The *OTHER* stuff on the ballot

Florida had Amendment 3 and it lost. It had to get 60% in order to change the Florida Constitution and it only got to 55%. The main arguments I saw against it online had to do with how it didn’t legalize home-grown and, as such, was just a giveaway to the pot companies. Well, those and the “don’t legalize pot!” arguments.

Massachusetts had Question 4 in order to legalize shrooms (plants/fungi that contain Dimethyltryptamine, Mescaline, Ibogaine, Psilocybin, or Psilocyn). It lost 57/43. (I talked to my friend who lives there and she said that she voted for it but with great trepidation… if it had been narrower, she said, it’d have probably won).

North Dakota has medicinal weed, they had Measure 5 to legalize recreational and it lost, 52.5 to 47.5.

South Dakota also has medicinal and they also had a measure to legalize recreational and it lost 58 to 42.

Nebraska overwhelmingly legalized medicinal marijuana with Initiative 437. 70% voted yes!

California had a couple of interesting things happen. Nathan Hochman defeated George Gascón 61.5% to 38.5%. The Mayoral race for San Francisco is still ongoing but London Breed is currently trailing Daniel Lurie. Per Wikipedia, “Breed has faced criticism for her handling of important issues in the city, including homelessness, crime, and drug addiction”.

There were a *TON* of abortion-related ballot initiatives.

Florida’s failed to pass with 57% of the vote because it needed 60%.

Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York established a right to abortion.

South Dakota and Nebraska both failed to establish that right (and Nebraska banned abortions after the first trimester).

There were a bunch of states that had “Citizen Requirement to Vote” initiatives on the ballot (Iowa, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin) and they all passed and they all passed decisively (the closest one seems to be Wisconsin’s that only passed with 66%). Nevada also passed a law to have stricter ID requirements for elections.

I guess the main question I have is whether the abortion initiatives made it easier for people to vote for Trump. “Hey, I can vote for Trump and protect abortion at the same time. Win-win.”

We’d probably have to look at the crosstabs to be sure.

Any interesting initiatives in *YOUR* state?

(Featured image is “I Voted”. Photo taken by the author.)