Engage · State

State initiatives and referendums

Idaho voters can write state laws themselves and can overturn laws the Legislature passes. The signature rules are among the toughest in the West. Here is how each path works.

Two paths for voters

• Initiative. Voters propose a new law or a change to an existing one. With enough signatures it goes on the November ballot in an even-numbered year.
• Referendum. Voters ask to overturn a law the Legislature just passed. The petition has to be filed within 60 days after the session ends.

Initiatives in Idaho can change state law only. Voters cannot propose amendments to the Idaho Constitution. Those have to come from the Legislature.

How many signatures

• Six percent of registered voters statewide, counted as of the last general election.
• And six percent in each of at least 18 of the 35 legislative districts. Signatures from Boise alone can't qualify a measure.

The Secretary of State publishes the exact numbers for each cycle. Campaigns collect well over the minimum, because county clerks strike signatures that don't match a registered voter at that address.

The steps

1. Start with 20 signatures. Sponsors file the proposed text with the Secretary of State along with the signatures of 20 registered voters and a proposed way to pay for it.
2. Review. The Attorney General reviews the text and can suggest changes, which sponsors are free to ignore. The state budget office writes a fiscal impact statement.
3. Ballot titles. The Attorney General writes a short and a long title. Anyone unhappy with them can appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court within 20 days.
4. Circulation. Sponsors have up to 18 months, ending April 30 of the election year. Circulators must be Idaho residents at least 18 years old, and each signature sheet covers one county.
5. County clerks verify. Signatures go to the county clerks by May 1, and the clerks have until the end of June to check them.
6. The ballot. A measure with enough valid signatures goes on the November ballot and passes with a simple majority.

If you're asked to sign

• You can read it first. The circulator must show you the ballot titles and offer you a copy of the measure and its fiscal impact summary.
• You must be a registered voter, and you sign with your own name and address.
• You can change your mind. You can take your name off before the petition goes to the county clerk, or ask the clerk in writing before signatures are verified.
• Signing isn't voting. It only says the question should be on the ballot.

After an initiative passes

A law passed by initiative is an ordinary state law. The Legislature can amend or repeal it at any time with a simple majority, and it has done so.

Measures the Legislature sends you

• Constitutional amendments. These need a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate, then a majority of voters at the next general election.
• Advisory questions. The Legislature sometimes asks voters a non-binding question.

How to weigh in

• Read the voters' pamphlet the Secretary of State mails before the general election, with each measure's text and arguments for and against.
• Check who is funding each side through the Sunshine Portal.

Sources

• Initiative filing requirements (Idaho Secretary of State)
• Initiatives and amendments, current and past (Idaho Secretary of State)
• Idaho Code Title 34, Chapter 18, Initiative and Referendum Elections (Idaho Legislature)
• Idaho Constitution, Article III, Section 1 and Article XX (Idaho Legislature)

Last reviewed November 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the linked sources before you rely on a deadline.