In 2018, voters in Oakland, California were presented with a city ballot measure to improve affordable housing policies for renters. Measure Y was “designed to amend eviction limitations law.” Simultaneously, in Portland two interrelated ballot measures—intended to allow nonprofits and other private developers in Portland to build affordable housing—were brought to Oregon voters. All the measures passed. This case study explores what worked, what the challenges were, and examines if power was built through these ballot initiatives.

In 2018, Nebraska and Montana forwarded ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid. In Nebraska the case study enabled us to explore how to forward what is typically considered a progressive issue in a red state and addressed the issue of tailoring strategies for rural and urban voters. In Montana, the ballot initiative was coupled with a tobacco tax that brought with it a strong opposition group. We explore how much power was built in these scenarios and look at what lessons we can glean from these related but different approaches and ecosystems.

In 2018, Florida and Louisiana’s citizens voted to re-enfranchise formerly incarcerated individuals with felony convictions on their record. In Florida this impacted an estimated 1.4 million returning citizens. Amendment 4, also known as the “Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative” passed with 64.55% of the vote. In Louisiana the reform targeted the front end of sentencing. In 2018, the state passed Amendment 2, the “Unanimous Jury Verdict for Felony Trials Amendment” with 64.35% of the vote. Both of these initiatives were forwarded by formerly incarcerated individuals and were the most successful in building power in BIPOC communities.