2012 Election: On the ballot

STATELINE INFOGRAPHIC On the 2012 Ballot Voters will get to flex their veto power November 6 with a record number of ballot measures that would overturn controversial laws state legislatures have passed, including those allowing gay marriage in Maryland and Washington and medical marijuana in Montana. Other measures include a ballot question in Michigan that will decide whether to allow state-appointed “emergency managers" to take over distressed cities, and in Idaho that could repeal new limits on collective bargaining for teachers. These are among 12 popular referenda, known as the "people veto," on the ballot this year, compared with a typical year that has only two or three, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Of the 174 ballot measures voters will consider on Election Day, here are some of the more contentious issues that appear in multiple states. tax cuts/restrictions AZ FL MI NH OK OR WA tax increases AZ CA MO OR SD marijuana AR CO MA MT OR WA “Obamacare" AL FL MO MT WY same-sex marriage ME MD MN WA affirmative action/race AL ND OK labor unions AL CA ID MI gambling MD OR RI abortion FL MT immigration MD MT Check back here November 7 for results. ON BALLOT PASSED Tax cuts/restrictions Tax increases FAILED AZ OK AZ SD FL OR CA MI WA MO NH OR Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma will consider limiting Arizona, California, Missouri, Oregon and South Dakota will consider increasing taxes with the additional revenue benefiting education either in part or entirely; California has two competing proposals on this issue, including one from property tax increases, and inheritance taxes would be eliminated in Oregon. Michigan and Washington will decide whether to make it harder to raise taxes by requiring a two-thirds vote from legislatures to enact new taxes. A New Hampshire measure aims Governor Jerry Brown. A measure in Arkansas to keep the state free of a personal income tax. Florida will consider putting stringent limits on the growth of state spending through a measure similar to Colorado's "Taxpayer Bill of Rights." would fund transportation projects, while another in California would go toward clean energy. Marijuana "Obamacare" AR OR AL WY CO WA FL MA MO MT MT Measures in Colorado, Oregon and Washington would legalize recreational use of marijuana and in Measures in Alabama, Florida, Montana and Wyoming would prevent individuals and/or businesses from being compelled to participate in a health care system, a reference to President Obama's health care law. Similar measures won approval in 2010 in Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma and Ohio and are being Arkansas and Massachusetts would allow its use for medical purposes. Montana voters will decide whether to reinstate a medical marijuana measure that voters approved in 2004, but that the legislature scaled back. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have medical marijuana laws; no state allows it for recreational use. litigated. Colorado rejected it. A measure in Missouri would prevent a health care exchange from being created without legislative or voter approval. Same-sex marriage Labor unions ME AL MD CA MN ID WA MI Maryland and Washington will decide whether to overturn new state laws legalizing same-sex A new constitutional right to collective bargaining is on the ballot in Michigan. Idaho will decide whether marriage. Maine voters will again consider allowing gay marriage after repealing a state law permitting it in 2009. Minnesota already blocks gay marriage but a measure there would put the ban in the state to repeal limiting collective bargaining and tenure for some teachers. A ban on using union dues for political purposes without the explicit approval of members is on the California ballot; voters there constitution. Six states and the District of Columbia rejected similar measures twice. Alabama will allow same-sex marriage, but no state has ever supported gay marriage by popular vote. Thirty-two states have rejected it. consider requiring secret ballots for union elections; similar measures were approved in Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah in 2010. Affirmative action/race Gambling AL MD ND OR OK RI Oklahoma will consider a measure that would ban Maryland will decide whether to add table games to its casinos and allow a new gambling facility to open in Prince George's County, just outside of Washington, D.C. Oregon, which has casinos operated by Indian tribes, could get its first privately owned operation, while measures in Rhode Island would permit slot parlors in Lincoln and Newport to expand into full casinos. state affirmative action programs, joining Arizona, California, Michigan, Nebraska and Washington, which have done so in recent years. Alabama will get another chance to rid its state constitution of segregation language; voters in 2004 narrowly defeated a similar amendment. The North Dakota measure would drop language allowing the legislature to levy a poll tax that some say targets the poor and minorities, Immigration Abortion FL MT MT Maryland voters will decide whether to repeal the Maryland Dream Act, which allows certain undocumented students to qualify for in-state Florida will consider prohibiting the use of public funds for abortion, while Montana's measure would require parental notification before a minor can get tuition at public universities. The Montana measure would require people to provide proof of citizenship before receiving state services. an abortion. ON BALLOT PASSED FAILED Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, Initiative and Referendum Institute, National Taxpayers Union, and American Legislative Exchange Council Stateline infographic by: Adam Rotmil, Carla Uriona, Pamela Prah and Diane Fancher October 26, 2012