Ballot Measures State-By-State

Among Issues Being Decided: Abortion, Stem Cells, Medical Marijuana And Same-Sex Marriage

(CBS)  By CBSNews.com producer David Morgan.

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There's more at stake this Election Day than who works at the White House or Capitol Hill; there are ballot measures requiring parental notification for teenagers seeking an abortion; expanding stem cell research; banning same-sex marriage; and other hot-button issues.

Here is a state-by-state roundup of the most noteworthy:

Arizona

Same-Sex Marriage: Proposition 102 would define marriage as only a union of one man and one woman.

Illegal Immigration Penalties: Proposition 202 would modify laws relating to the employment of unauthorized aliens (actual knowledge by an owner or officer of the employer as to the employee's legal status would be needed to fit the current law's definition of "knowingly employ an unauthorized alien"); the law would also fine employers who pay improperly reported cash wages.

Arizona voters will also decide Proposition 101, which would amend the state constitution to provide that no law shall restrict a person's freedom to choose a private health care plan or system of their choice; and Proposition 200, the Payday Loan Reform Act.

Arkansas

Adoption: Initiative 1 would mandate that only married couples can adopt a child or be a foster parent of a minor.

California

Same-Sex Marriage: Proposition 8 would eliminate the right of same-sex couples under the state constitution to marry, and would provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Abortion: Proposition 4 would require a waiting period of 48 hours after parental notification before allowing a minor to terminate a pregnancy.

In addition, voters will decide on humane confinement of farm animals (Proposition 2); requiring utilities to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable energy by 2010 (Proposition 7); change the way legislative district lines are drawn - a political hot button, to be sure (Proposition 11); and bond measures for funding children's hospitals and helping veterans purchase homes and farms.

And then there's San Francisco, which will decide on decriminalizing prostitution (Proposition K), and renaming a sewage treatment plant after President George W. Bush (Proposition R).

Colorado

Affirmative Action: Amendment 46 would prohibit discrimination by the state or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.

Rights For the Unborn: Amendment 48 would define the term "person" to include any human being from the moment of fertilization.

Also on the ballot: Amendment 47 would ban mandatory union membership and dues by employers; and Amendment 51, which would raise state sales taxes by one-tenth of one percent in each of the next two years, to raise money for long-term services for persons with developmental disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and mental retardation.

Florida

Same-Sex Marriage: Voters will decide on the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, which would ban same-sex marriage by declaring marriage to mean only the legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife, and that no other legal union that is treated as marriage ("or the substantial equivalent thereof") shall be valid or recognized.

Maryland

Video Slots: Question 2 would amend the constitution to authorize video lottery gaming at certain locations for the primary purpose of providing funds for public education.

Massachusetts

Eliminate State Income Tax: Question 1, if approved, would reduce the state personal income tax rate to 2.65 percent for the tax year beginning January 1, 2009, and would eliminate the tax for all tax years beginning in 2010.

Decriminalize Marijuana: Passage of Question 2 would replace the criminal penalties for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana with a new system of civil penalties.

Also on the ballot: a ban on dog racing.

Michigan

Medical Marijuana: A legislative initiative to permit the use and cultivation of marijuana for specified medical conditions.

Stem Cell Research: Proposal 2 would amend the state constitution to allow an expansion of the use of stem cells from human embryos for any research permitted under federal law (subject to certain provisions).

Nebraska

Affirmative Action: Measure 424 is a constitutional amendment which would ban affirmative action, by prohibiting the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education or public contracting, although there would exceptions for certain federal programs.

South Dakota

Abortion: Measure 11 would prohibit abortions except in cases where the mother’s life or health is at a substantial and irreversible risk, and in cases of reported rape and incest.

Voters will also get to decide on eliminating term limits for legislators (Amendment J).

Washington

Allow Medical Suicide: Measure 1000 would permit terminally ill, competent, adult Washington residents, who are medically predicted to have six months or less to live, to request and self-administer lethal medication prescribed by a physician.

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Add a Comment See all 12 Comments

by cheteunice November 4, 2008 8:25 PM EST

tj217, You need to remove yoiur own prejudice glass and look at the real world!

Reply to this comment

by cheteunice November 4, 2008 8:19 PM EST

What about Missouri''s english as the official language for public meeting amendment?

Reply to this comment

by questionnews November 4, 2008 6:50 PM EST

2) You operate off of the belief that, overall, most whites will do the right thing. I do not. Too many times minorities have been left to the not so tender mercies of the ruling class, only to be sorely disappointed.

Posted by tj217 at 02:03 PM : Nov 04, 2008


Wow! Just change the word "whites" with the word "blacks" and you have what the Klan preaches. Way to raise the race bar!! Do you guys wear black sheets & hoods to your meetings??

Reply to this comment

by mlissab November 4, 2008 6:38 PM EST

If it is a bigot deciding who is qualified, affirmative action won''t help anyway.

Also, I hear far more racism from those who are minorities who judge me purely on the color of my skin without getting to know me. TJ217 is obviously one of these as demonstrated by: 2) You operate off of the belief that, overall, most whites will do the right thing. I do not. Too many times minorities have been left to the not so tender mercies of the ruling class, only to be sorely disappointed.

Reply to this comment

by kramerswife November 4, 2008 5:36 PM EST

Regarding the rant by tj217 at 12:20 and 2:03pm: Not all of us who look white are white. And not all of us women who look white have benefitted in any way, shape, or form from affirmative action. Comments like yours go farther to continuing dsicrimination in this country than anything else I''ve ever experienced. I don''t believe that there should be such a thing as affirmative action, because I have experienced more discrimination from so-called minorities than from your "ruling class". Purely because I appear to be white. Next time, think carefully before you speak, and do not judge all on your experience of a few.

Reply to this comment

by dbvrfox November 4, 2008 4:19 PM EST

Colorado''s attempt to end the wait lists for 12,000 individuals with developmental disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome and mental retardation through Amendment 51 is a part of a national movement to end similar wait lists for 300,000+ individuals in states across the country.

For more information about this national movement, see:

http://www.noewait.net

or email

[e-mail]

Reply to this comment

by mlissab November 4, 2008 3:53 PM EST

If the most qualified candidate is truly the minority than they shouldn''t need affirmative action to get the job so what''s the problem? I agree that there are very qualified people of all races, religions and sexes and they should not need affirmative action to get them the job, if you agree what is the problem with eliminating it?????

Reply to this comment

by cba3215 November 4, 2008 3:12 PM EST

FINALLY....a state that is addressing the wait lists for persons with developmental disabilities long-term care services and supports! There are hundreds of thousands of individuals who wait for a decade or more, many with aging parents...as in the case of Colorado''s over 12,000...some of which are children who are newly diagnosed...another 9,700 whose parents are 60 years old and older. This is a crisis situation and if Amendment 51 does not pass, this crisis will only get worse. We must set a precedent to end this crisis.

Reply to this comment

by newsthought1 November 4, 2008 3:11 PM EST

America is fed up with all the scandals from Republican crooks, liars, perverts, lawbreakers, and used-car salesmen hucksters that have trashed this country over the last eight years:

Bill Frist
Randy "Duke" Cunningham
Jack Abramoff
Tom DeLay
Mark Foley
Larry Craig
Ted Haggard
Bob Ney
Trent Lott
Ted Stevens
Alberto Gonzales
Donald Rumsfled
Karl Rove
Scooter Libby
*** Cheney
George Bush

Lying about reasons for going to war with Iraq (Uranium,
false claims about Iraq''s supposed weapons of mass destruction.)
Torture in Abu Ghraib.
The treasonous exposure of a CIA agent by White House officials.(Plamegate)
Letting Osama Bin Laden escape from Tora Bora
Halliburton%u2019s overcharging and outright fraud for services in Iraq
Lack of body armor for troops
Enron
Katrina
Illegal wiretapping
Political influence peddling
S.e.x scandals
Troopergate
Travel fraud
Election tampering
Ballooning federal debt
Economy in a tailspin

And these are just for starters%u2026

Enough is enough, America is ready for change!

Reply to this comment

by noonprop200 November 4, 2008 2:49 PM EST

Prop 200 is one of the most misleading campaigns in Arizona!

To start, the title and definition is just a wolf in sheep''s clothing. Prop 200 will not reform the problems with the payday system. It will not do anything effective to control the "rollover" or "reopening" of loans. And, the interest rates would actually be significantly lower if people vote against Prop 200!

Second, the folks behind the campaign have used every trick in the book to try and confuse voters. They''ve even attacked their own businesses in TV ads and flyers as "unethical"!

What''s unethical is telling Arizonans that they want reform when what they are really doing is looking for a voter-protected law that will let them keep their 400% interest rates permanently!

When the "Yes on Prop 200" spokesman got the radio last week and called Arizona voters "ignorant", I heard everything I needed to - now I know that Prop 200 is about deceiving and using voters, not what doing what''s best for Arizona!

Arizona''s voters need to show the payday industry that they are onto their dirty tricks and that they are not ready to permanently protect the payday system''s outrageous rates!

http://www.200isnoreform.com

Reply to this comment

by questionnews November 4, 2008 2:38 PM EST

Surprising to see the bans on affirmative action. Good to see. Nobody should be discriminated against because of the color of their skin.

Reply to this comment

by pmaldona November 4, 2008 2:06 PM EST

definitely pulling for Question 2 in massachusetts!

Reply to this comment

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[cheteunice]

tj217, You need to remove yoiur own prejudice glass and look at the real world!

[cheteunice]

What about Missouri''s english as the official language for public meeting amendment?

[questionnews]

2) You operate off of the belief that, overall, most whites will do the right thing. I do not. Too many times minorities have been left to the not so tender mercies of the ruling class, only to be sorely disappointed.

Posted by tj217 at 02:03 PM : Nov 04, 2008


Wow! Just change the word "whites" with the word "blacks" and you have what the Klan preaches. Way to raise the race bar!! Do you guys wear black sheets & hoods to your meetings??

[mlissab]

If it is a bigot deciding who is qualified, affirmative action won''t help anyway.

Also, I hear far more racism from those who are minorities who judge me purely on the color of my skin without getting to know me. TJ217 is obviously one of these as demonstrated by: 2) You operate off of the belief that, overall, most whites will do the right thing. I do not. Too many times minorities have been left to the not so tender mercies of the ruling class, only to be sorely disappointed.

[kramerswife]

Regarding the rant by tj217 at 12:20 and 2:03pm: Not all of us who look white are white. And not all of us women who look white have benefitted in any way, shape, or form from affirmative action. Comments like yours go farther to continuing dsicrimination in this country than anything else I''ve ever experienced. I don''t believe that there should be such a thing as affirmative action, because I have experienced more discrimination from so-called minorities than from your "ruling class". Purely because I appear to be white. Next time, think carefully before you speak, and do not judge all on your experience of a few.

[dbvrfox]

Colorado''s attempt to end the wait lists for 12,000 individuals with developmental disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome and mental retardation through Amendment 51 is a part of a national movement to end similar wait lists for 300,000+ individuals in states across the country.

For more information about this national movement, see:

http://www.noewait.net

or email

[e-mail]

[mlissab]

If the most qualified candidate is truly the minority than they shouldn''t need affirmative action to get the job so what''s the problem? I agree that there are very qualified people of all races, religions and sexes and they should not need affirmative action to get them the job, if you agree what is the problem with eliminating it?????

[cba3215]

FINALLY....a state that is addressing the wait lists for persons with developmental disabilities long-term care services and supports! There are hundreds of thousands of individuals who wait for a decade or more, many with aging parents...as in the case of Colorado''s over 12,000...some of which are children who are newly diagnosed...another 9,700 whose parents are 60 years old and older. This is a crisis situation and if Amendment 51 does not pass, this crisis will only get worse. We must set a precedent to end this crisis.

[newsthought1]

America is fed up with all the scandals from Republican crooks, liars, perverts, lawbreakers, and used-car salesmen hucksters that have trashed this country over the last eight years:

Bill Frist
Randy "Duke" Cunningham
Jack Abramoff
Tom DeLay
Mark Foley
Larry Craig
Ted Haggard
Bob Ney
Trent Lott
Ted Stevens
Alberto Gonzales
Donald Rumsfled
Karl Rove
Scooter Libby
*** Cheney
George Bush

Lying about reasons for going to war with Iraq (Uranium,
false claims about Iraq''s supposed weapons of mass destruction.)
Torture in Abu Ghraib.
The treasonous exposure of a CIA agent by White House officials.(Plamegate)
Letting Osama Bin Laden escape from Tora Bora
Halliburton%u2019s overcharging and outright fraud for services in Iraq
Lack of body armor for troops
Enron
Katrina
Illegal wiretapping
Political influence peddling
S.e.x scandals
Troopergate
Travel fraud
Election tampering
Ballooning federal debt
Economy in a tailspin

And these are just for starters%u2026

Enough is enough, America is ready for change!

[noonprop200]

Prop 200 is one of the most misleading campaigns in Arizona!

To start, the title and definition is just a wolf in sheep''s clothing. Prop 200 will not reform the problems with the payday system. It will not do anything effective to control the "rollover" or "reopening" of loans. And, the interest rates would actually be significantly lower if people vote against Prop 200!

Second, the folks behind the campaign have used every trick in the book to try and confuse voters. They''ve even attacked their own businesses in TV ads and flyers as "unethical"!

What''s unethical is telling Arizonans that they want reform when what they are really doing is looking for a voter-protected law that will let them keep their 400% interest rates permanently!

When the "Yes on Prop 200" spokesman got the radio last week and called Arizona voters "ignorant", I heard everything I needed to - now I know that Prop 200 is about deceiving and using voters, not what doing what''s best for Arizona!

Arizona''s voters need to show the payday industry that they are onto their dirty tricks and that they are not ready to permanently protect the payday system''s outrageous rates!

http://www.200isnoreform.com

[questionnews]

Surprising to see the bans on affirmative action. Good to see. Nobody should be discriminated against because of the color of their skin.

[pmaldona]

definitely pulling for Question 2 in massachusetts!