This fall, voters will vote on life, death, crime and taxes.
In 41 states, over 140 bills will be on the ballot in the general election, along with the presidential election and other top offices. The ballot questions give voters the opportunity to decide for themselves on some critical issues, rather than relying on their elected officials.
Arizona, Colorado and California have the most ballot bills. Some states could have more on the ballot. And some bills could be removed from the ballot if pending lawsuits are successful.
Here’s a look at some of the most critical election issues this year.
abortion
In response to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended federal abortion rights and shifted the issue to the states, numerous pregnancy-related initiatives have emerged.
At least nine states – Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota – are considering constitutional amendments to enshrine abortion rights. Most would guarantee a right to abortion until the fetus is viable and allow it later when the pregnant woman’s health is assured.
Nebraska is the only state to introduce a competing bill. It would add the current ban on abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy to the Constitution, with exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the pregnant woman. If both proposals pass, the one with the most votes will go into effect.
An amendment in New York does not explicitly mention abortion, but would prohibit discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive health care and autonomy.”
Assisted suicide
A West Virginia bill banning physician-assisted suicide is the only such measure this year. Physician-assisted suicide is legal in 10 states and Washington, DC.
Citizens’ referendum
In eight states, Republican-led legislatures proposed changes to laws that would allow only citizens to vote.
A 1996 U.S. law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and many states already have similar laws. However, specific constitutional bans are being proposed in Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin. The measures are part of the Republican emphasis on immigration and election integrity.
Although there is no evidence that noncitizens are voting on a gigantic scale, voting is permitted in some communities in California, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington DC in certain local elections.
crime
A California proposal would escalate penalties for repeat thieves and fentanyl dealers and create a novel drug court treatment program that would benefit people with multiple drug possession convictions. The measure would reverse parts of a 2014 initiative that reduced penalties for nonviolent drug and property crimes to address prison overcrowding. The latest measure follows a wave of groups committing blitz burglaries of stores.
A measure in Arizona would impose a life sentence for certain child sex trafficking convictions. Two proposals in Colorado would deny bail in planned murder cases and extend the mandatory prison sentence before people convicted of certain violent crimes can be released on parole.
Choose
Measures in Idaho, Montana, Nevada and South Dakota would create open primaries, with candidates from all parties appearing on the same ballot and a certain number of them advancing to the general election. Arizona voters must choose between competing proposals that would call for either open primaries or the state’s current method of partisan primaries. If both pass, the proposal with the most votes will take effect.
In Florida, a measure seeks to expand partisan voting on school boards by repealing a 1998 amendment that officially declared them nonpartisan and removed party affiliation from the ballot.
Ranked choice voting is proposed in Idaho, Nevada and Oregon, where voters rank their preferences for candidates, with votes for the lowest-ranking candidates being redistributed until one person gains a majority.
Ranked-choice voting is currently practiced in Alaska and Maine. However, Alaska voters will consider whether to repeal provisions of a 2020 initiative that established open primaries and ranked-choice general elections. Missouri’s citizen election law would also prohibit ranked-choice voting.
An amendment in Connecticut would allow absentee voting without giving a reason. A proposal in Nevada would require a photo ID to vote in person or the last four digits of a driver’s license or Social Security number to vote by mail. If the measure passes in Nevada, it would require a second affirmative vote in 2026 to take effect.
Taxation of weapons
A proposal from Colorado would make it the second state, after California, to impose a sales tax on firearms and ammunition. The revenue would primarily go to victim services. The federal government already imposes taxes on the sale of firearms and ammunition.
immigration
A measure in Arizona would make it a federal crime to enter from a foreign country except through official ports of entry, and it would make it illegal for someone already in the U.S. to apply for welfare using bogus documents. The border-crossing measure is similar to a controversial law in Texas that the (*41*) Department says violates federal authority and would cause chaos at the border.
The Arizona measure would also make it a crime to sell fentanyl that causes a person’s death.
marijuana
Voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota will decide whether to legalize marijuana for recreational exploit for adults. It will be the third vote on the issue in North Dakota and South Dakota. About half of the states currently allow marijuana for recreational exploit and about a dozen more allow marijuana for medical purposes.
In Massachusetts, an initiative would legalize the possession and supervised exploit of natural psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms.
Wedding
Although the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015, some states still have unenforceable laws against it. Measures in California, Colorado and Hawaii would overturn those laws. The California measure would go even further, declaring, “The right to marry is a fundamental right.”
Payment and benefits
A measure in California would gradually raise the state’s minimum wage to $18 an hour for all employers. Measures in Alaska and Missouri would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour while mandating paid infirmed leave. A measure in Nebraska would provide paid infirmed leave but would not change wages.
A measure in Massachusetts would gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped employees until it matches the rate for other employees. In contrast, a measure in Arizona would allow tipped employees to be paid 25% less than the minimum wage as long as the tips push their total wages above the minimum wage threshold.
Prison labor
Proposals in California and Nevada would repeal constitutional provisions that allow “involuntary servitude” as punishment for crimes. Some supporters want to restrict forced labor in prisons.
Colorado led the way in this development by amending its constitution in 2018 to ban slavery and forced labor. Utah and Nebraska followed in 2020, and Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont in 2022.
Property taxes
Voters in North Dakota will consider the first step toward eliminating property taxes. If approved, the move could require local governments to receive more than $3 billion in replacement revenue every two years from the state, which collects billions in taxes from the fossil fuel industry.
Rising property values also led to measures to limit or reduce assessed property values or taxes in Colorado, Florida, Georgia and New Mexico.
Arizona has a unique proposal that links property taxes and homelessness measures. It would allow property owners to seek a property tax refund if they incur costs because a local government has failed to enforce ordinances against illegal camping, loitering, panhandling, blocking public roads, public urination or defecation, or public consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs.
Reorganization of electoral districts
An initiative in Ohio would create a citizens’ commission to handle redistricting for the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures, relieving elected officials of that task. An amendment in Utah would allow lawmakers to repeal or revise voter-approved initiatives – a response to a state Supreme Court ruling that said lawmakers exceeded their authority when they revised a voter-approved redistricting initiative.
Sports betting
Missouri voters will decide whether to legalize sports betting under a measure supported by the state’s professional sports teams. Sports betting is already legal in 38 states and Washington, DC, and has expanded rapidly since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for it in 2018.
