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Hot-Button State Ballot Issues for Older Americans to Watch This Fall

Voters in many states will see questions regarding their taxes, housing and voting

Ledyard King,

AARP

Published September 09, 2026

Jon Krause

Key takeaways

Forty states have initiatives on the November ballot that directly affect older Americans.
Ballot questions include proposed changes to tax policies and funding for affordable housing.
AARP provides education and resources to help older voters navigate the midterm elections.

You may be tracking key races in your state this election season, but you’re also likely to see state and local ballot questions on the slate as you head to the polls or fill out a mail-in ballot.

Many of these questions are focused on issues that affect older adults. Forty states have more than 160 questions spread among them this election season.

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The number of state initiatives is roughly the same as it has been for the past decade during even years — up slightly from recent elections but lower than pre-COVID cycles, according to Nicole Fisher, who tracks such issues for Ballotpedia.

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That total could grow slightly, she says. “These are citizen initiatives that are still getting their signatures certified, so they may or may not make the ballot,” Fisher says. A few proposals are making their way through the courts.

Older voters will play an outsize role in the passage — or rejection — of these measures. Data consistently show that voters 50-plus are the most engaged and active voting age group in deciding the fate of candidates and issues.

This year’s ballot questions are a combination of constitutional amendments and stand-alone initiatives that could change policy, adjust tax rates and authorize bonds for specific public projects and causes. Most appear on a ballot following state legislative action, but up to a third make it there thanks to citizen petitions. Twenty-six states and Washington, D.C., give voters the power to place questions on the ballot, according to the nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia Ballotpedia.

More than previous years, issues on state ballots reflect themes that have gained traction in national debates, says Helen L. Brewer, an attorney with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

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“Topics or policy matters that are on the news, all over online, on your social media ... in the public discourse are very much making a relatively strong showing on the ballot,” she says.

To find out which questions will appear on your ballot, check with your state elections office. For more details on voting, visit AARP’s election information page.

Here are some topics and specific measures to keep an eye out for across the nation:

Jon Krause

Taxes

Few issues directly affect older Americans as significantly as taxes. Many older adults live on fixed incomes and face higher property levies and rising costs of everyday items. Initiatives changing tax policy appear more often than any other on state ballots this year. Here are a few:

Arizona: With food prices top of mind, Proposition 316 would bar local governments from raising the sales tax on groceries above 2 percent without state approval, and freeze the rates in cities and counties where it is already above 2 percent. The tax rate in those localities would not be abolished or decreased, but it could never be increased.
California: Voters will decide whether to impose a one-time 5 percent tax on the accumulated wealth of taxpayers and trusts with covered assets valued over $1 billion. The money would be earmarked for state health care programs, food assistance and public education.
Florida: If voters approve Amendment 3, the homestead tax exemption for nonschool property taxes will rise from $25,000 to $150,000 next year and $250,000 in 2028, while increases on the taxable assessed value of properties like rentals and commercial buildings will drop from 10 percent a year to 5 percent.
Louisiana: Two initiatives on the ballot are designed to help older homeowners. One would allow the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran to transfer the property-tax homestead exemption on their primary residence to a new one if they move. The other would authorize a property-tax exemption of up to $30,000 of the assessed value — increasing with the homeowner’s age — for qualifying homeowners 65 and older.
Oklahoma: A constitutional amendment would limit the growth of property tax rates used to fund local government services.

Housing

Housing costs have become part of the affordability equation, and that issue is reflected at the local level. Nearly 9 in 10 Americans 50 and older identify the nationwide lack of affordable housing as a significant problem, including a majority who view it as a very significant problem, according to a recent AARP Research survey. Here are a few states with housing-related initiatives:

California: The state ballot features two questions aimed at keeping housing costs in check. One would authorize $25 billion to offer financially eligible homebuyers fixed-rate mortgages tied to the value of their home. A second would issue $11.25 billion in bonds to develop more affordable housing, with a portion set aside for veterans to buy farms, houses, mobile homes or other properties.
Hawaii: Voters will decide whether the state legislature could permit local governments to issue bonds for public works projects designed to spur new housing.
Massachusetts: A citizen-initiated ballot measure would require cities and towns to allow single-family homes on residentially zoned lots as small as 5,000 square feet.
Rhode Island: State voters will decide whether to issue $120 million in bonds to fund the construction and development of affordable housing projects.

Elections and voting

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that older voters come out to the polls in greater numbers than any other demographic and consistently say they are more motivated to vote than younger generations. Here are some states with election-related ballot questions:

Alaska: Voters will decide whether to keep their tiered system of choosing elected officials, known as “ranked choice” voting. First used in the 2022 election, the process allows them to rank candidates by preference, with the results tallied until one secures a majority.
Massachusetts: A ballot question would allow state residents to register and vote on the same day.
The Dakotas & Utah: Referenda in North Dakota and South Dakota would make it harder for constitutional amendments initiated by citizens or the state legislature to become law, by raising the threshold for passage from a simple majority to 60 percent. A proposed constitutional amendment in Utah would require the same supermajority for citizen-initiated measures but only on issues related to new taxes, raising existing tax rates or adjusting property tax rates.

In addition, 11 states — including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia — have ballot questions that seek to either require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote or certain forms of ID to be presented at the polls or for mail-in ballots or both. Federal law already bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections.

There are likely to be even more ballot questions to track at the municipal level on a range of issues, including housing, transportation and public safety. Your local election authority will have the latest information, and you can often review the text of these measures before Election Day.

Ledyard King is a writer for AARP covering advocacy issues and election news. He previously worked at other news outlets, including USA Today and National Journal.

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