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Kelly Hall joins Michelangelo Signorile live on air to discuss anti-democratic attacks on ballot measures in various states across the country.

“We can have a real conversation about what it says about the Missouri legislature that they have radically diminished the impact of the minimum wage and paid sick leave initiative, but they have not succeeded at undermining the impact of the abortion initiative—at least not yet,” says Kelly Hall, the executive director of the Fairness Project.

Kelly Hall joined Meet the Press to discuss our report on the growing wave of anti-democratic state legislation and the urgent need to protect citizen-led change. Watch the full segment here.

In this episode, Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, speaks about a new report showing how conservative lawmakers are working to undermine direct democracy.

"The more citizens use their power to advance their interests via ballot initiatives, the more some lawmakers attack the process." writes Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project

In 2025, GOP lawmakers have advanced or enacted bills that make the citizen-led ballot measure process more difficult in at least eight states.

Nearly 150 bills were introduced across 15 state legislatures this year seeking to make it harder for initiatives to qualify for the ballot or win approval by voters — nearly double the amount of just two years ago, according to the Fairness Project, a progressive group that has backed dozens of ballot initiatives in states.

“It’s a damning indictment of representative democracy when elected officials are scared of the will of their own voters,” said Alexis Magnan-Callaway of the Fairness Project, a union-backed advocacy group that focuses on state ballot measures.