Significant Surge in Online Advertising for State Ballot Measures
In a remarkable shift of focus, state ballot measures have emerged as a central target for online advertising campaigns, with an impressive $61 million allocated to sway voter decisions across various states. This figure represents a substantial increase, six times more than the $10 million reported in the previous summer’s analysis. No other category experienced such a dramatic rise in spending.
Throughout the election cycle, expenditures on ballot measures surpassed the combined spending on gubernatorial and other down-ballot races, which amounted to $45 million. Furthermore, it almost equaled the total spending on all House races, which neared $64 million. Notably, ballot measure campaigns occupied five of the top 20 positions for total advertising dollars spent, and they claimed ten spots in the top 30, outpacing numerous Senate campaigns and nearly all individual House races.
Interestingly, the funding sources for these ballot measure campaigns predominantly consisted of national donors rather than local residents.
For instance, Florida’s Amendment 4, aimed at embedding abortion rights into the state constitution, attracted approximately $9 million in online advertising—the highest among the ballot measures studied. Most of this funding originated from Floridians Protecting Freedom, supported by prominent national left-leaning groups like the Fairness Project, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Planned Parenthood, and ACLU, as well as liberal donors and philanthropic entities such as Marsha Zlatin Laufer and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation based in Oklahoma.
Similarly, an abortion rights measure in Ohio in 2023 saw online advertising driven by substantial out-of-state funding. This amendment attracted nearly $4 million in online ad spending, split almost evenly between proponents and opponents. Ohioans for Reproductive Rights, backed by many of the same national donors as Florida’s Amendment 4, spent close to $2 million in favor of the measure. On the opposing side, Protect Women Ohio dedicated approximately $1.75 million to online ads, mainly funded by conservative advocacy groups like the Concord Fund and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
Other ballot measures making it to the top 30 in terms of online ad spending included California’s Prop 35 (Medicaid funding) and Prop 33 (rent control), Missouri’s Amendment 3 (abortion rights), Ohio’s Issue 1 (redistricting reform), and Nevada’s Question 3 (ranked-choice voting), with substantial backing from national groups.
