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Only 26 states allow some form of citizen-initiated ballot measure, including initiated state statutes, initiated constitutional amendments, or veto referendums. Voters in the remaining 24 states have none of these options to expand the policy agenda by proposing and voting on legislation or amendments to state constitutions. 

�鶹������ý’s Political Reform program commissioned a survey of over 4,000 people across 10 states that currently lack statewide citizen ballot initiative processes to gauge (1) baseline public knowledge of existing access to ballot initiatives, and (2) openness to adopting a citizen initiative process. The surveyed states were selected based on previous work that identified states where adopting a ballot initiative process could be feasible based on various legal, political, and civic indicators. The survey was conducted in March 2026; the methodology, survey questions, and toplines are in the appendix below.

Majorities of respondents in non-initiative states were unsure whether their state currently allows ballot initiatives, but they are broadly receptive to having that power. Nine states (Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia) received a common questionnaire. Across these states, between 50 and 55 percent support adopting a statewide ballot initiative process, while the share who oppose ranges from the single digits to the low teens (7 to 13 percent). Wisconsin received a tailored instrument reflecting its more advanced public debate and , but the results point in the same direction: A majority of Wisconsinites (61 percent) support the principle that voters should have a direct way to place issues on the ballot. 

�鶹������ý a third of respondents who did not initially support voters placing issues on the ballot became supportive once the question was framed around government gridlock or unresponsiveness.

The key survey findings summarized below suggest that in states without a ballot initiative process, a significant barrier to adoption is a lack of awareness, not opposition. Net support for adopting ballot initiatives spans geography and party identification. Large blocs of issue-neutral voters indicate significant room for movement through public education and elite cues. For reform advocates, that is a promising starting point.

Respondents in the nine common-question states were first asked: “As far as you know, does [STATE] currently allow citizens to place proposed laws or constitutional amendments on the ballot by gathering signatures?” The majority of respondents in the nine states said they were unsure whether their state already had a ballot initiative process, and only about one in 10 correctly answered that it did not (see Figure 1). The substantial share who incorrectly responded “yes” (22–36 percent) may reflect confusion with their state’s use of legislatively referred amendments or local initiative processes, or a general assumption that such processes are widespread.

After being informed that their state does not currently have a statewide ballot initiative process, respondents were asked whether they would support their state adopting one. Across the nine common-question states, at least 50 percent of respondents said they somewhat or strongly support their state adopting an initiative process. Support exceeded opposition in every state, often by margins of five-to-one or greater. Strong support for adopting a ballot initiative process far exceeds strong opposition to it: Between 15 and 26 percent of respondents expressed strong support for the idea (see Figure 2). This suggests a meaningful pro-reform constituency already exists and could be mobilized.

Despite stable majorities indicating some or strong support, the largest single response category is “neither support nor oppose” (35 to 41 percent in the nine common-question states). These numbers indicate that the issue is low salience and that respondents do not have fully formed or anchored views about ballot initiative processes. Most likely, no one has asked them about their opinion on the topic before. The pathway to majority coalitions will likely depend on educating this bloc of persuadable voters.

Wisconsin was surveyed with a modified questionnaire that omitted the awareness question and focused on conditions of support and message framing. Respondents in Wisconsin were first asked whether they supported or opposed the statement: “Voters should have a direct way to place issues on the ballot” (see Figure 3). While different question wording prevents us from making one-to-one comparisons with other surveyed states, it is nonetheless notable that Wisconsin reported the highest levels by far of both overall support (61 percent) and strong support (31 percent). Only 14 percent opposed the statement, which is higher than in the other surveyed states, but not by much. These results lend additional support to our 2025 assessment that Wisconsin is the best candidate for near-term adoption of citizen-initiated ballot measures.

Among the 179 respondents who did not support the first statement (“Voters should have a direct way to place issues on the ballot”), 65 percent were initially ambiguous about ballot initiatives and 35 percent initially reported they strongly or somewhat opposed citizen initiatives (see Figure 4). They were then asked if they supported a direct way to place issues on the ballot when the government is gridlocked or unresponsive.

With that framing, these same respondents were now more supportive of initiatives. �鶹������ý 33 percent now reported being strongly or somewhat in support of letting voters place issues on the ballot, 23 percent reported being strongly or somewhat opposed, and 45 percent were undecided. These results suggest that an effective way to build support for citizen initiatives among voters is by framing them as a way to overcome gridlock or an unresponsive government. Given the small sample size here, we recommend additional message testing to understand what gets voters to support initiatives.

Finally, all respondents in Wisconsin were asked, “Currently, only the Wisconsin Legislature can place constitutional amendments on the ballot. Do you think Wisconsin voters should also have the ability to propose laws or constitutional amendments through a citizen-led petition process?” The responses closely mirrored that of the original question, suggesting that this framing was not sufficiently persuasive to convert “neithers” to supporters (see Figure 5).

Support for adopting a ballot initiative process spans party lines, with Democrats broadly favorable and Republicans at or near majority support in several states. Overall, support is highest among Democrats (56 to 66 percent), followed by Republicans (45 to 66 percent). Wisconsin exhibits some degree of polarization, where support for voters placing issues on the ballot is significantly higher among strong and weak Democrats than among their Republican counterparts.

Minority-party status is only weakly correlated with higher support, as is majority-party status with lower support (see Figure 6). Democratic support is similarly high in Vermont, where they control the legislature, and in New Hampshire, where they do not. Republican support is notably high in the GOP stronghold of Iowa (60 percent) and in blue Virginia (55 percent). These findings likely reflect the fact that neither party has visibly owned or embraced the ballot initiative issue, nor has either been forced to take a strong stance on the topic. Although independents and leaners show net-positive support, their support varies widely, and they are the most likely to say “neither support nor oppose.”

Across the states surveyed, low public awareness of existing initiative access—rather than opposition—appears to be a significant barrier to adoption. Majorities of respondents in every state express support for adopting a ballot initiative process, and opposition is consistently low. Still, results show that large shares of voters are unsure whether their state has such a process and have yet to form an opinion on whether adopting one is a good idea. This suggests that an important first step to catalyze an initiative adoption movement would be a public education campaign to raise awareness about states’ access to direct democracy options and their potential benefits. The results also indicate that framing the issue around government gridlock or unresponsiveness can move more ambivalent voters toward support, though we recommend further message testing in different contexts.

The survey was conducted by the firm Netquest USA Inc., which maintains an online panel of respondents. The survey took place between March 12 and April 3, 2026, using a quota-based sampling procedure to achieve samples representative of the selected state’s population by gender, age, race, and education. A total of 4,606 surveys were completed: There were 550 respondents from Georgia; 450 each from Iowa and Kansas; 452 from Minnesota; 300 each from New Hampshire and Vermont; 551 each from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; and 451 from Wisconsin. Results were weighed by sex and age using state-level benchmarks from the American Community Survey 5-Year estimates. The states were selected based on previous work that identified states where the adoption of a ballot initiative process could be feasible based on a variety of political, legal, and civic indicators.