More than one billion dollars were spent in 2024 elections supporting or opposing state and local ballot measures. With high-profile and contentious issues expected to be on the ballot, such as congressional redistricting, AI regulation, minimum wage increases, and more, that number promises to be even larger in 2026. As state legislatures become more polarized and more focused on national political issues, ballot measures are increasingly seen as an alternative avenue for businesses, interest groups, and citizens to change state laws.
But ballot campaigns—whether initiatives, propositions, referenda, constitutional amendments, tax levies, bond issuances, or other decisions put to the voters—are among the most complex and highly-regulated types of political activity. As companies, trade associations, nonprofits, high net worth individuals, political consultants, and others face pressure to get involved in these measures, they should recognize that the regulations governing ballot measures differ meaningfully from those that apply to candidate races. While these differences can provide unique opportunities to influence the outcome of the ballot campaign, they also come with complex compliance obligations.
In this alert, we describe ballot measures; their qualification process for the ballot; their tax and campaign finance consequences; and the restrictions that apply to ballot measure committees.