The historic presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has understandably dominated news coverage in the 2016 election, but many states will also vote directly on important public policies with far-reaching effects. Several states could legalize marijuana, raise the minimum wage, pass new gun-safety laws, establish much-needed taxes, and even reform our very electoral system itself. These policy changes are all possible thanks to ballot measures, which are often a crucial tool for overcoming legislator hostility to popular common-sense proposals.
Marijuana legalization
One of the most overlooked stories this year is how recreational marijuana could become legal for one quarter of the country’s population. Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada could legalize and regulate the drug, joining four states and the District of Columbia, while other states could expand medicinal-marijuana access. This wave of state-level action could help speed along the political momentum toward reforming federal marijuana laws, particularly as polls find record majorities of Americans in favor of legalization.
Minimum Wage and Paid Leave
Despite overwhelming public support, Republican legislators all over the country continue to block even holding a vote on raising the minimum wage. Subsequently, activists have used ballot initiatives to pose the issue directly to the voters themselves in recent years and have met with widespread success. This year, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington could all raise their state minimum to $12 an hour or more, while Arizona and Washington could also both mandate employers offer paid medical leave, which progressives have increasingly started pushing in recent years.
Gun Safety
Just as with the minimum wage, common-sense gun safety measures like universal background checks enjoy incredibly broad bipartisan voter approval but face stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers. Activists in Washington bypassed their legislature two years ago to pass universal background checks for gun buyers, and this year, they’re putting forward similar ballot initiatives in California, Maine, and Nevada.
Taxes
As former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society. No one likes paying them, but they are indispensable if we want to fund key services like health care and public education, as well as create a more equitable society. California and Maine could increase taxes on the rich to help provide for those services, while others would also impose increased taxes on tobacco and then direct those funds to improve health outcomes. Most importantly, Washington state will vote on the nation’s first carbon tax in an effort to combat climate change.
HEALTH CARE
Republicans in Congress oppose any effort to improve Obamacare, but that isn’t stopping various states from taking action to enhance public health. Colorado could become the first state to create a single-payer health insurance system, while tobacco taxes mentioned above could cut down on smoking rates. Marijuana legalization could help treat a variety of afflictions and even mitigate the nation’s recent heroin overdose epidemic. Lastly, Colorado could join the growing ranks of states legalizing doctor-assisted suicide, allowing terminally ill patients to die with dignity instead of needlessly suffering.
Voting Rights and Electoral Reform
Appropriately, activists in several states are using the ballot box to change the way our elections themselves work. Maine could become the first state to institute instant runoff voting, which could prevent third parties from playing spoiler and lead to more competitive and less negative campaigns. Other states are considering redistricting reform, automatic voter registration, voter ID, and campaign finance reform. Ballot initiatives are especially valuable here because officeholders of all stripes too often stifle true democracy for their own self-interested ends.
Death penalty, the environment, and more
Myriad other issues will also appear on state ballots this November. California could finally repeal the death penalty, which has cost the state a mind-numbing $4 billion over the last four decades to execute just 13 people. In addition to Washington’s carbon tax noted above, other states will decide on environmental-related issues like solar power production and banning plastic bags, which harm wildlife and contribute to carbon pollution. Finally, California might require the use of condoms in adult films, possibly pushing a multi-billion dollar industry that provides the region with substantial tax revenue outside of the state.
Local Ballot Measures
Major cities in several states will also vote on several important issues, particularly in California. San Francisco and others will debate whether to impose a tax on sugary beverages to try to fight obesity. The Los Angeles and Detroit, Michigan, metropolitan areas could fund far-reaching transportation projects to serve their millions of residents. Meanwhile, San Francisco could become the first major American city to allow 16-year-olds to vote in local elections and non-citizen parents of school children to vote in school board elections. Other cities will decide on a range of issues like campaign finance reform and the minimum wage.
All told, ballot measures are simply an invaluable way to advance progressive policies when intransigent legislators oppose popular reforms, and they bear watching closely as the returns come in on election night.