The National Conference of State Legislatures and
Ballotpedia.com keep Web sites that list the wide range of issues other than office elections that will appear on ballots next week.
In California, the issues range from providing loans to veterans to treating farm animals humanely.
Colorado voters are being asked whether anybody should be able to force a worker to join a labor union. The voters are also being asked to define "what is a person" -- does it happen at the moment of fertilization?
A Rocky Mountain News/CBS4 News poll gave a hint about how voters are feeling about that question:
Amendment 48 is getting clobbered by more than a 2-to-1 ratio, making it unlikely that Colorado will become the first state in the nation to grant constitutional rights to a fertilized egg.
The Rocky Mountain News/CBS4 News poll showed the Personhood Amendment losing, 68 percent to 27 percent.
Florida voters are being asked about "protecting marriage as being between one man and one woman only.
A Missouri vote asks:Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to add a statement that English shall be the language of all governmental meetings at which any public business is discussed, decided, or public policy is formulated whether conducted in person or by communication equipment including conference calls, video conferences, or Internet chat or message board?
Ohio voters may impose new regulations on "payday lenders."Ballotpedia says:
The November ballot includes three measures focusing on abortion: Proposition 4 in California, the Definition of Person Initiative in Colorado, and Initiated Measure 11 in South Dakota.
Voters in four states will vote directly on marriage-related issues: A ban on same-sex marriage is under consideration with Arizona Proposition 102, California Proposition 8 and the Florida Marriage Amendment.
In Arkansas, an initiative to prevent unmarried couples from adopting has been certified for the ballot. The Connecticut Constitutional Convention Question has taken on marriage overtones subsequent to the decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage.
Michigan voter will consider stem cells and Washington voters will consider Aid-in-dying/assisted suicide/death with dignity.
Is it just me or did these kinds of issues used to be matters for legislators to take care of? I have often wondered whether legislators are just punting these things to the ballot rather than facing them.
Ballotpedia says in some states the opposite is true. Lawmakers are making it more difficult for citizens to raise issues on the ballot.
