1977 ballot measures
From Ballotpedia
This page provides a list of statewide ballot measures that appeared before voters in 1977.
In the United States, a ballot measure is a law, issue, or question that appears on a statewide or local ballot for voters of that jurisdiction to decide.
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Historical Ballot Measure Factbooks
The inventory of statewide ballot measures is part of Ballotpedia's Historical Ballot Measure Factbooks, which document nearly 200 years of direct democracy in the United States. This ongoing research effort will provide an unparalleled resource for researchers, reporters, and voters on how ballot measures have evolved, the issues they've covered, and the role they have played in our civic life. Click here to access the state historical ballot measure factbooks.
List of ballot measures by state
Alabama
See also: Alabama 1977 ballot measures
September 13
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amendment 1 | State judiciary | It proposed that a probate court should be established in each county. |
| 52,639 (67%) | 25,386 (33%) | |
| Amendment 10 | Law enforcement; Taxes | This measure proposed an increase in ad valorem taxes in Mobile County. The revenue from the additional tax would be used to fund a raise in salary for county and municipal law enforcement. |  | 27,893 (46%) | 32,623 (54%) | |
| Amendment 11 | County and municipal governance | It proposed to allow the creation of service districts for fire protection, garbage removal, emergency rescue and recreation in Jefferson County. |
| 27,408 (53%) | 24,396 (47%) | |
| Amendment 12 | County and municipal governance | It proposed to allow the creation of service districts for fire protection, garbage removal, emergency rescue and recreation in Shelby County. |
| 25,815 (56%) | 20,311 (44%) | |
| Amendment 2 | County and municipal governance | This measure proposed that in Baldwin County, the approval of the voters must be sought before establishing a firefighting district. |
| 35,784 (60%) | 24,294 (40%) | |
| Amendment 3 | County and municipal governance | This measure proposed that voter approval must be sought prior to consolidating the duties of the tax assessor and tax collector in Pickens County. |
| 30,969 (55%) | 25,763 (45%) | |
| Amendment 4 | County and municipal governance | This measure proposed that in order to promote the commercial use of inland waterways, Marengo County may incorporate port authorities. | | 25,942 (45%) | 32,292 (55%) | |
| Amendment 5 | County and municipal governance | It proposed that, subject to the approval of voters in Jackson County, certain Jackson County officials would be employed on a salaried basis. |
| 36,193 (61%) | 22,794 (39%) | |
| Amendment 6 | Flood infrastructure and management; Administrative organization | It proposed that a corporation should be established to develop the Buttahatchee River area with regard to recreation, flood control, conservation and industrial purposes. | | 23,197 (41%) | 32,975 (59%) | |
| Amendment 7 | County and municipal governance | This measure proposed that, subject to approval by the voters of the county, the position of constable in Morgan County would be abolished. |
| 31,100 (58%) | 22,564 (42%) | |
| Amendment 8 | Prison and jail funding; Bond issues | It proposed that Mobile County could issue bonds and levy taxes in order to build and operate a county jail. | | 31,524 (50%) | 31,696 (50%) | |
| Amendment 9 | Taxes | This measure proposed that in Houston County, the tax rate on a certain class of property could be reduced. | | 21,472 (35%) | 39,576 (65%) | |
| Amendmet 13 | Taxes | This measure proposed an increase in ad valorem taxes in Mobile County. The revenue from this tax would be used to fund an increase in the salaries paid to county and municipal fire and emergency services personnel. | | 25,565 (47%) | 29,023 (53%) |
Kentucky
See also: Kentucky 1977 ballot measures
November 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Convention Referendum | State constitutional conventions | | 165,311 (39%) | 254,934 (61%) |
Maine
See also: Maine 1977 ballot measures
December 5
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question 1 | Bond issues; Pollution, waste, and recycling policy | Issue up to $30 million in bonds for pollution abatement facilities for a period less than 20 years |
| 125,760 (59%) | 86,039 (41%) | |
| Question 2 | Higher education funding; Bond issues | Issue $300k in bonds for renovation projects at Leavitt Hall at the Maine Maritime Academy | | 100,512 (47%) | 112,075 (53%) | |
| Question 3 | Bond issues; Higher education funding | Issued $5,965,000 in bonds for renovation projects at the University of Maine | | 106,796 (50%) | 107,832 (50%) | |
| Question 4 | Bond issues; Higher education funding | Issue $3,748,000 in bonds for construction projects at the state technical-vocational institutes |
| 134,101 (63%) | 80,034 (37%) | |
| Question 5 | Bond issues; Energy conservation and efficiency | Issue up to $10 million in bonds for energy conservation improvements to state owned buildings and public school buildings |
| 131,514 (62%) | 80,178 (38%) | |
| Question 6 | Airport infrastructure; Bond issues | Issue $1.8 million in bonds for improvements to multiple airports |
| 116,745 (55%) | 95,591 (45%) | |
| Question 7 | Bond issues; Highways and bridges | Issue $11.5 million in bonds to fund the Highway and Bridge Improvement Program |
| 147,569 (69%) | 66,722 (31%) | |
| Question 8 | Veterans policy; Bond issues | Issue $2.1 million in bonds to fund the construction of a Maine Veterans Home |
| 121,836 (57%) | 92,153 (43%) | |
| Uniform State Property Tax Initiative | Public education funding; Initiative and referendum process | Repeal the uniform property tax and change portions of the school funding law |
| 124,322 (57%) | 95,413 (43%) |
New Jersey
See also: New Jersey 1977 ballot measures
November 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Question 1 | Bond issues | The Beaches and Harbors Bond Act of 1977 authorized $30 million in bonds for beach and harbor restoration, facilities and projects. |
| 907,904 (59%) | 640,029 (41%) | |
| Public Question 2 | Bond issues | The New Jersey Medical Education Facilities Bond Act of 1977 authorized $120 million in bonds to refinance the Teaching Hospital of the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and to construct and renovate medical education facilities. |
| 929,138 (60%) | 616,502 (40%) |
New York
See also: New York 1977 ballot measures
November 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amendment 1 | State judicial selection; State judiciary structure | Create a judicial nominating commission and establish its process for selecting Court of Appeals judges. |
| 1,508,258 (53%) | 1,311,621 (47%) | |
| Amendment 2 | State judiciary structure | Provide for the reorganization and governance of the administration of the Unified Court System. | | 1,551,190 (58%) | 1,123,636 (42%) | |
| Amendment 3 | State judiciary oversight | Establish a commission on judicial conduct and authorizing admonition, censure, removal or retirement of judges and justices. |
| 1,729,357 (64%) | 961,989 (36%) | |
| Amendment 4 | State judicial authority | Expand the jurisdiction of town, village and city courts outside New York City. | | 1,195,211 (47%) | 1,323,455 (53%) | |
| Amendment 5 | Public employee retirement funds | Increase pension benefits payable to widows and widowers of state retirees. |
| 1,598,758 (57%) | 1,200,116 (43%) | |
| Amendment 6 | Public education governance | Provide for the process for filling vacancies on boards of education. |
| 1,281,541 (50%) | 1,272,654 (50%) | |
| Amendment 7 | Bond issues; Public economic investment policy | Increase the state’s guarantee cap from $150 million to $300 million for Job Development Authority bonds used to finance nonprofit industrial development. | | 1,239,333 (47%) | 1,374,781 (53%) | |
| Amendment 8 | Public economic investment policy; Bond issues | Authorize a state-chartered public corporation to provide and back loans for business construction, expansion, and equipment to boost job creation across the State. |
| 1,399,211 (54%) | 1,178,071 (46%) | |
| Proposition 1 | Bond issues; Public economic investment policy | Authorize $750 million in state bonds to finance public capital projects aimed at promoting economic development. | | 1,067,589 (38%) | 1,714,156 (62%) | |
| Proposition 2 | State constitutional conventions | Call a convention to revise and amend the Constitution. | | 1,126,902 (40%) | 1,668,137 (60%) |
North Carolina
See also: North Carolina 1977 ballot measures
November 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced Budget Amendment | Balanced budget requirements | Require that state expenditures for a fiscal period not exceed total revenue and any surplus from the beginning of the period and authorize the Governor to monitor revenue collection and reduce expenditures as necessary to prevent a deficit while ensuring debt obligations are met |
| 443,453 (81%) | 104,935 (19%) | |
| Governor Elected Terms Amendment | Executive official term limits | Allow the governor and lieutenant governor to serve a second consecutive term in office |
| 307,754 (53%) | 278,013 (47%) | |
| Highway Bonds Referendum | Highways and bridges; Bond issues | Issue $300 million in highway bonds |
| 390,626 (67%) | 194,129 (33%) | |
| Life Insurance Benefits for Spouse and Children Free from Creditors Amendment | Insurance policy; Family-related policy | Grant every person the right to insure their life for the benefit of their spouse, children, or both, free from claims by representatives or creditors of the insured or their estate |
| 513,526 (90%) | 57,835 (10%) | |
| Municipal Electric Facilities Amendment | Utility policy; Local government organization; Bond issues | Allow municipalities to partner on electric facilities and issue bonds to finance their share |
| 349,935 (66%) | 180,624 (34%) | |
| Spousal Homestead Exemption Amendment | Homestead tax exemptions | Extend homestead exemption rights to widowed men if the spouse does not own a separate homestead |
| 517,366 (90%) | 59,714 (10%) | |
| Water Quality and Water System Improvements Bond Measure | Water storage; Bond issues; Drinking water systems; Water irrigation policy | Issue $230 million in clean water bonds |
| 427,392 (73%) | 159,949 (27%) |
Ohio
See also: Ohio 1977 ballot measures
November 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonds for Low and Moderate Income Housing Amendment | Housing; Bond issues | Allow state and local governments to issue bonds for the construction of low and moderate income housing. | | 1,120,885 (39%) | 1,773,779 (61%) | |
| Limits on State Debt Amendment | State and local government budgets, spending, and finance | Revise limitations on state government indebtedness. | | 759,327 (28%) | 1,999,791 (72%) | |
| Prohibition on the Use of Certain Trapping Devices Initiative | Hunting regulations | Prohibit the use of leghold traps and other trapping devices that cause prolonged suffering. | | 1,169,068 (37%) | 2,027,642 (63%) | |
| Voter Registration and Voting Eligibility Initiative | Voter registration | Allow those who have been registered to vote for at least 30 days to vote in any election and require electors to re-register to vote if they have not voted in four years. |
| 1,964,361 (62%) | 1,225,852 (38%) |
Oregon
See also: Oregon 1977 ballot measures
November 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measure 1 | State and local government budgets, spending, and finance; Water | Permit state debt up to 1.5% of all property value to create the Water Development Fund to finance loans for water development projects. |
| 124,484 (51%) | 118,953 (49%) | |
| Measure 2 | Hydroelectric energy; Energy market regulations | Repeal and replace Article XI-D of the Oregon Constitution to shift from state control of hydroelectric projects to allowing the state to fund nonnuclear energy development through public or private utilities | | 105,219 (43%) | 137,693 (57%) |
May 17
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measure 1 | Property taxes; Public education funding | Limit school districts to two elections per year to authorize a tax levy outside their tax base unless voters petition for additional elections. | | 112,570 (31%) | 252,061 (69%) | |
| Measure 2 | Veterans policy | Authorize the Oregon War Veterans’ Fund to support veterans’ organizations and services, train service officers, and Director of Veterans Affairs costs. |
| 200,270 (56%) | 158,436 (44%) | |
| Measure 3 | State and local government budgets, spending, and finance; Veterans policy | Increase the debt limit for veterans’ farm and home loans from six to eight percent of the true cash value of property within the state. |
| 250,783 (70%) | 106,953 (30%) |
Pennsylvania
See also: Pennsylvania 1977 ballot measures
November 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question 1 | Veterans policy; Taxes | extend property tax exemptions already given to certain disabled veterans to all residents of Pennsylvania who served the United States in any war or armed conflict and who have a related 100% disability according to the U.S. Veterans Administration |
| 1,189,626 (77%) | 360,211 (23%) | |
| Question 2 | State legislatures measures | allow the state legislature, by a two-thirds vote, to enact special emergency legislation to make appropriations required for federal emergency or major disaster relief, applicable retroactively to 1976 or 1977 |
| 1,066,563 (71%) | 428,388 (29%) |
Rhode Island
See also: Rhode Island 1977 ballot measures
June 28
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposal 1 | Bond issues | The measure authorized $6 million in bonds for improvements to the Adult Correctional Institutions. |
| 33,720 (52%) | 31,270 (48%) | |
| Proposal 2 | Bond issues | The measure authorized $41.5 million in bonds for development of mass transit, aeronautics, rail, roads, bridges and garages. |
| 42,203 (65%) | 23,215 (35%) |
Texas
See also: Texas 1977 ballot measures
November 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposition 1 | State judiciary | Increase the size of the court of criminal appeals to nine judges and permitting the court to sit in panels of three judges |
| 410,170 (73%) | 150,862 (27%) | |
| Proposition 2 | State and local government budgets, spending, and finance | Increase the Veterans' Land Fund from $500 million to $700 million, allowing surviving unmarried widows of veterans to purchase land |
| 329,417 (59%) | 225,919 (41%) | |
| Proposition 3 | Bail policy | Allow denial of bail for felons with prior convictions or charged while on bail, or involved in weapon crimes with prior felony evidence, with a 60-day limit on pre-trial detention and appeal rights |
| 472,948 (84%) | 92,568 (16%) | |
| Proposition 4 | Property; Taxes | Authorize tax reliefs for certain cultural, historical, or natural history resources |
| 306,102 (56%) | 244,477 (44%) | |
| Proposition 5 | Agriculture policy; Business regulations | Authorize creation of agricultural or marine associations to levy refundable assessments on individual producers for production improvements, marketing, or product usage | | 231,164 (44%) | 299,060 (56%) | |
| Proposition 6 | Banking policy | Permit the legislature to authorize banks to use electronic devices | | 208,264 (38%) | 344,483 (62%) | |
| Proposition 7 | State judiciary | Rename the State Judicial Qualifications Commission to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct and specify its investigative and disciplinary powers over judiciary members |
| 354,275 (66%) | 180,837 (34%) |
Virginia
See also: Virginia 1977 ballot measures
November 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Correctional Facilities Bond Measure | Bond issues; Prison and jail funding | Allow for the issuance of up to $21,525,000 in bonds for correctional facilities |
| 537,172 (64%) | 305,055 (36%) | |
| Educational Institutions Bond Measure | Bond issues; Public education funding; Higher education funding | Allow for the issuance of up to $86,475,000 in bonds for educational institutions |
| 594,098 (68%) | 284,375 (32%) | |
| Mental Health Facilities Bond Measure | Bond issues; Healthcare facility funding | Allow for the issuance of up to $4,000,000 in bonds for mental health facilities |
| 623,139 (73%) | 228,953 (27%) | |
| Parks and Recreational Facilities Bond Measure | Parks, land, and natural area conservation; Bond issues | Allow for the issuance of up to $5,000,000 in bonds for parks and recreational facilities |
| 531,176 (63%) | 305,883 (37%) | |
| Port Facilities Bond Measure | Bond issues | Allow for the issuance of up to $8,000,000 in bonds for port facilities |
| 491,962 (60%) | 327,431 (40%) |
Washington
See also: Washington 1977 ballot measures
November 8
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HJR 55 | Transportation taxes and fees | Authorize the legislature to establish passenger and freight transportation rates, replacing maximum rates |
| 461,975 (55%) | 385,348 (45%) | |
| HJR 56 | Transportation taxes and fees | Repeal the provision that prohibited transportation charges to a given destination from exceeding charges to more distant destinations | | 394,105 (49%) | 405,635 (51%) | |
| HJR 57 | Railways; Business regulations | Provide permission for railroad companies to share earnings by repealing the previous prohibition |
| 447,544 (57%) | 332,729 (43%) | |
| Initiative 335 | Business regulations; Sexual content regulations | Prohibit the sale and display of obscene material and expand the number of criminal offenses defined as "moral nuisances." |
| 522,921 (55%) | 431,989 (45%) | |
| Initiative 345 | Food policy; Sales taxes; Food and beverage taxes | Provide exemptions from state and local sales taxes for food products. |
| 521,062 (54%) | 443,840 (46%) | |
| Initiative 348 | Fuel taxes | Repeal the 1977 motor vehicle fuel law of 11 cents per gallon and restore the previous 1967 law of 9 cents per gallon | | 470,147 (50%) | 471,031 (50%) | |
| Initiative 59 | Water irrigation policy; Agriculture policy | Provide limitations on public water withdrawal permits for non-public agricultural irrigation to farms of 2,000 acres or less. |
| 457,054 (51%) | 437,682 (49%) | |
| Referendum 39 | Voter registration | Provide for voter registration by mail and absentee voting on one day's registration. | | 303,353 (32%) | 632,131 (68%) | |
| Referendum 40 | Sex and gender issues; State executive branch structure | Provide for the Washington State Women's Commission | | 259,761 (28%) | 664,962 (72%) | |
| SJR 113 | State judicial authority; State legislative authority | Provide authorization to the legislature to grant district courts jurisdiction over cases involving more than $1,000 |
| 654,082 (76%) | 203,936 (24%) |
Wisconsin
See also: Wisconsin 1977 ballot measures
April 5
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result | Yes Votes | No Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question 1 | Gambling policy | Allow the legislature to authorize charitable raffle games |
| 483,518 (62%) | 300,473 (38%) | |
| Question 2 | State judiciary | Unify the state court system under the administration of the state Supreme Court |
| 490,437 (69%) | 215,939 (31%) | |
| Question 3 | State judiciary | Create an appellate court |
| 455,350 (67%) | 229,316 (33%) | |
| Question 4 | State judiciary | Create a disciplinary system for judges and justices in Wisconsin under the authority of the state Supreme Court |
| 565,087 (79%) | 151,418 (21%) | |
| Question 5 | Judicial term limits; Age limits for officials; State judiciary oversight | Empower the state legislature to set a retirement age for supreme court justices or court of record judges to any age 70 or above |
| 506,207 (67%) | 244,170 (33%) |
Other years
Click on a year in the following table to view that year’s state ballot measures.
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Footnotes
