Ballot initiatives to watch this year
Voters in every state on Nov. 6 will have the opportunity to influence the trajectory of the nation when they cast their vote for president. In a handful of states, voters can specifically influence history on a few significant issues like marriage, marijuana and genetically modified food.
Across 34 states this year, voters will weigh in on 159 ballot initiatives, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California. Here's a look at some worth watching:
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage has been the subject of legal debate for two decades, but 2012 may be the first year a ballot initiative in favor of same-sex marriage passes. There are four states this November with marriage questions on the ballot.
In Maine, Question 1 asks voters, "Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?" Polls show most Maine voters support the initiative, but it could be a close call.
Maryland's Question 6 asks voters to uphold a law permitting same-sex marriage that Gov. Martin O'Malley signed in March 2012. A poll from May shows strong support for the law.
Similarly, Washington state's R-74 asks voters to either approve or reject the law passed earlier this year that allows same-sex marriage. As of August, the group in favor of same-sex marriage, Washington United for Marriage, had raised a total of $7.4 million for its campaign, the Seattle Times reported. The group opposed to the new law, Preserve Marriage Washington, reported raising more than $525,000.
In both Maryland and Washington, the laws in question have yet to be enacted.
Lastly, in Minnesota, voters will decide whether to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Minnesota currently does not recognize same-sex marriages; the amendment would codify that policy. A Star Tribune Minnesota poll released this week shows 49 percent of Minnesotans favor the amendment while 47 percent oppose it. However, the initiative must win at least 50 percent support to pass. As both sides of the issue feverishly raise money, the question could become the most expensive constitutional ballot question in Minnesota's history, the Star Tribune reported.
While half a dozen states and the District of Columbia already have laws permitting same-sex marriage, those laws were put in place by state legislatures or the courts.
Over the years, U.S. voters have considered a total of 35 ballot measures banning same-sex marriage, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute, and all but one of those initiatives passed. The initiative that failed was Arizona's 2006 ballot measure, which would have put limits on civil unions as well as marriage.
Public opinion is moving in favor of same-sex marriage -- in 2011, Gallup found for the first time that a majority of Americans supported it -- but the most recent ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage passed with strong support in North Carolina in May.
Marijuana
There are six states this November voting on marijuana-related measures, including three that would buck federal law and for the first time legalize the drug's recreational use at the state level.
Colorado's Amendment 64 would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for adults ages 21 and older. It would also require the state to tax and regulate the sales of marijuana. Colorado's Democratic John Hickenlooper opposes the law, but the latest Denver Post poll shows that 51 percent of likely voters support it.
It's worth noting, however, that Colorado voters in 2006 rejected a marijuana legalization ballot measure by 60 percent. Furthermore, 2010 polling indicated that a majority of Californians supported a marijuana legalization measure, but the measure ultimately failed.
Washington state's Initiative 502 would also legalize, regulate and tax marijuana. A September poll showed 50 percent of Washington voters in favor of it and 38 percent opposed. Both major candidates for governor, Republican Rob McKenna and Democrat Jay Inslee, are opposed to it, the Seattle Times reports.
In Oregon, the legalization and regulation of marijuana isn't winning public support like it is in Colorado or Washington. A recent poll showed Oregon's Measure 80, known as the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, winning just 37 percent support of likely voters with 41 percent opposed to it. Deep-pocketed pro-legalization donors have kept their distance from the Oregon campaign, the Oregonian reports, in part because of weak poll results.
Three other states in November will consider ballot initiatives on medical marijuana.
Seventeen states already have laws permitting medical marijuana, but Arkansas could be the first southern state to approve it if the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act passes. A poll conducted in July found that 47 percent of likely voters said they'd support the initiative, 46 percent said they would not, and 7 percent were undecided.
In Massachusetts, Question 3 would legalize the use of medical marijuana. A recent poll found 59 percent of likely voters support the initiative while 35 percent oppose it.
Montana voters, meanwhile, must decide whether to reinstate a 2004 initiative that legalized medical marijuana or keep in place a 2011 law that made medical marijuana restrictions more stringent. A vote in favor of Montana's Initiative Referendum 124 would keep in place the 2011 law, while a vote against it would reinstate the 2004 law. A poll conducted this month shows that 44 percent of likely Montana voters support 124 while 31 percent are against it.
Food labeling, Maryland's "Dream Act," and redistricting
If Proposition 37 passes, California will be the first state to require labeling on genetically engineered food. The European Union has required such labeling since 1997, and the passage of Prop. 37 could thrust the issue into the national spotlight in the U.S.
A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll shows that 61 percent of registered California voters support the idea while 25 percent are opposed and 14 percent are undecided.
While the measure has strong support so far, the well-funded opposition campaign is just starting to blanket the California airwaves with messages against it, the Los Angeles Times points out.
As of Sunday, according to Maplight.org, opponents of Prop. 37 had raised $32.7 million. The biggest financiers of the effort are the biotech company Monsanto, the chemical company DuPont and Bayer Cropscience.
Supporters of the initiative, meanwhile, have raised just $3.9 million. They are led by the "natural health" company Mercola, the food company Nature's Path and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps.
In Maryland, voters will decide on the "Dream Act Referendum," which would repeal a 2011 law allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state universities. The law only applied to students who attended high school in Maryland and whose parents paid taxes.
A recent poll showed that 58 percent of likely voters support the law, while 34 percent are opposed.
Other states have had the same debate, and in 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that California could grant in-state tuition to undocumented residents of the state.
In Ohio, voters will decide on Issue 2, which would take the process of redistricting out of the hands of partisan elected officials and give the responsibility to an independent citizens commission. Last year, Republicans redrew the state map in their favor.
A group of bipartisan Ohio women backs the measure, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, but the initiative is opposed by the Ohio State Bar Association which is concerned with the involvement of appellate court judges in the commission selection process.
Ohio Republicans also oppose Issue 2, arguing that unelected bureaucrats shouldn't be responsible for redistricting. The Ohio Elections Commission is in the process of reviewing whether the Ohio Republican party included false information in anti-Issue 2 literature it distributed.
In a recent Columbus Dispatch/Ohio Newspaper Organization poll, 48 percent of likely voters said they planned to vote against Issue 2, 25 percent planned to vote for it, and 27 percent weren't sure. However, as many as 35 percent said of voters said they know "nothing at all" about the initiative.
