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Here Are the Most Important Ballot Initiatives Around the Country Here Are the Most Important Ballot Initiatives Around the Country
(about 2 hours later)
There were not just candidates on the ballot this Election Day. Voters in more than half the states also considered ballot initiatives on some of the most divisive issues in American life: voting rights, taxes, criminal justice reform, health care and environmental regulations, among others. There were not just candidates on the ballot this Election Day. Voters in more than half the states considered ballot initiatives on some of the most divisive issues in American life: voting rights, taxes, criminal justice reform, health care and environmental regulations, among others. Here’s what we’re watching.
Voters in Florida, where polls close at 7 p.m. Eastern, will be among the first to pass initiatives. Floridians could restore voting rights to 1.5 million people who have been convicted of felonies but have completed their sentences. (Those convicted of murder or sexual offenses were excluded from the measure.) Voters in Florida were among the first to pass initiatives. Floridians restored voting rights to 1.5 million people who have been convicted of felonies but have completed their sentences. (Those convicted of murder or sexual offenses were excluded from the measure.) The initiative was one of several representing the bipartisan criminal justice reform movement, which has sputtered in Washington since the election of President Trump, but remains energetic in states and cities.
If the initiative passes, it could augur well for the bipartisan criminal justice reform movement, which has sputtered in Washington since the election of President Trump, but remains vibrant in states and cities. Ohio was voting on a closely watched measure aimed at reducing the prison population by decreasing penalties for low-level drug crimes. In Louisiana, voters may overturn a Jim Crow-era law that allows split juries to decide felony trials, as long as 10 of the 12 jurors agree. And Coloradans decided whether to outlaw involuntary servitude as a punishment for crimes.
[Can felons vote? It depends on where.][Can felons vote? It depends on where.]
Ohio rejected a closely watched measure aimed at reducing the prison population by decreasing penalties for low-level drug crimes; the measure was backed by influential progressive groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropy, with most of the state’s establishment Republicans in opposition.
Coloradans decided whether to outlaw involuntary servitude as a punishment. In Louisiana, voters may overturn a Jim Crow-era law that allows split juries to decide felony trials, as long as 10 of the 12 jurors agree. And in Washington State, a ballot measure would require mental health and de-escalation training for police officers, in an effort to reduce officer-involved shootings.
Six states are considering a broad initiative on victims’ rights called Marsy’s Law, named after a college student who was murdered in 1983. The proposal requires authorities to locate victims for even low-level crimes and allow them to be heard at court hearings. Even some prosecutors have said it may be too expensive and difficult to implement.
Florida voters also considered a measure that requires a two-thirds majority in the Legislature to enact new taxes and fees or raise existing ones. Similar laws across the country have led to reduced funding for schools — one of the factors that led to teacher walkouts in six states this year.Florida voters also considered a measure that requires a two-thirds majority in the Legislature to enact new taxes and fees or raise existing ones. Similar laws across the country have led to reduced funding for schools — one of the factors that led to teacher walkouts in six states this year.
Other anti-tax measures appeared on ballots in Arizona, North Carolina and Oregon, while voters in Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Utah weighed raising taxes to pay for education.Other anti-tax measures appeared on ballots in Arizona, North Carolina and Oregon, while voters in Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Utah weighed raising taxes to pay for education.
In a continuation of a trend from 2016, voters in two conservative states, Arkansas and Missouri, will consider raising the minimum wage, a policy that is often popular across party lines.
And in California, where housing costs are the steepest in the nation, liberals were divided over two housing-related measures: one to raise corporate taxes in San Francisco in order to pay for services for the homeless, and another to overturn a state law that limits the ability of local governments to enact rent controls.
[Ballot initiatives have shaped nearly every facet of life in California.]
A hugely expensive and deeply divisive fight in Washington State over whether to create the nation’s first carbon fee impassioned voters in a year when three of the state’s 10 seats in the House of Representatives were competitive. The measure, aimed at reducing climate change, would place a fee of $15 per ton of carbon emissions, with an increase of $2 a year; most of the revenue would be invested in renewable energy and air pollution reduction. Renewable energy initiatives were also on the ballot in Arizona and Nevada.A hugely expensive and deeply divisive fight in Washington State over whether to create the nation’s first carbon fee impassioned voters in a year when three of the state’s 10 seats in the House of Representatives were competitive. The measure, aimed at reducing climate change, would place a fee of $15 per ton of carbon emissions, with an increase of $2 a year; most of the revenue would be invested in renewable energy and air pollution reduction. Renewable energy initiatives were also on the ballot in Arizona and Nevada.
Massachusetts became the first state where voters considered a referendum that would roll back discrimination protections for transgender people, while North Dakota and Michigan decided whether to become the first Midwestern states to legalize recreational marijuana. And in a continuation of trends from 2016, voters in a cluster of conservative states will choose whether to raise the minimum wage or expand access to Medicaid, the public health insurance program for the poor and disabled. In a vote seen as a test of a potential 2020 wedge issue, Massachusetts became the first state where voters considered a referendum that would roll back discrimination protections for transgender people. The measure would repeal a 2016 law that prevents discrimination in public accommodations, including bathrooms and locker rooms, based on gender identity. That law easily passed the Democratic-controlled legislature.
North Dakota and Michigan decided whether to become the first Midwestern states to legalize recreational marijuana. Nine states and the District of Columbia already allow adults to buy and possess marijuana in small amounts for recreational use. But in the two states voting Tuesday, the added wrinkle is that proposed marijuana taxes — potentially just a sales tax in North Dakota — would be among the lowest in the nation.
States have wrestled with the question of whether higher taxes and thus higher marijuana prices would discourage use — along with raising more revenue — or simply ensure that the illegal market, with its cheaper prices, continues.
In addition, voters in Utah and Missouri are voting on medical marijuana; 31 states and the District of Columbia already allow medical use.
Voting on Medicaid, the federal public health insurance program, is relatively new. Maine became the first state, last year, to expand coverage through the ballot. On Tuesday, four conservative states took up the issue — Idaho, Utah, Nebraska and Montana. In Idaho, Nebraska and Utah, the measures would bring an estimated 340,000 additional adults under Medicaid coverage; Montana’s measure would raise tobacco taxes to pay for, and continue, a Medicaid expansion that might otherwise expire.
Abortion is a perennial focus for ballot measures. West Virginia and Alabama voters considered sweeping state constitutional amendments that would declare that women have no right to an abortion. The measures are priorities for religious conservatives, and could either prompt a Supreme Court case or pave the way for outright bans if the court were to overturn Roe v. Wade.Abortion is a perennial focus for ballot measures. West Virginia and Alabama voters considered sweeping state constitutional amendments that would declare that women have no right to an abortion. The measures are priorities for religious conservatives, and could either prompt a Supreme Court case or pave the way for outright bans if the court were to overturn Roe v. Wade.
[Ballot initiatives have shaped nearly every facet of life in California.]
Another echo of America’s political divisions — whether to make voting and voter registration easier, or guard against possible improprieties with tighter requirements — played out on state ballots. Maryland voters decided whether to allow registration right up to Election Day, while North Carolina and Arkansas voters considered amending their state constitutions to require voters to present photo identification when casting ballots.Another echo of America’s political divisions — whether to make voting and voter registration easier, or guard against possible improprieties with tighter requirements — played out on state ballots. Maryland voters decided whether to allow registration right up to Election Day, while North Carolina and Arkansas voters considered amending their state constitutions to require voters to present photo identification when casting ballots.
Ballot measures in Nevada and Michigan would make registration automatic when renewing or applying for a driver’s license — unless a person opts out — and Michigan’s would also allow later registration and expansion of absentee voting.Ballot measures in Nevada and Michigan would make registration automatic when renewing or applying for a driver’s license — unless a person opts out — and Michigan’s would also allow later registration and expansion of absentee voting.
There were over 150 ballot initiatives this year, according to Ballotpedia, a nonpartisan research organization. There were more progressive measures than conservative ones, said Josh Altic, director of the group’s ballot measures project, partly because more than half of state legislatures are controlled by Republicans. Ballot initiatives allow citizens to put forward proposals those policymakers may oppose.
States began to allow citizen-initiated ballot measures at the turn of the 20th century, driven in part by a populist desire to rein in corporate power. Historically, conservatives racked up some of the highest-profile victories using the process, on issues ranging from gay marriage to tax restrictions.
More recently, the left has embraced ballot measures. In 2016, liberals won over 80 percent of their ballot initiative efforts, according to Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a progressive group.
Measures that prove popular with voters this year could spread to other states in 2020. For interest groups hoping to prevail on specific issues or turn out groups of motivated voters, initiatives can be “part of a larger strategy to basically test the ground,” Ms. Fields said. “They are testing messages, testing organizing strategies, pushing conversations.”