Why GOP-led states are passing new restrictions for ballot initiatives

By Miles Parks,

Ashley Lopez, Mara Liasson

Published May 19, 2025 at 4:11 PM EDT

Ballot initiatives are one way for voters to get issues that matter to them enshrined in law, especially if lawmakers aren't interested in taking them on in local legislatures. But, efforts in several Republican-led states are trying to make it harder for people to get initiatives on ballots in the first place.

This podcast: voting correspondent Miles Parks, political correspondent Ashley Lopez, and senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

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Miles Parks

Miles Parks is a reporter on NPR's Washington Desk. He covers voting and elections, and also reports on breaking news.

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Ashley Lopez

Ashley Lopez is a political correspondent for NPR based in Austin, Texas. She joined NPR in May 2022. Prior to NPR, Lopez spent more than six years as a health care and politics reporter for KUT, Austin's public radio station. Before that, she was a political reporter for NPR Member stations in Florida and Kentucky. Lopez is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and grew up in Miami, Florida.

Mara Liasson

Mara Liasson is a national political correspondent for NPR. Her reports can be heard regularly on NPR's award-winning newsmagazine programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Liasson provides extensive coverage of politics and policy from Washington, DC — focusing on the White House and Congress — and also reports on political trends beyond the Beltway.

See stories by Mara Liasson