93 Ballot Measures and Counting: Nonprofits Engaging in Direct Democracy in 2026

Here at Bolder Advocacy, we love when 501(c)(3)s engage with ballot measures. I said this recently at a conference and was met with incredulity — but it is true! Ballot measures, in any form and by any name, bring the democratic process directly to the people. Unlike our normal process for crafting legislation in the U.S., ballot measures allow citizens to vote directly on what becomes law, rather than relying on our elected officials to decide for us. In this particularly gridlocked moment, ballot measures create a pathway for communities to move policy forward and shape outcomes that reflect public will.

So, what exactly is a “ballot measure”? Generally, it is any piece of legislation that will appear on the ballot and allow eligible voters to vote it into law (or remove/reject it from being law). Depending on where you are, this could be called a “ballot measure,” an “initiative,” a “proposition” (if you are in California, you know what these are), a “bond measure,” or even a state constitutional amendment.

In some states, ballot measures can be citizen-initiated. That means that a member of the public or a nonprofit organization could come up with an idea that they want to put on the ballot for the populace to decide. The process for this will vary by state, but generally it will involve a signature gathering process and various requirements to be met to be placed on the ballot. Some states offer popular referenda, where the citizens can approve or reverse an act of the legislature — usually initiated by petition.

In other states, ballot measures can only be legislatively initiated. This means that the idea has to first be proposed to the legislature, and then they decide if it will be put on the ballot for a vote by the public. Some states have both citizen and legislatively initiated measures. And then there are some states that have neither.

Historic Success 

Ballot measures bring important policy questions straight to the people and, because of that, they often raise legislative questions and changes that Congress, state, or local legislatures are not ready (or willing) to address. Throughout history, direct voting on policy has been at the forefront of change.

Ballot measures of all forms can reflect the swinging pendulum of public sentiment, as was the case with the movement for marriage equality and anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ couples. In the 1990s, ballot measures helped many states enshrine protections for the LGBTQ+ community. For example, in 1992, Colorado’s voters passed Amendment 2, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. While the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) in 1996 made it legal for states to prohibit same sex marriage, ballot measure advocacy helped many states enshrine greater protection for same sex marriage at the state level. In 2004, as backlash to the growing success of the same sex marriage movements, 13 conservative states passed ballot measures prohibiting same sex marriage. Many states, like California and Florida had ballot measure movement in both directions: for and against same sex marriage. These initiatives demonstrate that ballot measures, in some instances, may restrict rights, making it particularly crucial that voters are educated on their impacts and show up to vote them down. In time, states like California, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington all had successful ballot initiatives enshrining same sex marriage. With the help of campaigns by nonprofits, these ballot measures demonstrated the changing tide of mass public opinion and ultimately resulted in state legislative action, federal level change, and eventually Supreme Court consensus in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, which overturned many discriminatory laws that had been enacted by ballot measures.

Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, action on abortion rights protection has met steady success through ballot measures as well. In the 2024 election, seven states successfully protected abortion access through the ballot. These were a mix of citizen-initiated and legislatively initiated measures intended to provide state protections that the federal law and courts had denied.

Where We Are Today 

In the future, we may see access to transgender healthcare mirroring a similar path as the abortion rights and same sex marriage movements. While U.S. v. Skrmetti in 2025 held that states were allowed to prohibit transgender health care for minors, much like DOMA, we can envision ballot measure advocacy designed to enshrine greater protections at the state level.

In 2025 and 2026, we have seen and continue to see direct democracy through ballot measures addressing whether states should be allowed to redraw their congressional districts. In California last year, Proposition 50 was met with success. This year, Virginia is holding a special election on April 21 on a constitutional amendment to determine if lawmakers in the state house will be allowed to redraw congressional districts.

The Role of Nonprofits in 2026 

As of the publishing of this blog, there are already 93 statewide ballot measures certified for 2026, spanning across 35 states. These cover a wide variety of topics including citizenship voting requirements (AR, KS, SD, WV), imposing voter ID requirements (NV, NC), restoration of voting rights for formerly incarcerated people (VA), prohibition of gender affirming care for minors (CO, MO), requiring students to be on sports teams aligning with their gender assigned at birth (CO), designation of English as the official language of the state (ID), prohibition of most abortion services (MO), and on the other side, a state constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability (NV), and a constitutional right to reproductive freedom (VA). There are even measures meant to restrict the ballot measure process itself by requiring a 60% supermajority for constitutional amendments to pass (ND, SD). And we still have six months to go until November!

Your organization may be for or against any ballot measures. It is equally important to educate and engage with the public to support measures that expand rights as it is to oppose harmful measures that restrict rights.

501(c)(3)s have an amazing opportunity to be involved with ballot measures at any part of the process. While ballot measures appear on the ballot during elections, it can be nonpartisan to engage in ballot measure advocacy. The IRS rule for 501(c)(3) public charities is that they cannot support or oppose candidates or parties for office — this does not limit a public charity from engaging with legislation on the ballot, like ballot measures.

In many cases, if a nonprofit is supporting or opposing a ballot measure, it will count as direct lobbying. This is because the public acts as a legislative body when deciding to vote for or against a measure — so we have all elements of direct lobbying: a communication to a legislator (the public, here), arguing for or against a specific piece of legislation (the measure on the ballot). Therefore, work supporting or opposing a ballot measure is going to count towards a 501(c)(3) public charity’s lobbying limits for the year. To learn more about lobbying, check out Being a Player.

If you are a 501(c)(3) public charity planning to do ballot measure work, you can collect signatures, create social media campaigns, lead GOTV work, and even tell people specifically how they can vote on the measure — this is all nonpartisan advocacy that will likely be lobbying work. When you are engaging in this work, just be sure to separate out your ballot measure advocacy from the candidates who might also be appearing on the ballot.

Ballot measure work is great work for 501(c)(4)s as well. Because (c)(4)s have unlimited lobbying limits, they are an excellent partner when it comes to supporting or opposing ballot measures! (c)(4)s are able to engage in partisan activity as long as it remains their secondary activity. This means they could even tie ballot measure votes to candidates on the ballot. For example, distributing a full guide about candidates and ballot measures that align with the (c)(4)’s values. To learn more about (c)(3)s and (c)(4)s doing ballot measure work together, check out Working Together.

Because ballot measures are part of the election process, it is important to keep in mind that campaign finance law at the state level will often come into play. Make sure to take a look at the rules and requirements for engaging in ballot measure work at your state and local level.

In contentious times like these, policy change can feel out of reach. Ballot measures offer a unique opportunity to make change that truly represents the will of the people. Nonprofits can — and should — help ensure the public has the facts and understands what is on their ballot this year. Want to get involved? For an in-depth guide for nonprofits, check out our publication, Seize the Initiative. Direct democracy awaits!