Howard Bashman links to this news coverage from Colorado about this decision of the Colorado Supreme Court to keep a measure related to benefits for illegal immigrants off the ballot. (Howard also provides this link about an attempt—though apparently not on single subject grounds—to have the Michigan Supreme Court keep a controversial affirmative action measure off the ballot in November as well.)
I thought a lot about the single subject rule this year, teaching the subject in both my election law and legislation courses. I am coming to the conclusion that states should simply amend their constitutions to eliminate the rule. I am beginning to think (though I’m open to contrary arguments) that the rule leaves too much discretion in the hands of judges to remove measures from the ballot they don’t like as a matter of substance, and that voters are smart enough not to vote for a measure that has significant unpalatable parts just to get a provision they like. (In any case, so long as the unpalatable and palatable parts are on the same subject, the single subject rule does nothing to police this problem.)
I would be interested in hearing about initiatives in jurisdictions that don’t have the single subject rule, or where it is not enforced.