In California, a ballot proposition is a referendum or an initiative measure that is submitted to the electorate for a direct decision or direct vote (or plebiscite). If passed, it can alter one or more of the articles of the Constitution of California, one or more of the 29 California Codes, or another law in the California Statutes by clarifying current or adding statute(s) or removing current statute(s). Measures can be placed on the ballot either by the California State Legislature or via a petition signed by registered voters. The state legislature can place a state constitutional amendment or a proposed law change on the ballot as a referendum to be approved by voters. Under the state constitution, certain proposed changes to state laws may require mandatory referendums, and must be approved by voters before they can take effect. A measure placed on the ballot via petition can either be a vote to veto a law that has been adopted by the legislature (an optional referendum or "people's veto") or a new proposed law (initiative). Overview There are three forms of direct democracy in California state elections: mandatory referendums (part of the Constitution of California since 1856), optional referendums, and initiatives. The initiative and optional (or facultative) referendum were introduced as Progressive Era reforms in 1911, by a constitutional amendment called Proposition 7. According to the Initiative & Referendum Institute at USC, Gov. Hiram Johnson supported the creation of this process to balance the power that corporations, specifically Southern Pacific Railroad, had over legislators. In 2022, with Democrats having a super-majority in both houses of the legislature, corporations have been using this process to challenge the power that unions and other progressive activists currently yield in the legislature. California Senate Bill 202, passed in 2011, mandated that initiatives and optional referendums can appear only on the November general election ballot, a statute that was controversial at the time, being seen as a self-serving, single-party initiative; the November general election rule for initiatives and optional referendums has nevertheless persisted. Initiatives The minimum number of signatures for an initiative petition is at least 8 percent (for an amendment to the state constitution) or 5 percent (for a statute) of the number of people who voted in the most recent election for governor. For 2020 and 2022, the minimum number of required signatures needed to be collected is 623,212 for a proposed statute,