The headline electoral issues of the economy, crime, cultural division and reproductive rights are not the only matters voters are being asked to consider as they cast ballots in Tuesday’s midterms: a deluge of propositions are on deck across the country, including those concerning marijuana legalization, debt collection, sports betting and taxes to fund initiatives to address the climate emergency.
Five states will have abortion on the ballot. Voters in Vermont, California and Michigan will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, which would protect access to the termination of unwanted pregnancies after the US supreme court in June overturned the landmark Roe v Wade ruling that established federal abortion rights.
In Kentucky, a ballot measure is seeking to make clear that abortion can be banned in the state.
Voters in Montana are being asked to mandate that health providers give medical care for children “born alive” after an abortion or face criminal charges. But in Michigan, voters are being asked to amend the state constitution to protect the right to be able to make choices on reproductive issues.
In California, also, there is a proposed amendment to explicitly protect the right to an abortion in the state.
Other ballot initiatives in California – where voter propositions are used frequently as a means to effect legislation – include proposals to legalize in-person sports betting on tribal lands and at four horse racing tracks, increase funding for arts and music education in all preschool and K-12 public schools, ban the sale of most flavored tobacco or vaping products, and increase restrictions on kidney dialysis centers.
Perhaps the most significant of California’s ballot proposals is a proposition to levy Californians earning more than $2m annually with an additional 1.75% in personal income tax to support zero-emission vehicle programs as well as wildfire response and prevention efforts.
Proposals to legalize recreational marijuana exist across five states, including the conservative regions of Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota. It comes as the Biden White House has announced moves to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.
Recreational marijuana is currently legal in 19 states. All the states with legalization on the ballot, including Maryland, already have legal medical marijuana programs. Proponents of the measures have touted jobs and tax revenue as advantages to legalization. But in Arkansas, opponents have warned voters to “protect Arkansas from big marijuana”.
In Colorado, voters are being asked to decide if they want to decriminalize psychedelic drugs, including magic mushrooms, for anyone 21 and older, and create state-regulated “healing centers” to enable tripping under the supervision of a licensed “facilitator”.
If the initiative passes, Colorado would join Oregon in legalizing psychedelic substances.
Guns, too, are subject to ballot initiatives. In Iowa, a proposal asks voters to enshrine gun rights within the state constitution. Oregon voters, however, are being asked to consider a proposal to require anyone trying to obtain a gun permit to pass a background check, submit fingerprints, pay a fee and enroll in a safety course.
Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont have ballot measures that would forbid slavery or involuntary servitude for people who are convicted of crimes. If passed, prisoners in those states could challenge the practice of low-paid prison labor, which produces an estimated $2bn in goods and more than $9bn in services at a fraction of the actual costs.
In New York City, voters are being asked to consider four ballot measures, including the authorization of $4bn in bonds to fund climate and environment projects. Those include pollution reduction, wetland protections, green energy projects, zero-emission school bus fleets and urban forestry. In a city that pumps its sewage into the harbor during rainstorms, $650m would be allocated to sewage infrastructure.
Other initiatives include an amendment to the city’s charter to include a preamble that emphasizes the city’s commitment to diversity.
In Arizona, proposition number 309 would alter how in-person voters are allowed to prove their identity. It would require voters to write their birthdates and add state-issued voter identification, driver’s license or identification numbers, or partial social security numbers, to mail-in votes.
Other ballot measures in the state include one that would raise a tax for rural fire districts and another that would limit interest on medical debt and make changes to how it can be collected. In South Dakota, voters will look at a proposal to expand Medicaid coverage, which is a measure the Republican governor of that state, Kristi Noem, opposes.
Similar proposals are on the ballot in Florida and Wyoming.
A proposal in Ohio is directed toward preventing noncitizens from voting in local elections. But in New York and Louisiana, a ballot provision would allow permanent legal residents and people authorized to work in the US to vote in city-level races.