2024 ballot measures on marijuana, taxes, schools

By David A. Lieb, Associated Press

While electing officials to make and enforce the laws, voters in dozens of states also decide on more than 140 ballot propositions that affect how people live, work and die legally.

While 10 states are considering measures related to abortion or reproductive rights on Tuesday’s ballots, about a half-dozen states are weighing legalizing marijuana for recreational or medical use. About two dozen measures focus on upcoming elections, including several that specifically bar non-citizens from voting. Other state measures affect wages, taxes, housing and education.

Many of the ballot measures were initiated by citizen petitions that circumvent state laws, though others were placed before voters by lawmakers.

Legalization of marijuana

Voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota decide if they do legalize recreational marijuana for adults. The election marks the third vote on the issue in both North Dakota and South Dakota. In Nebraska, voters are considering a pair of measures which would legalize medical marijuana and regulate the industry.

About half of the states currently allow recreational marijuana, and about a dozen more allow medical marijuana.

In Massachusetts, a ballot measure would legalize the possession and supervised use of natural psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms. It would be the third state to do so, following Oregon and COLORADO.

Immigration

An Arizona measure created amid increased immigration would make it a state crime to enter a foreign country except through official ports of entry, and for someone already in the U.S. illegally to apply for public benefits using false documents.

The border crossing measure is similar to a challenged Texas law which the US Department of Justice says violates federal authority.

School choice

A proposal amendment to the Kentucky Constitution would allow lawmakers to use state funds for private schools. A Colorado measure would create a constitutional right to school choice for K-12 students.

In Nebraskavoters are deciding whether to repeal a new state law that funds private school tuition with state dollars.

Most states offer some kind of state-supported program to help defray the costs of private school.

Sports betting

Missouri voters decide whether to become the newest the legalization of sports betting. A total of 38 states and Washington, DC already allows sports bettingwhich rapidly expanded from the US Supreme Court opened the way for him in 2018.

tax

A proposal from Colorado would make it the second state after California to impose a tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition, with the proceeds earmarked primarily for crime victim services. The federal government already taxes gun and ammunition sales.

North Dakota voters are considering a measure for elimination of property taxes. If approved, local governments could need more than $3 billion annually in replacement revenue from the state.

A measure in South Dakota would repeal the state’s sales tax on food, a move already taken in most other states.

An Oregon measure would raise the minimum tax on large corporations to finance a tax cut for residents.

Housing

California voters are deciding whether to repeal a 1995 law that limits local rent control ordinances. If approved, it would pave the way for local governments to expand caps on the rates landlords could charge.

A unique proposal in Arizona links property taxes to responses to homelessness. It would allow property owners to seek property tax refunds if they incur expenses because a local government has refused to enforce ordinances against illegal camping, loitering, panhandling, public consumption of alcohol and drugs and other things.

Climate

Voters in Washington state are considering whether to repeal a 2021 law that limit carbon emissions and creates a market for businesses that go beyond the mark to buy shares from others. Washington was the second state to launch such a program, after California.

The vote of the citizen

Republican-led legislatures in eight states—Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin—have proposed state constitutional amendments declaring that only citizens can vote.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks in support of a state constitutional amendment limiting voting to U.S. citizens only during a news conference Oct. 10, 2024, at the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri (AP Photo/David A. Lieb )

A 1996 US law bars non-citizens from voting in federal elections, and many states already have similar laws. But Republicans pointed out the voting potential of non-citizens after an influx of immigrants at the US-Mexico border. Although non-citizen voting has historically been rare, voter roll revisions prior to elections flag potential non-citizens registered in several states.

Some municipalities in California, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington, DC allow non-citizens to vote in certain local elections.

Voting methods

Connecticut voters are considering whether to authorize absentee voting without an excuse, joining most states that already allow it.

The measures in Montana and South Dakota would create open primaries in which candidates of all parties appear on the same ballot, with a certain number advancing to the general election. Measures in Colorado, Idaho and Nevada also propose open primaries with candidates from all parties, with a certain number advancing to the general election using electoral voting. An Oregon measure would require ranked-choice voting in both primaries and general elections.

Ranked-choice voting is currently used in Alaska and Maine. But Alaska voters are taking note whether to repeal the provisions of a 2020 initiative that established open primaries and ranked-choice general elections.

Arizona voters are deciding between competing ballot proposals that would require either open primaries with candidates from all parties or the state’s current method of partisan primaries. If both contradictory measures pass, the provision that received the most votes enters into forcebut that could be up to the discretion of the court.

Redistribution

An Ohio initiative would create a citizens’ commission to handle redistricting for U.S. House and state legislative seats, taking elected officials to task.

The minimum wage

Ballot measures in Missouri and Alaska would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour while also requiring paid sick leave. A California measure would gradually raise the minimum wage for all employers to $18 an hour.

A measure in Nebraska would require many employers to provide sick leave but would not change wages.

A Massachusetts measure would gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped employees until it matches the rate for other employees. Instead, an Arizona measure would allow tipped workers to be paid 25 percent less than the minimum wage, as long as the tips push their total pay above the minimum wage threshold.

Assisted suicide

Voters in West Virginia are deciding whether to amend the state constitution to ban medically assisted suicide. The measure would run counter to the 10 states and Washington, DC, where physician-assisted suicide is allowed.