Main topics for the ballot initiatives in 2016:
- marijuana
- minimum wage
- gun control
- death penalty
- physician's assisted suicide

Eight out of nine states approved legalizing marijuana in 2016. Arizona rejected it while California, Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts, Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota. California, Nevada, and Massachusetts legalized it for recreation for those 21 and older while the other states only approved medical use of it.
Four out of five states approved increasing minimum wage in 2016. Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington all increased it. South Dakota tried to decrease the minimum wage for those under 18, but that was not passed.
Gun control expansion was approved in three out of four states. Maine rejected it while California, Nevada, and Washington approved.