Many states and localities voted on critical ballot measures last month on key topics that cover voting rights and redistricting, energy and the environment, health care, criminal justice, taxes and labor, and even unusual proposals like one to create a city-run bank. At each of the preceding links, you can find a close look at the major measures that appeared before voters in each broad subject area, while below, we summarize the complete picture of how 2018 unfolded. You can also find a complete spreadsheet here, where we’ve catalogued 80 ballot measures across 29 states and 12 cities and counties that we followed.
One of the most important success stories of 2018 was how pro-democracy measures passed almost everywhere they were on the ballot. Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, and Utah all passed varying versions of redistricting reforms. Florida voted to curtail a Jim Crow-era law that disenfranchised those convicted of felonies for life by automatically restoring voting rights to everyone who has served their sentences. Maryland, Michigan, and Nevada all passed measures to make voter registration easier and more accessible. However, a few states passed new GOP-backed voting restrictions, including voter ID in Arkansas and North Carolina.
Election-related issues weren’t the only measures on the ballot, though. We’ve rounded up the results for all 80 state or local ballot measures we tracked by topic in the charts below.
