Fundraising around ballot measures in 2016 was robust and held to the ten-year trend of victory continuing to follow the money. The $893 million raised to support or oppose 162 ballot measures in 35 states was surpassed only one other time: $940.5 million in 2012.
*The National Institute on Money in State Politics gathered a handful of state ballot measure campaign finance reports in 2002, then expanded collection in 2003–2004 but excluded those related to bond measures. In 2005, the Institute began comprehensive collection of all types of ballot measures.
An examination of money raised around the 162 measures on the 2016 state ballots shows how money continued to play a pivotal role in the outcome:
- Supporters of successful measures raised about three times the amount raised by opponents.
- Opponents of failed measures edged out supporters $236.4 million to $170.3 million.
- Individuals played a minor role in funding ballot measures, providing just 13 percent of the money raised.
- The top 10 donors accounted for 28 percent of the contributions.
- Most top-10 non-individual donors were also big contributors to candidates and/or party committees.
- Tobacco-related donors were the top contributors overall at $100 million, which is 11 percent of the total raised.
- Out-of-state sources accounted for 41 percent of the money raised.
Methodology
Some ballot measure committees may support or oppose more than one ballot measure. Because it is not possible to identify whether the money was raised to support or oppose every specific measure, discussion of any single measure includes all money raised by committees taking any position on the measure.
Ballot measure committees are not classified as such in some states, therefore the contribution data is difficult to identify.
Donors to 2016 Ballot Measures
In 2016, voters in 35 states decided the outcomes of 162 ballot measures. California placed 18 measures on its ballot, and those measures attracted $470 million in support or opposition—six times more than second-place Colorado’s $74 million. See Appendix A for state-by-state details on the number of measures and the money raised.
Figure 1: Total Amount Raised and Number of Ballot Measures, by State, 2016
In the 25 states in which money was raised around the measures, out-of-state donors accounted for 41 percent of the money raised. In 11 states, these donors provided more than half of the money raised. Among those, in six states–North Dakota, Missouri, South Dakota, Maine, Nevada, and Alaska—out-of-state donors provided 75 percent or more of the total raised.
Contributions by Industry
The largest financial supporters and opponents of measures came from donors in four industries:
- Ideology & Single Issue donors gave $184.3 million, which is 21 percent of the total. The industry includes three of the leading issues the Institute examined in detail: gun control, drugs, and health and welfare policy.
- Health-related contributions totaled $172.5 million, which is 19 percent of the total. Giving was led by the California Association of Hospital and Health Care Systems accounting for $36.6 million. Pharmaceutical manufacturing donors were responsible for $81.7 million.
- General Business donors gave $156.8 million, which is 18 percent of the total. The tobacco industry accounts for $100 million.
- Organized Labor-affiliated donors gave $106.6 million, which is 12 percent of the total. Two teachers unions accounted for $41.8 million.
Combined, these four industries provided 69 percent of the money given to 2016 ballot measure committees. Donors from all other industries1 together accounted for just 27 percent of the total.2
Figure 2: Donations to Ballot Measure Committees, by Industry, 2016
*The state of origin was not reported for $1.7 million.
Contributions from non-individuals3 made up 85 percent of all money raised around ballot measures. While the average given by non-individuals was $148,217, ten non-individual donors gave $10 million or more.
As a group, individual donors accounted for 13 percent of the total. Although the average from individuals was $1,420, records show that 25 individuals gave $1 million or more—and two California contributors gave $10 million or more. See Appendix B for more detail on the top 25 individuals, their contributions, and the measures targeted.
Top Non-Individual Donors
Just 10 of the 5,000-plus non-individual donors gave $10 million or more, accounting for one third of the contributions ($247.7 million) from non-individuals, and 28 percent overall.
In addition to taking an interest in 30 ballot measures in 13 states, most top-10 non-individual donor were also big contributors to candidates and/or party committees.
Three tobacco companies (Philip Morris USA, Altria, and Reynolds American) were responsible for 40 percent of the money given by the 10 top donors, contributing $98.5 million around four measures. The tobacco industry overall opposed three measures related to cigarette taxes: California Proposition 056, North Dakota Initiated Statutory Measure 004, and Colorado Amendment 072.
In an unusual twist of positions, the tobacco industry supported Missouri’s Constitutional Amendment 003, which would have increased tobacco taxes. Reynolds American gave $13.4 million of the $13.9 million to support the amendment. As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association opposed the measure because the increase was “not big enough,”4 but did not contribute to or form a committee to oppose it. The measure failed, with 60 percent of voters saying no to the increase.
Stop the Special Interest Tax Grab opposed California’s successful Proposition 056 that increased cigarette taxes by $2 per pack. The measure attracted $71.2 million in opposition. The $40.3 million from Philip Morris USA outdid the $38 million raised by proponents of the measure.
In the second spot, Reynolds American gave $13.4 million to support Missouri Constitutional Amendment 003. In two states—California and North Dakota—the tobacco giant helped finance split results:
- $24.9 million to Stop the Special Interest Tax Grab committee that opposed the successful California measure to increase the cigarette tax—Proposition 056.
- $1 million to the failed Measure 004 opponent, North Dakotans Against the 400 Percent Tax Increase. North Dakota Measure 004 sought to establish a trust fund for certain veterans' programs that would have been funded by an increase in the excise tax on cigarettes, from $0.44 to $2.20 per pack.
Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, gave $11.8 million to fund nearly all of No Blank Checks in the Constitution’s opposition to Colorado's Amendment 072 that would have increased cigarette tax $1.75 per pack. The measure failed with $11.9 million given in opposition, compared to the $2.4 million given to the lone supporter, The Campaign for a Healthy Colorado 2016.
The third-largest contributor, California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, divvied up $36.6 million among five California measures: $25.1 million in support of K-12 and health care issues (Proposition 055); $10.1 million in support of the cigarette tax (Proposition 056); $1.3 million supporting Medi-Cal fee laws (Proposition 052); $95,000 opposing statewide voter approval of revenue bonds (Proposition 053); and $10,000 opposing marijuana legalization (Proposition 064.)
Top Individual Donors
Individual donors gave $117.5 million, just 13 percent of the total raised around all measures.
Twenty-five individuals gave $1 million or more, for a total of $70 million, which is 60 percent of the total given by individuals (see details in Appendix B). Most notable are two Californians who gave more than $10 million each, all to California measures:
- Thomas Fahr Steyer, San Francisco philanthropist and hedge fund manager and founder of Farallon Capital Management, gave $13.2 million to support six California measures: Proposition 055, Proposition 056, Proposition 057, Proposition 058, Proposition 062, and Proposition 067. These measures covered cigarette taxes, juvenile justice, the death penalty repeal, a plastic bag ban, tax extension for education and healthcare funding, and multilingual education. Five passed; the death penalty repeal failed. Steyer gave in opposition to Proposition 066, a death penalty procedure measure that passed.
- Charles Thomas Munger, Jr., a Palo Alto physicist, gave $10.7 million in support of the successful California Proposition 054 that put limits on state legislative bill processes.
Similar to Steyer and Munger, another 17 of the 25 top donors gave to measures in their home states. Of the $70 million given by the top 25 individuals, 27 percent went to out-of-state measures. Twenty-one of the 28 measures supported by these individuals passed.
Overall, non-resident donations totaled $29.6 million—one fourth of the money given by individual donors. Nearly half of all non-resident contributions came from three industries: securities, commodities, and investment gave $6.4 million; electronics manufacturing and services gave $4.5 million; and $3.1 million came from casinos, racetracks, and gambling.
A Closer Look at Selected Ballot Measures
The Institute isolated and analyzed the contributions raised around 40 measures related to six issues that appeared on ballots in 17 states in 2016:
- Health Care and Prescription Drugs
- K-12
- Marijuana Access
- Gun Control
- Minimum Wage
- Campaign Finance
The selection of the 40 ballot measures was based on two primary factors: the amount of money raised around the measures, and recent high visibility and public interest in the six issues. Of the $893 million raised around ballot measures overall, these 40 measures attracted $602.3 million, with supporters accounting for $370.1 million of that.
Health Care and Prescription Drugs
Seven measures related to health care and prescription drugs were on the ballot in three states—California, Colorado, and Montana—and attracted $334.6 million to support or oppose. While supporters accounted for 41 percent of the $334.6 million, just three California measures were successful: Proposition 052, Proposition 055,5 and Proposition 056. Contributions made to support these measures outpaced those in opposition $109.4 million to $82.2 million. Passage allowed for tax extensions and cigarette taxes that benefit health care services and disallowed legislative changes to continued matching funds for Medi-Cal.
Opposition dollars given to three of the four failed measures outpaced the support dollars. California’s Proposition 060 failed, though supporters gave eight times more than those opposed to the measure.
*Ballot measure committees frequently work on multiple measures. Thus, the money displayed here as supporting or opposing a specific ballot measure may actually have been used to support or oppose other ballot measures worked on by a committee. In this table, several committees in California supported or opposed multiple measures and sometimes supported and opposed different measures. The totals in this table are inflated. The true overall total is $334.6 million.
The California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems raised $15.3 million to support the successful Proposition 052 that restricts the legislature’s ability to change Medi-Cal funding and extends Medi-Cal’s hospital fee program. Dignity Health, a San Francisco health system and hospital provider, was responsible for $8.5 million of the $15.3 million the association raised in support of the measure. The main financial backers of the measure were hospital, nursing home, and health care providers. Early hopes of defeating Proposition 052 came from SEIU United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU/UHW) that collected $11.1 million from California health care and school employee unions. In September 2016,6 the union reversed its position, deciding to focus its resources elsewhere.
Proposition 056 increased tobacco taxes when 64 percent of California voters passed the measure, despite the fact that opponents raised nearly twice the amount supporters raised. Supporting committee Save Lives California (a coalition of doctors, dentists, health plans, labor, hospitals, and nonprofit health advocate organizations) received $11.3 million from prolific campaign donor Thomas (Tom) Fahr Steyer, co-chair of Save Lives California. The California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems also gave $10.1 million to Save Lives California.
The failed California Proposition 061 sought to prohibit state agencies from paying more for a prescription drug than the lowest price paid for the same drug by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Opponents gave $111.3 million—nearly six times more than supporters—to successfully defeat the measure with 53 percent of the vote.
In Colorado, the failed Amendment 069 would have established ColoradoCare to finance health care services for all Colorado residents and administer state and federal health care funds. Opponents of the proposal raised $5.2 million, nearly six times more than the $874,519 raised by supporters. The primary opponent, Coloradans For Coloradans, raised $4.1 million. The majority came from contributors in the health insurance, hospital, nursing home, and health care industries.
In Montana, an initiative calling for research therapies and cures for brain diseases and injuries failed, with 57 percent of Montana voters opposed. I-181 proponents raised $420,468 compared to the $732,024 raised by the opposing Montanans For Fiscal Responsibility, nearly all of which came from the National Education Association.
K-12 Education Issues
Committees taking a position on nine measures that dealt with K-12 education issues raised $111.9 million—$105.4 million of it given by supporters. Money appears to have played a major role in the outcome of the seven successful measures. Oklahoma was the exception, however, voting no despite substantial spending by supporters.
*Ballot measure committees frequently work on multiple measures. Thus, the money displayed here as supporting or opposing a specific ballot measure may actually have been used to support or oppose other ballot measures worked on by a committee.
** Within this table specifically, Defend Oregon raised money in support of both Measure 098 and Measure 099; its total is in both, but not duplicated in the table totals.
Oklahoma State Question 779 would have increased sales and use tax by one cent to provide revenue for the improvement of public education, but 59 percent of the voters rejected the measure. That occurred in spite of the fact that the supporting committee, Oklahoma Children, Our Future, raised $7.2 million from more than 150 donors, including $2 million from the multi-state education advocate, Stand For Children, and another $2 million from Tulsa, Oklahoma energy executive, Stacy Helen Schusterman. In comparison, just $896,159 was raised by the successful opposition of Oklahoma Deserves Better that received contributions from 50-plus donors, led by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce with $481,139.
Marijuana Access
Voters in nine states decided the fate of measures related to marijuana access. Just one state said no to its ballot measure. Four of the five states deciding whether to legalize marijuana said yes. Voters in the other four states were asked to approve one or more of the following for medical marijuana: allow or expand access, impose or change taxation, or further regulate medical marijuana; they passed all four measures.
Supporters garnered $65.6 million, which is 78 percent of the $83.8 million raised around issues related to marijuana. $71.9 million was related to legalization of marijuana for personal use and $11.9 million was related to medical marijuana.
Legalization of Marijuana
Four of the five states (Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada) that voted to legalize marijuana for personal use had previously passed laws allowing medical use.7 Arizona, for example, had voted in favor of medical marijuana use in 2010, but in 2016 the voters rejected Proposition 205 that would have legalized marijuana for personal use. This was the only measure that was defeated, and it was also the only measure where more money was raised by the opposition: opponents raised $2.1 million more than did supporters—$8.7 million to $6.6 million—narrowly defeating the measure with 51 percent of the votes.
In the four states that passed a measure, the money raised in support of legalization clearly outpaced the amount raised by opponents.
*Ballot measure committees frequently work on multiple measures. Thus, the money displayed here as supporting or opposing a specific ballot measure may actually have been used to support or oppose other ballot measures worked on by a committee.
The only measure that failed had substantial monetary opposition. Committees organized around the failed Arizona Proposition 205 raised $15.3 million. The measure would have legalized marijuana for personal use. The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, raised $6.6 million to support Proposition 205, but was outraised by opposing committees led by at $8.7 million.
California voters legalized marijuana when Proposition 064 passed with 57 percent of the vote and a whopping $36.7 million given in support. Eight committees raised money in support, three to oppose. Supporters include Sean Parker and affiliated entities,8 who gave $7.4 million. As an individual, philanthropist, and investor, Sean Parker also gave $1.5 million. The Delaware nonprofit Fund for Policy Reform donated $6.1 million. In addition, $14 million came from another seven supporters that each gave $1 million or more .
The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol raised $10.3 million to support two successful measures—Maine Question 001 and Massachusetts Question 004. That Washington D.C. organization accounted for nearly all the money supporting these two measures.
Maine Question 001 narrowly passed with just 50 percent of the vote, despite supporters outraising opponents by a margin of 12 to 1. The Washington, D.C. New Approach PAC was responsible for $2.3 million and in-state supporters gave $90,100. Massachusetts Question 004 fared a little better with 53 percent of the vote.
Nevada Question 002 passed with 54 percent of vote, with no money raised to defeat it. Supporters from marijuana growers and retail sales accounted for 37 percent of the $3.7 million raised by two committees.
Medical Marijuana
Measures related to medical marijuana access, expansion, taxation, or further regulations were on the ballot in Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota. Supporters of the four successful measures raised 70 percent of the total.
*Ballot measure committees frequently work on multiple measures. Thus, the money displayed here as supporting or opposing a specific ballot measure may actually have been used to support or oppose other ballot measures worked on by a committee.
Florida voters heartily approved Amendment 002, legalizing medical marijuana use, with 71 percent of the vote. Supporters raised $6.2 million, nearly double the $3.5 million raised by opponents.
Voters legalized medical marijuana in Arkansas by voting for Issue 006 with 53 percent of the vote. The money raised in support of the measure accounted for 98 percent of the contributions the measure attracted.
North Dakota’s Initiated Statutory Measure 005 passed with 64 percent of the vote. Four North Dakota committees raised a combined $34,253 in support of the measure. No money was raised in opposition.
Montana voters passed a measure to modify their state’s law regarding medical marijuana access. With 58 percent of the vote, I-182 expanded access and loosened requirements from the earlier law. It passed. Supporters raised $333,873 to the $181,102 opposed.
Gun-Control Measures
Four gun-control measures—designed to either increase restrictions on access or ban certain types of ammunition—attracted $42.9 million. Supporters outraised opponents nearly 4-to-1.
In two states (Nevada and Maine) two measures that called for background checks on gun sales met with mixed results. Maine voters rejected Question 003 by a 52-to-48 margin, while a similar measure in Nevada, Question 001, narrowly passed with 50 percent of the vote.
In Maine the measure failed, even though 85 percent of the money raised around Question 003 went to supporters who were backed by $6.3 million from Everytown for Gun Safety.
Of the $42.9 million raised around gun control issues, $33.3 million came from out-of-state donors—$413,397 in California, $8.3 million in Maine, $23.4 million in Nevada, and $1.2 million in Washington. The biggest out-of-state donors to measures were national associations. Everytown For Gun Safety gave $19.4 million to Maine, Nevada, and Washington proponents. In California, Maine, and Nevada, the National Rifle Association gave $7.8 million to opponents. Former New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg gave $3.5 million to support Nevada Question 001’s committee Nevadans for Background Checks.
*Ballot measure committees frequently work on multiple measures. Thus, the money displayed here as supporting or opposing a specific ballot measure may actually have been used to support or oppose other ballot measures worked on by a committee.
Minimum Wage
Minimum wage earners won in 2016. Of the five measures on the ballot in five states, four increased the state’s minimum wage. The lone measure to lower the minimum wage in South Dakota, Referred Law 020, was rejected.
Committees supporting the measures raised 87 percent of the money raised around this issue. Led by organized labor and liberal policy organizations, supporters of an increase in minimum wage raised $16.8 million.
Opponents of increase measures included restaurant and business associations. Of the $2.6 million given in five states, $1.7 million went to Keep Colorado Working, an opponent of Colorado Amendment 070. That committee raised $650,000 from the Virginia-based Workforce Fairness Institute and two Colorado donors—$447,500 from the Colorado Restaurant Association and $325,000 from Colorado Citizens Protecting Our Constitution.
Out-of-state contributions outpaced in-state contributions $11 million to $8.4 million. Nearly all of the out-of-state money (94 percent), supporting a minimum wage increase came from ideological groups and organized labor that gave $6.6 million and $2.5 million, respectively. Out-of-state opponents came from business associations like the aforementioned Workforce Fairness Institute and food and beverage industry owners and associations.
*Ballot measure committees frequently work on multiple measures. Thus, the money displayed here as supporting or opposing a specific ballot measure may actually have been used to support or oppose other ballot measures worked on by a committee.
Campaign Finance
Five measures were voted on in four states. Four of the measures were successful. Supporters raised 11.5 times more than opponents raised.
*Ballot measure committees frequently work on multiple measures. Thus, the money displayed here as supporting or opposing a specific ballot measure may actually have been used to support or oppose other ballot measures worked on by a committee.
Measures that were successful aimed at clean elections, campaign contribution limits, public funding, disclosure, and overturning Citizens United v. FEC.
- California Proposition 059 passed with 53 percent of the vote and confirmed Californians’ desire to overturn Citizens United. The $522,417 raised around the measure was uncharacteristically low as far as California campaign fundraising goes, and the measure passed with no money raised in opposition. Supporters raised more than a third from ideological groups in California, Massachusetts, and New York.
- Washington Initiative 735 also sought to overturn Citizens United. The measure passed with 63 percent of the vote. And, like California, the supporters raised all the money targeting this measure. Of the $668,271 given to supporting committees, $595,826 came from Washington donors.
- Campaign contributions limits were once again established in Missouri by the passage of Missouri Constitutional Amendment 002. Supporters raised $1.6 million, with nearly all of that coming from Fred N. Sauer, president of Orion Investment Company in Missouri. No money was raised to defeat the measure.
- South Dakota Initiated Measure 022 established a public funding program for state candidates when it narrowly passed with 52 percent of the vote. Supporters raised more than double the amount raised by opponents. The Massachusetts-based advocacy group Represent.Us accounted for 56 percent ($1 million) of the money raised by supporters. Opponents received $654,988 from the conservative policy organization Americans For Prosperity, which gave the lion’s share of the opponent contributions. In February 2016, the legislature and governor repealed the measure.9
The one failed measure was Washington’s Initiative 1464, where supporters contributed $4.3 million to Integrity Washington that worked to pass a measure to create a campaign finance program that would have repealed the non-resident sales tax exemption. Opponents were outraised 150 times over, raising just $28,273 from general contractor and food processing and sales industries.
Appendix A: Number of Ballot Measures & Total Raised, 2016
In the 25 states in which money was raised, 41 percent of the total came from donors not living in the same state as the ballot measure on which they took a position.
State * | Number of Measures on 2016 State Ballots | Total Raised |
---|---|---|
Alabama | 15 | $97,085 |
Alaska | 2 | $1,221,741 |
Arizona | 4 | $26,851,039 |
Arkansas | 4 | $2,085,294 |
California | 18 | $469,851,572 |
Colorado | 9 | $73,908,606 |
Florida | 5 | $39,173,635 |
Georgien | 4 | $9,142,262 |
Hawaii | 2 | $0 |
Idaho | 1 | $107,350 |
Illinois | 1 | $3,786,836 |
Indiana | 1 | $0 |
Kansas | 1 | $0 |
Louisiana | 6 | $0 |
Maine | 6 | $21,656,215 |
Maryland | 1 | $0 |
Massachusetts | 4 | $61,817,118 |
Minnesota | 1 | $0 |
Missouri | 6 | $16,002,023 |
Montana | 4 | $4,781,156 |
Nebraska | 1 | $4,591,679 |
Nevada | 4 | $32,523,675 |
New Jersey | 2 | $0 |
New Mexico | 5 | $302,210 |
North Carolina | 1 | $1,751,966 |
North Dakota | 6 | $7,241,471 |
Oklahoma | 7 | $22,482,176 |
Oregon | 7 | $55,873,312 |
Pennsylvania | 2 | $0 |
Rhode Island | 7 | $5,095,691 |
South Dakota | 10 | $12,507,723 |
Utah | 3 | $0 |
Virginia | 2 | $36,770 |
Washington | 9 | $20,075,258 |
Wyoming | 1 | $0 |
TOTAL | 162 | $892,963,864 |
* Not every state allows the initiative/ballot measure process. Ballot measure committees are not classified as such in some states, therefore the contribution data is difficult to identify.
Appendix B: Individual Donors Who Gave $1 Million or More to Support or Oppose Ballot Measures, 2016
Donor Ballot Measure | Position* | Outcome | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Steyer, Thomas Fahr (Tom) - San Francisco, CA | $13,200,000 | ||
California Proposition 055 | supported | passed | |
California Proposition 056 | supported | passed | |
California Proposition 057 | supported | passed | |
California Proposition 058 | supported | passed | |
California Proposition 062 | supported | failed | |
California Proposition 066 | opposed | passed | |
California Proposition 067 | supported | passed | |
Munger Jr., Charles Thomas - Palo Alto, CA | $10,705,640 | ||
California Proposition 054 | supported | passed | |
Nicholas III, Henry T. - Aliso Viejo, CA | $4,579,172 | ||
California Proposition 062 | opposed | failed | |
California Proposition 066 | supported | passed | |
North Dakota Initiated Constitutional Measure 003 | supported | passed | |
South Dakota Amendment S | supported | passed | |
Bloomberg, Michael R. - New York, NY | $4,490,000 | ||
California Proposition 056 | supported | passed | |
Massachusetts Question 002 | supported | failed | |
Nevada Question 001 | supported | passed | |
Cortopassi, Dean A. - Stockton, CA | $3,534,331 | ||
California Proposition 053 | supported | failed | |
Thiry, Kent J. - Cherry Hills Village, CO | $3,168,000 | ||
Colorado Amendment 071 | supported | passed | |
Colorado Proposition 107 | supported | passed | |
Colorado Proposition 108 | supported | passed | |
Adelson, Sheldon G. - Las Vegas, NV | $3,000,000 | ||
Arizona Proposition 205 | opposed | failed | |
Florida Amendment 002 | opposed | passed | |
Massachusetts Question 004 | opposed | passed | |
Nicholas, Henry T. - Aliso Viejo, CA | $2,426,909 | ||
Montana CI-116 | supported | passed | |
Parker, Sean - Palo Alto, CA | $2,150,000 | ||
California Proposition 063 | supported | passed | |
California Proposition 064 | supported | passed | |
Nevada Question 001 | supported | passed | |
Hanauer, Nicolas J. (Nick) - Seattle, WA | $2,040,000 | ||
Maine Question 003 | supported | failed | |
Nevada Question 001 | supported | passed | |
Washington Initiative 1433 | supported | passed | |
Washington Initiative 1491 | supported | passed | |
Schusterman, Stacy Helen - Tulsa, OK | $2,000,000 | ||
Oklahoma State Question 779 | supported | failed | |
Hastings, Reed - Santa Cruz, CA | $1,980,962 | ||
California Proposition 057 | supported | passed | |
California Proposition 062 | supported | failed | |
Sauer, Fred N. - Saint Louis, MO | $1,553,600 | ||
Missouri Constitutional Amendment 002 | supported | passed | |
Walton, Jim Carr - Bentonville, AR | $1,525,000 | ||
Georgia Amendment 001 | supported | failed | |
Massachusetts Question 002 | supported | failed | |
Cortopassi, Joan A. - Stockton, CA | $1,500,000 | ||
California Proposition 053 | supported | failed | |
Doerr III, John L. - San Carlos, CA | $1,500,000 | ||
Calfiornia Proposition 053 | opposed | failed | |
California Proposition 062 | supported | failed | |
McKeown, Nicholas W. - Portola Valley, CA | $1,500,000 | ||
California Proposition 062 | supported | failed | |
Schauer, Julie - Oaks, PA | $1,389,000 | ||
California Proposition 064 | opposed | passed | |
Massachusetts Question 004 | opposed | passed | |
Lewis, Daniel - Coral Gables, FL | $1,250,000 | ||
California Proposition 064 | supported | passed | |
Pritzker, Nicholas J. (Nick) - San Francisco, CA | $1,250,000 | ||
California Proposition 057 | supported | passed | |
California Proposition 063 | supported | passed | |
California Proposition 064 | supported | passed | |
Van Ameringen, Henry - New York, NY | $1,250,000 | ||
California Proposition 064 | supported | passed | |
Ballmer, Connie E. - Hunts Point, WA | $1,000,000 | ||
Oregon Measure 098 | supported | passed | |
Washington Initiative 1464 | supported | failed | |
Halle Jr., Bruce T. - Scottsdale, AZ | $1,000,000 | ||
Arizona Proposition 123 (Primary) | supported | passed | |
Sembler, Melvin F. - St. Petersburg, FL | $1,000,000 | ||
Florida Amendment 002 | opposed | passed | |
Zuckerberg, Mark - San Francisco, CA | $1,000,000 | ||
California Proposition 057 | supported | passed | |
TOTAL | $69,992,614 |
*Contributions from the above donors to committees supporting or opposing a specific ballot measure may have also been attributed to fundraising on other ballot measures.
- 1. The other nine industries include donors from Agriculture, Candidate & Political Party Contributions, Civil Servants & Public Officials, Clergy, Communications & Electronics, Construction, Defense, Education, Energy & Natural Resources, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate, Education, Lawyers & Lobbyists, Military, Nonprofit Institutions, Retired Persons, Transportation, Tribal Governments, Welfare & Social Work, and Unitemized Contributions.
- 2. Four percent of the total ($33.1 million) came from unidentified industries and is not included in the pie chart.
- 3. A non-individual is any contributor that is not a person, including labor unions, political party and candidate committees, corporations and/or their political action committees, associations, and ideological groups.
- 4. Erickson, Kurt, “Big Tobacco spending big money on Missouri cigarette tax increase question,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 28, 2016, available from http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/big-tobacco-spending-big-money-on-missouri-cigarette-tax-increase/article_f69af366-bbb3-5bba-88cd-5f954e9ab4b7.html, accessed September 16, 2017.
- 5. Proposition 055 is included in the discussion on two broad issues—healthcare and prescription drugs, and K-12. Its passage extended a personal income tax increase that allocated funding for K-12, community colleges, and health care programs. Two supporters, the California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems and the California Teachers Association, were top contributors, giving $25 million and $21 million, respectively, accounting for 92 percent of supporter contributions.
- 6. Colliver, Victoria, “Prop. 52, a measure to fund Medi-Cal, is its own worst enemy,” San Francisco Chronicle, September 11, 2016, available from http://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/Prop-52-a-measure-to-fund-Medi-Cal-is-its-own-9213439.php, accessed September 20, 2017.
- 7. “State Medical Marijuana Laws,” National Conference of State Legislatures, August 30, 2017, available from http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx, accessed September 7, 2017.
- 8. Robinson, Melia, “How a Silicon Valley billionaire helped get marijuana fully legalized in California,” Business Insider, November 9, 2016, available from http://www.businessinsider.com/sean-parker-legalize-marijuana-california-2016-11, accessed September 19, 2017.
- 9. “Gov. Daugaard signs bill to repeal Initiated Measure 22,” KSFY-ABC, February 2, 2017, available from http://www.ksfy.com/content/news/Gov-Daugaard-signs-bill-to-repeal-Initiated-Measure-22-412610093.html, accessed December 2, 2017.
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