Cannabis, gambling, taxes, abortion, and forced labor are among the issues facing voters in this year’s state ballot initiatives. The 2022 slate features 132 propositions across 37 states to be decided at the polls on Nov. 8.12

The referendums give voters a direct say on some laws and amendments to state constitutions. Supporters say ballot initiatives are a triumph of participatory democracy, while critics call them a legal means for special interests to buy favorable legislation with an advertising blitz. At times, they can be both. Here’s a preview of this year’s most important ballot initiatives.

The United States of Cannabis

Cannabis seldom loses at the ballot box these days. Sixty-eight percent of Americans support legalization according to a 2021 Gallup poll.3 Medical cannabis is legal in 37 states, and 19 (along with the District of Columbia) permit recreational use, including 12 that have done so through the ballot box.45

As a result, cannabis is running out of jurisdictional terrain to conquer. Among blue states, only Maryland, Delaware, and Hawaii haven't legalized recreational use. Maryland is one of five states set to vote on a ballot proposition to do so this fall, and a recent poll suggests voters there will overwhelmingly endorse legalization by the state legislature.6

The outcome of cannabis ballot propositions in the four red states voting on the issue this year—Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota—is less certain.7 Recent polls show...

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