(KTRS) – Missouri residents are turning to ballot proposals to address issues that politicians seem unwilling to confront.

There are already more than 170 proposals submitted to state officials to be considered for the 2016 ballot. That is a 20% increase from 2014 and a huge increase from 2004, when just 16 initiatives were submitted. The proposals span numerous topics: from increasing the state’s minimum wage, to legalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational use. The referenda also tackle political ethics in a state that has the loosest ethics laws in the nation.

In order to get on the November ballot, petition organizers must submit their signatures by the close of business on May 8.s