How do private citizens get Initiatives on the ballot?

It’s a detailed and potentially expensive process. The following is the process for state ballot issues. Local ones would follow a path set up in their own local ordinances: First, a proposal is submitted to the Legislative Council. These are the attorneys for the Legislature and they will draw up a series of questions to ask the proponents about the proposal designed to ensure the language of the proposal matches the intent. Next, a ballot title must be set. This is done by a board that meets twice a month and consists of the Sec. of State, the Attorney General, and a representative of Legislative Legal Services. One criterion that all proposals must meet is that it only addresses a single subject. This board also determines if a proposed ballot question does that. After this, the proponents have 6 months to gather signatures. For a statewide ballot question, the proponents must collect signatures equal to 5% of all the votes cast for all the candidates for Secretary of State in the previous election for that office. In recent years, that number has hovered in the 70,000 range. Once enough signatures are gathered and verified as valid, the measure goes on the next general election ballot (except tax-related issues, which may appear on an odd-year November ballot).