Legal News

Americans Vote ?Yay? on Majority of Ballot Initiatives

By Ashby Jones

Of the big statewide ballot initiatives on the table yesterday, California’s Proposition 8 — a measure to ban same-sex marriage — arguably got the most press. (Prop. 8 passed by a margin of about 4%.) WSJ

But voters in states around the country cast ballots on a wide variety of other proposals — 153 to be exact. Overall, 86 measures were approved, 56 were rejected, and 12 are still to be decided, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute at USC. Let’s get you up to speed on some of the more high-profile items.

Pot at the Polls: Marijuana criminalization/legalization issues were on the ballots in at least two states. In Massachusetts, voters overwhelmingly approved an initiative to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, making getting caught with less than an ounce of pot punishable by a civil fine of $100. (Boston Globe) Michigan voters favored sanctioning the use of medical marijuana to treat debilitating illness Tuesday, apparently rejecting arguments that doing so would increase crime and juvenile drug use. (Detroit Free-Press) Both the Massachusetts and Michigan initiatives were backed by the Marijuana Policy Project, a group largely financed by Peter B. Lewis, the chairman of automobile insurer Progressive Corp.

Same-Sex Marriage Smackdowns: Aside from California’s, there were a couple other votes on same-sex marriage yesterday. In Arizona, voters approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Arizona Republic) So did voters in Florida. (Miami Herald)

Affirmative Action in Nebraska, Colorado: Voters in the Cornhusker state approved a constitutional amendment to bar public agencies, such as universities and city governments, from considering race, gender and ethnicity when handing out contracts, hiring employees and awarding scholarships. (Omaha World-Herald) In Colorado, a similar measure was too close to call. (Rocky Mountain News)

Right-to-Die in Washington: Voters in Washington State passed an initiative allowing doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication if requested by Washington residents given six months or less to live. The initiative mirrors Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act, which took effect in 1998 and has facilitated 341 deaths in its first decade. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

No Tax-a-chussetts?: Not so fast. Voters in Massachusetts defeated an effort to repeal the state’s income tax. (Boston Globe)

Photo: Getty Images

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on November 05, 2008 (boomark / email).