republican U.S Senator from Indiana, lost to challenger Richard Mourdock. Lugar had been in office since 1977.
• Six state House incumbents lost on May 8 in North Carolina – five Republicans and one Democrat - bringing the number of defeated incumbents in state legislatures across the country to 18.
• Earl Ray Tomblin, the only West Virginia state executive incumbent seeking re-election who faced a primary challenger, easily defeated Arne Moltis in the Democratic gubernatorial election

Indiana

The bullets below contain a recap of what happened during the May 8 primary election in Indiana. No recap article was posted for state executives due to only one candidate running for governor from each party. The governor’s race was the only state executive office on the ballot in the primary election:

• State Executive Official Primaries
• Congressional and Legislative Primaries recap

North Carolina

The bullets below contain a recap of what happened during the May 8 primary election in North Carolina.

• Amendment 1 recap
• State Executive Official Primaries recap
• Congressional and Legislative Primaries recap

West Virginia

The bullets below contain a recap of what happened during the May 8 primary election in West Virginia.

• State Executive Official Primaries recap
• Congressional and Legislative Primaries recap

Wisconsin

Primary elections were held in the recall campaigns for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. See below for election results:

• Scott Walker recall, Wisconsin (2012)
• Rebecca Kleefisch recall, Wisconsin (2012)

By Al Ortiz and Eric Veram

RALEIGH, North Carolina: After months of campaigning from both support and opposition, voters ultimately spoke out in favor of North Carolina Amendment 1 on May 8.

With all 100 counties reporting, unofficial results of the only ballot measure on the May 8 primary ballot shows that the measure has been approved with 61.05% voters voting “yes” and 38.95% voting “no”.

The measure will add to the state constitution that the definition of marriage is between one man and one woman, according to the measure’s text. Also, the measure will ban any other type of “domestic legal union” such as civil unions and domestic partnerships.

Official elections results will be posted when the North Carolina State Board of Elections website completes those numbers.

To view ballot measure election results, click here.

The results

To see detailed election results, click on the measure link or click here.

May 8:

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Amendment 1	Marriage	Would define marriage in the state as between one man and one woman

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Edited by Al Ortiz

It is a busy time in the ballot measure world. The first ballot measure election of 2012 in North Carolina will take place today, where the highly-scrutinized Amendment 1 will be decided by voters. In addition, there were two ballot-certifications and two petition drive deadlines this past week.

The total ballot measure count across the country is 92 statewide questions in 31 states.

The first certification that occurred this week came in Arizona where the state legislature voted in favor of a state sovereignty amendment, paving the way for the proposal’s ballot access. The measure would declare state sovereignty over the state’s natural resources based on the argument of “equal footing.” Natural resources would include land, air, water, minerals and wildlife.

This now leaves Arizona with four measures on the statewide ballot. Citizens can also place statewide measures on the ballot in Arizona, and have until the July 5 petition drive deadline to submit the required amount of signatures needed for their proposal to obtain a spot in the general election.

Illinois joined in on the list of states with ballot measures this week, sending a public pension measure to the ballot. If passed, the measure would require a three-fifths approval by the General Assembly, city councils, and school districts that wish to increase the pension benefits of their employees.

The legislatively-referred constitutional amendment locked a spot on the ballot on May 3 when the Illinois Senate approved it with a 51-2 vote. The State House had previously given its approval.

Ballot measure news out of Illinois wasn’t just limited to the state legislature. On May 7, the state’s petition drive deadline arrived, signaling the end of the petition circulation process.

There were no known active attempts to place a citizen initiative on the ballot this year. However, groups opposing a 2011 law allowing same-sex civil unions have been gathering signatures for an advisory question regarding a referendum on the law. If this question is placed on the ballot it would need to be approved by voters, then approved by the legislature, before finally being sent to voters again as a referendum. No information has been posted on the Illinois Secretary of State‘s website indicating if this effort turned in signatures. Stay tuned for more updates!

Meanwhile, in Missouri, the complicated initiative process situation didn’t discourage supporters from submitting signatures by the May 6 deadline. In all, signatures were submitted for four proposals days before the deadline.

Initiative efforts that turned in signatures to the Missouri Secretary of State‘s office included a measure to raise the state’s minimum wage to $8.25 an hour; an initiative to limit the annual rate of interest, fees, and finance charges for payday loans; a proposal to impose an additional $1 tax on each package of twenty cigarettes for cessation programs; and a constitutional amendment to require that all municipal police forces or departments be controlled by the local governing body.

To qualify for the ballot, each initiated state statute effort is required to get signatures from registered voters equal to 5% of the total votes cast in the 2008 governor’s election. This amounts to 91,818 signatures. Constitutional amendments require 146,907 signatures to be placed on the ballot.

The petition drive deadline won’t be the last hurdle for initiative organizers in the state. Read more about this here.

On the west coast, the California initiative process could be just as confusing as Missouri’s. Petition drive deadline laws in the state may raise some questions about ballot access for 2012 initiatives.

Four major proposed statewide initiatives filed their signatures between May 1 and May 4, with the assumption that they had filed in time to qualify for the November 6 ballot.

However, in advance of every even-numbered year, the California Secretary of State publishes a “suggested initiative deadlines” document. The document works backward from the state’s final deadline through the various steps in the qualification process to produce a list of suggested deadlines for the various steps required.

The document is prefaced with a disclaimer, “The following suggested deadlines are not substitutes for California election laws, regulations, or policy. Other factors, such as amending the initiative measure before circulation or the length of time for circulation, will affect the time it takes to complete the process.”

If the set of suggested 2012 deadlines is accurate, then April 20 was the last day by which petition sponsors could submit signatures with the hope of qualifying for the November 6, 2012 ballot.

But how set-in-stone are these “suggested deadlines”? Read more about this here.

North Carolina election day

North Carolina Amendment 1 will be decided by state residents today during the May 8 primary election, where eligible voters will chime in on whether or not marriage should be defined as one man and one woman in the North Carolina Constitution. The proposal would also ban any other type of “domestic legal union” such as civil unions and domestic partnerships.

Same-sex marriage is already illegal in the state of North Carolina. The proposed measure, however, would add the ban to the state constitution.

Election results will be posted when polls close at 7:30 p.m. EST as precincts begin to report their totals. Live election results will be posted here, as well as on Amendment 1′s ballot measure page, and on Ballotpedia’s North Carolina election page under the “Ballot measures” tab. Live tweets on Ballotpedia’s Twitter page can also be followed.

Read Ballotpedia’s election preview of Amendment 1 here.

Quick hits

• Petitions for Oregon casino initiatives subject of criticism: According to the Oregon Secretary of State six people have called the office complaining of the tactics used by petitioners to collect signatures. Fairview City Council member Lisa Barton-Mullins has allegedly been asked twice to sign the petition and neither time did the petitioner use the word “casino.” However, according to the petition company hired by the casino campaign, canvassers must follow a script that does include the word. The measures in question are Initiatives 36 and 38.^[1]

• North Dakota Legislative Assembly backs figures on Measure 2: On Tuesday, May 1, the Legislative Management Committee accepted and approved the $812 million figure submitted by the Tax Department as the amount of money that the state Legislature would need to set aside for local governments if Measure 2 passes. The figure represents the amount of revenue local governments in the state would lose if property tax was abolished by the measure. The measure does stipulate that the state must use state tax revenues to “fully and properly fund the legally imposed obligations of the counties, cities, township and other political subdivisions.”^[2]

• Final poll shows support for North Carolina Amendment 1: The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling on April 27-29, shows that 55%, of the 982 polled, support the amendment while 41% do not. This is a 1% increase on both sides since previous week’s poll. The margin of error was +/-3.1%.^[3]

SPOTLIGHT:Oregon local election next week, wide variety of measures up for vote
Next week, May 15, 2012, Oregon residents in 19 counties will head to the polls to decide on 68 local measures throughout the state, and only a slim number of 7 deal with school bond and tax issues.

The vast majority of measures which will be voted on deal with other issues. Some notable measures include two Jackson Countycharter amendment measures which seek to allow the county to disregard state rules on land use and development. Strong opposition has surfaced around these measures which many deem would be illegal if they do get approved and would end up putting the county in court, costing residents more money. Also notable, in Clatsop County residents led a successful petition drive to get a measure on the ballot which would ban exotic animals in the unincorporated areas of the county, a measure aimed at circuses. The residents who are in favor noted animal abuses and cruel treatment by circus members as the main reason behind the measure. If approved, a fine of up to $500 would be established in the county.

Also, today May 8, Michigan residents will have 123 measures to vote on throughout the state, 93 of those deal with either school bond or tax measures. Six counties in California will also go to the polls today with 8 measures to be decided.

North Carolina Amendment 1, to be voted on in the May 8 state primary, would do what if enacted?Click here to find out!

BALLOT LAW UPDATE

Colorado kills amendment restriction: A proposed legislatively-referred constitutional amendment has been killed in theColorado Legislature. The amendment would have asked voters to impose a 60% supermajority requirement to pass constitutional amendments. However, it would have allowed voters to repeal amendments passed before 2013 with a simple majority. The bill’s demise came after a co-sponsor of the bill accused a committee member of “hijacking” the legislation. 80 Colorado amendments have been approved in the past 45 years.^[4]

A new update was last released on April 25, 2012. Click here for past Ballot Law Update reports!

By: Eric Veram

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois: Today, May 7, marks the filing deadline for state petition drive efforts seeking to place constitutional amendments before voters in this year’s statewide election on November 6.

For a measure to be placed on the ballot petitioners must submit valid signatures equal to 8% of the total votes cast for Governor in the last election, meaning 298,399 names are required this year. Any measures that are approved by the Secretary of State would then be placed on the ballot this fall, where they would need a three-fifths approval by voters to be enacted.

As of today there are no known active attempts to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot this year. However, groups opposing a 2011 law allowing same-sex civil unions have been gathering signatures for an advisory question regarding a referendum on the law. If this question is placed on the ballot it would need to be approved by voters, then approved by the legislature, before finally being sent to voters again as a referendum.

By: Eric Veram

RALEIGH, North Carolina: The primary election in North Carolina is tomorrow and voters will get to decide on one ballot measure, Amendment 1.

The contentious measure was filed in the Senate on April 5, 2011, as SB 514, sponsored by Senator Peter S. Brunstetter. The bill garnered approval from both the House and the Senate, and was eventually ratified for the ballot on September 14, 2011.

The measure seeks to define marriage in the state constitution as between one man and one woman, and would ban any other type of “domestic legal union” such as civil unions and domestic partnerships. Although same-sex marriage is already illegal in the state, supporters say the amendment is necessary to prevent future legislatures or judges from changing the law.^[1]

Support

The measure is supported in the legislature by a host of lawmakers, including, Senators James Forrester, Jerry W. Tillman, and Daniel Soucek and Representatives David Lewis, Sr., Rayne Brown,James Crawford, Jr., Paul Stam, Larry Brown, Mitch Gillespie, and Dewey Hill. In addition, the group Vote for Marriage NC has lent its support, as well as, the N.C. Values Coalition. The amendment has also received the support of some high profile religious figures, such as, Rev. Billy Graham and Catholic Bishops Peter Jugis of Charlotte and Michael Burbidge of Raleigh.

Supporters main argument for the amendment is that the issue is too important for the legislature or the courts to decide alone and that a vote on the matter is the fairest and most democratic solution.^[2]Sen. Stam argues that the state is not prepared to handle situations in which married same-sex couples move from other states and seek legal rights, like getting divorced.^[3] The response from religious leaders has been that the amendment is necessary to preserve the sanctity of marriage.^[4]

Opponents

The measure is not without resistance, however, and in the general assembly, Representatives Larry Hall and Joe Hackney and Senator Kay Hagan oppose the measure. They are joined by the Coalition to Protect NC Families, Equality North Carolina, and the Human Rights Campaign.^[5] Governor Beverly Perdue has voiced opposition to the measure, and on the national level, President Barack Obamahas come out against the measure describing it as among the “divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same-sex couples” he has long opposed.^[6] In an open letter to state officials asking them to halt efforts to approve the proposed amendment over 75 North Carolina CEOs made their position known on September 12, 2011.^[7]

Opponents primarily argue that the amendment with have far reaching negative consequences beyond banning same-sex marriage in the state, such as reducing the legal options available to people in domestic partnerships. Rep. Larry Hall argued that “Instead of creating an environment where we can create employment, attract entrepreneurs (and) attract talent, we’re going to try to put a sign up to say, ‘You are not welcome if you want to contribute to our society.’” Others argue that the issue is waste of time and should not be more important to the state than fixing the economy.

Amendment 1′s placement on ballot

The North Carolina Constitution, Section 4 of Article XIII, requires that a legislatively-referred amendment go on the ballot after it is approved by a 60% vote of each house of the North Carolina State Legislature.

On September 12, 2011 the House voted 75-42 in favor of referring the proposed amendment to the statewide ballot. The State Senate echoed the House with a 30-16 approval vote a day later onSeptember 13, 2011.^[8]

The following timeline highlights events related to the measure:

What will appear on the ballot

The official language as it will appear before voters reads:^[9]

Constitutional amendment to provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.
[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST

May 7, 2012

RALEIGH, North Carolina: After months of campaigning from both sides, the most highly-scrutinized ballot measure in 2012 so far, North Carolina Amendment 1, will finally be decided on Tuesday, May 8.

May 8 is the state’s primary election date, where North Carolina’s Democratic primary race for governor will also take place. In addition, there will be 28 contested Senate primaries and 63 contested House primaries.

With campaign efforts and attention coming to a boil on Amendment 1, however, Ballotpedia will be holding a live Twitter discussion today, May 7 at 4 p.m. EST, inviting all who have opinions on the potential state constitutional amendment and other election items.

The discussion will be mediated by Ballotpedia on Twitter. All tweets regarding the discussion will use the hashtag #nc2012talk. Only healthy debates and talking points will be allowed; please refrain from using derogatory or abusive comments.

Also joining in the discussion for any questions will be Ballotpedia reporters:

• Al Ortiz - Assistant Project Director of Ballot Measures
• Geoff Pallay - Project Director of State Legislatures and Congress
• Lauren Rodgers - Project Director of State Executives

Background

North Carolina Amendment One will appear on the primary election ballot in the state of North Carolina as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, asking voters whether or not to define marriage as between one man and one woman. If approved, the measure would also ban any other type of “domestic legal union” such as civil unions and domestic partnerships.

Same-sex marriage is already illegal in the state of North Carolina. The proposed measure, however, would add the ban to the state constitution.

Read arguments from supporters of the amendment here.

Read arguments from opponents of the amendment here.

If you participate

What: Twitter discussion about North Carolina Amendment 1 and other May 8 elections

When: Monday, May 7 from 4 to 5 p.m. EST

Where: Twitter at #nc2012talk

How to participate: If you’re on Twitter, share your thoughts by adding the hashtag #nc2012talk to any of your Tweets.

How to follow: If you don’t tweet yourself, follow the conversation by pointing your browser to: #nc2012talk.

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Edited by Al Ortiz

In a relatively slow week for measure certifications for the 2012 ballot, the Tuesday Count crawled up by one proposal. The total is now at an even 90 measures in 30 states.

The state with the newly-added ballot question was in Arizona, courtesy of the state legislature who voted in favor of placing a business tax break option in the November 6 election. The legislatively-referred constitutional amendment would give businesses in the state a break on property taxes on newly acquired equipment.

Arizona residents will now face three ballot measures this fall, joining two other legislative referrals. The other statewide questions can be found here.

Although the legislature has the power to place amendments and statutes on the ballot, state citizens can also do the same. As of today, May 1, there are a total of22 ballot initiative efforts circulating petitions in order to submit signatures by the July 6 petition drive deadline. Therefore, the statewide ballot measure total could potentially grow.

Unlike Arizona, signature collection for ballot initiatives in Idaho must cease today. The May 1 petition drive deadline has arrived, as initiative sponsors must submit petitions by the end of the business day.

Initiative supporters must collect at least 47,432 valid signatures from registered voters in order to place their proposals on the ballot. This equals to 6% of the qualified electors of the state at the time of the last general election.

Currently there are three measures that are circulating for ballot access. Since Idaho citizens cannot propose constitutional amendments, all circulating petitions are potential state statutes. Proposed initiatives include a measure to legalize medical marijuana in the state, a proposal to make animal cruelty a felony, and an initiative to cut the sales tax in the state from 6 to 5 percent.

According to early reports, however, the animal cruelty effort has fallen short of the required amount of signatures. Supporters of the effort, a coalition called Idaho 1 of 3, stated they had collected more than 30,000 signatures as of the deadline.^[1]

According to reports, the details of the law would include: defining the specifics of animal torture, increasing misdemeanor fines to $400 for a first offense, $600 for a second, and would make a third charge in a 15-year span a felony. The punishments for the third offense would be between six months and three years in prison and, at most, a $9,000 fine. Idaho is one of three states that does not consider animal cruelty a felony, hence the name of the supporting coalition. Read more about this measure, and recent legislative action that brought controversy to the subject, here.

Also, stay tuned for updates from Ballotpedia on who filed signatures by the deadline in Idaho.

The next statewide ballot measure petition drive deadline is in Missouri on May 6. Last week’s Tuesday Count report highlighted the dilemma surrounding state ballot initiatives.

In short, on February 28, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetum struck down a law that directs the state auditor to prepare fiscal analysis for proposed ballot initiatives.^[2]

According to reports, Beetem stated that the law was in violation of the Missouri Constitution. Specifically, the ruling stated that the 1997 statute conflicts with a constitutional provision that prohibits laws mandating the state auditor to perform duties unrelated to overseeing the spending and receiving of public money. Ballot initiatives must have the official financial summary included with submitted petition signatures, making it unclear as to what will happen to proposed ballot initiatives for the time being.

In other initiative news, California residents could find themselves voting on the state’s “three strikes” law, as sponsors submitted more than 830,000 signatures to theCalifornia Secretary of State‘s office on April 26. Proposed initiated constitutional amendments only need 807,615 valid signatures to make the ballot. Read more about that measure here.

Quick hits

• Tie in State Board of Canvassers keeps emergency manager veto referendum off the ballot: On April 26, the Michigan State Board of Canvassers voted 2-2 on the emergency manager veto referendum. The party line split in the vote means, barring any action by a court, the measure will not appear on the ballot this fall.^[3]

• SC Senate votes on measure requiring gubernatorial candidates to choose a running mate: On April 26, the South Carolina Senate passed the South Carolina Gubernatorial Elections Amendment back to the House with a 34-1 votes. If both the House and the Senate approve the measure without amending it, it will go to voters in November.^[4]

SPOTLIGHT:California election today and Michigan election next week
Next week, May 8, Michigan residents will have their opportunity to vote 123 measures. 93 of those deal with either school bond or tax measures.

Some notable school issues include the Brighton school bond measure which is asking for $88 million to help pay for upgrades to the schools as well as make renovations and improvements to school sites as needed. Proponents note the need to keep the school up to date to remain competitive as well as ensure the safety of students. Opponents on the other hand have stated that the district is asking too much when everything asked for is not necessary. A number of schools are also asking for renewals of non residential property taxes; taxes on properties which are not the main residential home of residents. Along with school issues, 30 measures will also be on the ballot, which deal with other local issues, municipal property taxes or bonds.

Also, today in Riverside County, California, residents in the San Gorgonio healthcare district will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not they want to renew the district’s property tax for another ten years. The money from the parcel tax goes towards ensuring emergency services offered in the district would continue to be offered to residents.

The death penalty will be the subject of a ballot measure in what state this November?Click here to find out!

BALLOT LAW UPDATE

Missouri House passes intiative changes: On April 13, the Missouri House passed House Joint Resolution 47 which would lower the state’s Missouri signature requirements but institute a distribution requirement. HJR 47 is a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment and must be approved by the Senate and the voters in order to take effect.^[5]

In addition, on April 26 the House approved House Bill 1869 revising a number of the state’s ballot measure statutes. For a summary of HB 1869, see our recent news story on the bill here.

Lawsuit filed against OK personhood amendment: In late March, the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit against an Oklahoma initiative that would define personhood as beginning at the moment of conception. The group argued that the law is in violation of the US Constitution. On April 30, the Oklahoma Supreme Court unanimously ruled against the amendment. Although the court did not find the proposed amendement in direct violation of Oklahoma Constitution, the state constitution forbids amendments that conflict with the U.S. Constitution. The court held that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey governed in the case.^[6][7]

• The order in the case can be found here.

A new update was released on April 25, 2012. Click here for past Ballot Law Update reports!

RALEIGH, North Carolina: North Carolina Amendment One will appear on the May 8, 2012 ballot in the state of North Carolina as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment.

The measure has garnered national attention as both sides of drummed up spending in the weeks leading up until the vote. Here’s a recap of some recent developments.

• The group Vote FOR Marriage NC launched a series of ads supporting the amendment, including one specifically targeting an ad from the opposition.^[1]
• The state chapter of the NAACP launched a radio campaign against the amendment asking that North Carolina voters oppose the amendment in the name of keeping discrimination out of the state constitution. The state NAACP says that although is opposes the amendment, its campaigning should not be viewed as a stance on gay marriage.^[2]
• On Sunday, The New York Times published an editorial opposing the measure, writing, “North Carolinians need to consider whether they really want to inflict this gratuitous bigotry on their fellow citizens and their children.”^[3]
• An April 20-22, 2012 poll by Public Policy Polling revealed that 54% would vote for the amendment, while 40% would vote against it, and 6% are undecided. A total of 1,139 likely primary voters were polled. The margin of error was +/-2.9%.^[4]

Polls will be open from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM EST on May 8.

BOISE, Idaho: The month of May begins with a crucial step for initiative proponents to get their proposal on the ballot in Idaho.

Today, May 1 marks the 2012 petition drive deadline for supporters of potential ballot measures to submit collected signatures to the Idaho Secretary of State‘s office.

Currently there are three measures that are circulation for the ballot. Those measures are:

• A measure to legalize medical marijuana in the state.

• A proposal to animal cruelty a felony.

• An initiative to cut the sales tax in the state from 6 to 5 percent.

Ballotpedia will track initiative filings throughout the day. Stay tuned for more updates!