by NCSL Staff
Voters across the country took action on 153 measures on Tuesday. As of this posting, here is a synopsis of their decisions.
With the economy clearly on their minds, voters rejected major tax cuts in Massachusetts, North Dakota and Oregon. At the same time, they were lukewarm on raising taxes. Voters rejected dedicated tax hikes in Colorado and Florida, but approved them in Minnesota and Montana. Fourteen statewide bonding proposals were approved in eight states totaling more than $13 billion. Only one bond issue, a renewable energy proposal in California, was rejected. A high-speed rail issue in California and a water project proposal in Maine are too close to call as of this posting.
Consideration of other revenue sources, such as gaming and lotteries saw mixed results. Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland and Missouri voters approved changes, all of which will generate new revenues for education, while they were rejected in Maine, Massachusetts and Ohio.
Abortion ban advocates suffered losses in all three states they had hoped to make gains (Arizona, California and Florida) while those supporting same-sex marriage bans saw success in Arizona, Florida and likely in California.
Michigan voters approved a medical marijuana proposal and a decriminalization proposal passed in Massachusetts but failed in California.
In election and legislative news, voters in Arkansas approved holding annual legislative sessions, with sessions in even-numbered years focusing on the budget. Maryland approved changes to allow early voting and easier absentee voting. South Dakota rejected repeal of term limits, Arizona rejected a legislative pay raise and Colorado voters kept the age of running for the legislature at 25.
In other news, voters approved renewable energy measures in Florida and Missouri but turned them back in California and Colorado. Voters in Nebraska approved an anti-affirmative action proposal while in neighboring Colorado, it's too close to call.
See a complete wrap-up here.
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