When it comes to reporting on ballot questions, we've barely scratched the surface. Yes, Michigan rejected the Protect Working Families question, and yes, California rejected Prop 32, but there were 186 other initiatives. Close to $1 billion was spent on them (including that $11 million the Koch brothers laundered to support Prop 32).
Our friends at the Center for Media and Democracy provided a terrific summary of some of the most important questions -- including legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Washington and Colorado!
There was some good news in Michigan, after all: Voters rejected the Emergency Manager Law:
Michigan's controversial Emergency Manager Law, 2011 Public Act 4, allowed the governor to appoint emergency managers to take over local municipalities like Benton Harbor in place of officials elected by residents. Volunteers collected over 200,000 signatures to get a referendum -- Proposal 1 -- on yesterday's ballot to overturn the law.
The measure to keep the law in place failed, with 48 percent voting for and 52 percent against, successfully overturning the law.Michigan voters also defeated a proposal to require a supermajority to increase state taxes. It was sponsored by the corporate front group ALEC.
CMD tells us Colorado and Montana voted against Citizens United:
Colorado's Amendment 65 and Montana's Initiative 166 are ballot propositions designed to challenge the Supreme Court decision on Citizens United v. FEC that lifted bans on corporate political spending (see CMD's reporting for more on Citizens United).
Colorado's measure passed with 73.7 percent voting for and 26.3 percent against, while Montana's passed with 74.9 percent voting for and 25.1 percent against.Voters in five states cast ballots for and against banning parts of Obamacare, another ALEC initiative. CMD reported the proposal succeeded in four states:
Voters in Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Montana, and Wyoming weighed in on propositions to block aspects of 2010 federal health care legislation, the Affordable Care Act or "ObamaCare." ALEC has been pushing similar laws nationwide.
The measures fared as follows:it failed 52 percent to 48 percent in Florida, but passed 59 percent to 41 percent in Alabama, passed 61.8 percent to 38.2 percent in Missouri, passed 66 percent to 34 percent in Montana, and passed 77 percent to 23 percent in Wyoming.Gay marriage was approved in Maryland, Maine and Washington, while Minnesota voters defeated a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Minnesota voters also rejected a voter suppression amendment.
New for-profit corporate schools were approved in Georgia and Washington:
Georgia voters weighed in on a proposal to give the state legislature the right to create public charter schools, another part of the ALEC wish list. The measure passed, with 58.5 percent voting for and 41.5 percent voting against.
Washington State voted on a proposition to allow the creation of 40 charter schools in the next five years. It has been called the "billionaires initiative" because its signature drive was primarily funded by Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and the parents of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. The measure passed, with 51.24 percent voting for and 48.76 percent against.Teachers lost in South Dakota but won in Idaho:
In another loss for labor, voters in South Dakota failed to pass a referendum repealing 2011 House Bill 1234, which provides bonuses for high performing teachers but bans teacher tenure, with 32.77 percent voting for and 67.23 percent voting against.
However, in a win for labor, voters in Idaho rejected two referenda to uphold 2011 education laws that had limited collective bargaining for teachers. Proposition 1 to limit teacher contracts failed, with 43 percent voting for and 57 percent against. Proposition 2 also failed, with 42 percent voting for and 58 percent against.Over at BISC, the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, we learn a little more about public services spending. Justine Sarver, executive director, wrote:
...voters supported critical revenue for public services - preventing devastating education cuts and tuition hikes in California, closing a corporate loophole in Oregon and rejecting the crippling and arbitrary spending limit known as TABOR in Florida.Read about the state-by-state results here.
