Civil rights
16 tracked measures relating to civil rights, in 7 states.
Topic labels are applied by this site to group related measures. They are a navigation aid, not a legal classification, and they are not assigned by any state.
Arizona
3 measures
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On the ballot
Proposition 142 would amend the Arizona Constitution to expand the state's existing 2010 ban on race- or ethnicity-based preferential treatment in public employment, education, and…
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On the ballot
Proposition 144 would amend the Arizona Constitution to declare that only citizens may register and vote in Arizona elections, and that election results are decided solely by eligible…
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On the ballot
Proposition 318 would enact a state statute requiring schools and athletic associations to restrict access to restrooms, locker rooms, showers, and similar private spaces according to the…
California
1 measure
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On the ballot
Proposition 39 would write voter identification requirements into the California Constitution. Voting by mail would require the voter to designate a government-issued identification number…
Colorado
3 measures
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On the ballot
This initiated statute would require every K-12 and collegiate athletic team or sport sponsored by a school, higher education institution, or athletic association in Colorado to be…
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On the ballot
This initiated statute would bar any health-care professional or other person in Colorado from knowingly performing, prescribing, administering, or providing surgery to a person under 18…
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On the ballot
This initiated constitutional amendment would create a right in the Colorado Constitution for consumers to purchase natural gas for cooking or heating in homes or businesses, and for…
Massachusetts
2 measures
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On the ballot
Question 1 would apply the Massachusetts public records law to records held by the state Legislature and the governor's office, which are exempt from that law today. Papers, correspondence…
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On the ballot
Question 9 is a veto referendum on Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws, which the Legislature passed and Governor Maura Healey signed in July 2024. A yes vote…
Michigan
1 measure
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Did not qualify
This proposed constitutional amendment would have required new voters to prove U.S. citizenship when registering, and required existing voters to prove citizenship if the state could not…
Nevada
4 measures
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Did not qualify
This proposed constitutional amendment would have established a right for Nevadans with life-altering diseases or conditions to access experimental treatments reviewed by an independent…
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Did not qualify
This proposed constitutional amendment would have required publicly funded athletic programs in Nevada to designate every sport as male, female, or coeducational based on the sex recorded…
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On the ballot
Question 6 would add a right to abortion to the Nevada Constitution, protecting the procedure until fetal viability — generally estimated at about 24 weeks — and after viability when a…
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On the ballot
Question 7 would write a voter identification requirement into the Nevada Constitution. Voters in person would show a government-issued photo ID — such as a driver's license, passport…
Washington
2 measures
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On the ballot
Initiative IL26-638 would require Washington school districts and organizations that oversee interscholastic sports to bar students they define as biologically male from competing in…
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On the ballot
Initiative IL26-001 would re-enact the original 2024 parental-rights initiative, Initiative 2081, undoing changes the Legislature made to it in 2025 through House Bill 1296. It would…
About civil rights ballot measures
This tag covers measures about equal treatment under state law — anti-discrimination protections, guarantees tied to characteristics such as race, sex, disability, religion, or language, and the rules governing who may bring a claim when a protection is violated.
A large share of measures in this category are not new rights at all but repeals: state constitutions accumulate provisions that courts have long since held unenforceable, and removing that text is a routine housekeeping question referred to voters by the legislature. Others do the opposite and add a guarantee that state law does not currently contain. The two look similar on a ballot and read very differently in effect, so the distinction is worth checking first.
Useful questions to ask of any measure here: does it add a protection, remove obsolete language, or change the remedy available to someone who is harmed? Does it apply to state and local government only, or also to private employers, landlords, and businesses? And does it take effect on its own, or does it direct the legislature to pass implementing law before anything changes?
Wording, numbering, and certification status are set by each state and can change up to the printing of the ballot. Every summary above links to the records it was built from; where those records disagree with this page, the records govern. Confirm the final ballot text with your state or county election authority before you rely on it.