Voting FAQs

Support for majority rule cuts across party lines. Voters consistently express a preference for simple majority rule. Here is a list of states where voters have resoundingly supported majority rule in recent years:

• Ohio (2023) — Issue 1
  Proposed 60% supermajority for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments
  Result: Rejected by voters 57% No, 43% Yes
  
• South Dakota (2022) — Amendment C
  Proposed 60% supermajority for ballot measures increasing taxes or appropriating ≥$10M  Result: Rejected by voters 67% No, 33% Yes
  
• Arkansas (2022) — Issue 2
  Proposed 60% supermajority for constitutional amendments and citizen-initiated measures
  Result: Rejected by voters 59% No, 41% Yes
  
• South Dakota (2018) — Amendment X
  Proposed 55% supermajority for all constitutional amendments
  Result: Rejected by voters 54% No, 46% Yes

Why it matters: Requiring more than a simple majority of votes to pass something shifts power away from the majority and gives the minority the power to block popular policies. For example, if a state required 60% of the vote to pass an amendment instead of 50%, just 40% of voters could block any measure regardless of the issue – whether it’s increasing public safety spending, lowering taxes, feeding kids, just 40% of voters could say no, and the measure would fail.