Statement of Principles on Initiatives and Referenda

Prior to task force meetings, ALEC posts these legislative member-submitted draft model policies to our website. The draft model policies are then discussed, debated, and voted on by ALEC task force members. Policies that receive final approval by legislators on the ALEC Board of Directors become official ALEC model policy. Draft model policies that fail to become official ALEC model policy are removed from the website.

Policy Status

  • Type: Statement of Principle
  • Status: Draft
  • Date Introduced: July 23, 2026

Task Forces

  • Process and Procedures

    • Tags

  • 2026 Annual Meeting

    • Summary

    Initiatives and referenda, though intended to grant citizens greater control over government, too often become a tool for special interests to bypass the ordinary legislative process. As with elections generally, states with initiative and referenda have an obligation to adequately secure these process and protect taxpayers and the public from abuses and burdensome costs.
    Draft

    Statement of Principles on Initiatives and Referenda

    • No Burden on Taxpayers – The cost of placing a measure on the ballot should be borne entirely by the committee that opts to launch a campaign. Initiatives impose heavy costs on election officials and state agencies as they verify petition signatories, vet petition and ballot language, and enforce the laws governing initiatives, and these costs accrue even when a measure fails to qualify for the ballot.  
    • Accountable – Laws governing ballot measures should be strictly enforced to deter fraud and ensure strict compliance. Circulators should be eligible to register to vote in the state, be registered and trained in relevant state laws, have no criminal record, and be required to consent to state jurisdiction to allow enforcement of state law.  
    • Representative – Initiative campaigns should be required to gather signatures from geographically dispersed jurisdictions to ensure initiatives reflect diverse interests across a state. Petition signers should be state residents and registered to vote prior to signing.  
    • Transparent – The public has a right to know and to understand the measures they are asked to support. Petition summaries and ballot language should be written in plain, neutral language that accurately explains the measure. Petition signers should be given the chance to read summaries and the complete text of an initiative before signing, and to revoke their signature if they believe they were misled.  
    • Secure – Officials should be required to verify the identifying information of every signatory, rather than relying upon statistical samplings. To maximize accuracy, petition signers should be required to provide ID numbers that officials can verify. Petition forms should be filled out and signed by hand on paper and completed exclusively by the signer.  
    • Single Subject – Initiatives that span a range of disparate policy areas create the risk that significant reforms can be overlooked by voters and should be barred.  
    • Free of Foreign Interference – Ballot measure contests, like elections for public office, should be free from foreign influence and funding.  
    • Supermajority – Constitutional measures typically require legislative supermajorities to pass, reflecting the significance of amending a constitution and the need to build consensus. Initiatives entirely avoid this and should require a supermajority popular vote to pass.