Posted November 14, 2024 | by KimS | in 2024 Election, Ballot Initiatives, Cannabis, Civil Rights, DemDaily, Democratic Party, Education, Elections, Immigration, Redistricting

DemDaily: 2024 Ballot Measure Breakdown!

November 14, 2024

When Americans went to the polls November 5 they cast their votes not just for candidates but for 147 statewide ballot measures across 41 states -- on issues ranging from abortion and marijuana to the economy, elections, and immigration.

Nine ballot measures in five states took place earlier in the year, and four other constitutional amendments are on the ballot in Louisiana’s December 7, 2024 open general election.

In the wake of the devastating election of Donald Trump as the 47th president, the successful passage of measures advancing reproductive rights, economic justice, and direct democracy, among others, offers Democrats and our democracy some hope.

All states, with the exception of Delaware, require voters to ratify proposed state constitutional amendments. Just twenty-six states and DC, however, grant their citizens amendment, statute and/or veto referendum power through initiatives -- providing them with a direct form of democracy and critical tool for enacting political change.

All states, with the exception of Delaware, require voters to ratify proposed state constitutional amendments. Just twenty-six states and DC, however, grant their citizens amendment, statute and/or veto referendum power through initiatives -- providing them with a direct form of democracy and critical tool for enacting political change.

The Highlights
Reproductive Rights: Democrats were counting on the overwhelmingly negative response of Americans to the June 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade to carry candidates across the line in many states -- as it had in the mid-term elections.

Voters split their vote, however, passing abortion rights measures in four states where Donald Trump won.

Of the 11 abortion-related ballot measures -- the most on record for a single year -- Arizona, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York passed measures that enshrined abortion rights in their constitutions. Colorado went further, passing an amendment and ensuring funding for abortion services under health insurance plans for government employees.

Three measures were defeated in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota. In Florida, Amendment 4: Limiting Government Interference with Abortion, secured 57.2% of the vote but failed to reach the state's 60% threshold for passage of ballot measures -- the highest in the country. Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new law in May making abortion illegal after the first six weeks of pregnancy.

Nebraskans faced two competing abortion-related initiatives: Initiative 439, which would have overturned the state’s current 12-week abortion ban and was narrowly defeated with 48.6% of the vote; and Initiative 434, which enshrines the first-trimester ban in the state constitution, which passed with 55.9%,

Marijuana: Voters in Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota rejected ballot measures legalizing marijuana for recreational or personal use, and Massachusetts rejected an initiative to legalize natural psychedelic substances, including psilocybin.

Alternatively, voters in Nebraska overwhelmingly approved two ballot measures legalizing and regulating medical marijuana use in the state.

As of November, 24 states and Washington, D.C., had legalized the possession and personal use of marijuana for recreational purposes. while 38 states have legalized medical marijuana.

Democracy and Elections
Electoral Systems: Voters rejected ballot measures to enact ranked-choice voting (RCV) and other electoral systems in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon, as well as in Montana and South Dakota. Missouri approved a measure banning RCV.

Alaska's Ballot Measure 2, which would repeal the state's top-four primaries and ranked-choice voting general elections, appears to have passed.

Suppressing the Ballot: Two measures in Arizona and one in North Dakota that would have restricted or inhibited citizen-led ballot initiatives failed.

Ohioans narrowly rejected, with 46%, Ohio Issue 1, a ballot initiative to establish a citizen-led redistricting commission comprised equally of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to combat gerrymandering in the reapportionment process. The GOP invested heavily in defeating Ohio 1, with ads that claimed the measure was “a democrat scheme to rig elections and turn Ohio blue.”

Citizen-Only Voting: Despite existing federal law that prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections, eight states passed ballot measures restricting voting to only US citizens: Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.

Voting by non-citizens is allowed in local elections municipalities in California, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington, DC.

Arizonans passed, with 62.7%, the Arizona Immigration and Border Law Enforcement Measure, a legislatively referred anti-immigration amendment that allows state and local police to arrest suspected noncitizens for crossing the border outside of official points of entry.

Civil Rights: Voters in California, Colorado, and Hawai’i passed constitutional amendments aimed at safeguarding the freedom to marry, regardless of race or sex, including removal of language that says marriage is between a man and a woman only.

Economic Justice
Nebraskans overwhelmingly voted (74%) to require paid sick leave for employees, expected to benefit an estimated 250,000 citizens.

Alaska and Missouri approved initiatives raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour and enacting paid sick leave requirements, while California's attempt to raise the state's minimum wage to $18 per hour narrowly failed.

In a win for tipped workers in Arizona, voters rejected Prop.138, a ballot measure that would have allowed for them to be paid 25% less than minimum wage.

Massachusetts voters rejected a ballot measure to increase the minimum wage threshold for tipped workers to the state’s $15 minimum wage, in addition to tips.

The Bay State, however, did pass (54%) Question 3, which won Lyft and Uber drivers the right to unionize and bargain collectively for improved wages, benefits, and working conditions. The first-of-its-kind victory could set a legal precedent for gig economy worker legislation in other states.

"I believe in the Initiative and Referendum, which should be used not to destroy representative government, but to correct it whenever it becomes misrepresentative." - President Theodore Roosevelt

"I believe in the Initiative and Referendum, which should be used not to destroy representative government, but to correct it whenever it becomes misrepresentative." - President Theodore Roosevelt

Education
Colorado voters rejected Amendment 80: School Choice in K-12 Education, a ballot measure that would have enshrined school choice into the state constitution, with long-term effects on funding for public and private schools alike.

In a similar win for public education, Kentucky voters soundly rejected Amendment 2: State Funding for Non-Public Education, a constitutional amendment that would have allowed state lawmakers to use public taxpayer dollars to fund non-public schools.

Nebraskans passed Referendum 435, successfully repealing Legislative Bill 1402, which allowed the state to fund a private education scholarship program with a $10 million budget using taxpayer dollars.

According to Ballotpedia, As of November 13, $1.22 billion was raised to support or oppose statewide ballot measures in 2024 -- a new record.

DemList will keep you informed.

Related
DemDaily: Where Things Stand: Governors 11/13/24
DemDaily: Where Things Stand: Senate and House 11/12/24
DemDaily: Harris Concedes Election but Not The Fight 11/8/24

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