Abortion. Guns. Psychedelics.
As Americans determine who controls the House and Senate next month, more than 130 ballot initiatives will be in front of voters across the nation. Some will decide who can legally smoke weed and use “magic mushrooms,” whether to increase taxes on the rich or remove slavery from a state constitution.
Abortion promises to dominate the ballot box after the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade this summer, steering the battle over reproductive rights deeper into states. For half a century, most action around abortion took place inside statehouses, where legislators sought to test Roe’s boundaries. Now Americans are weighing in on the issue directly.
After Kansas voters rebuffed an attempt in August to remove abortion protections from their constitution, five more states — all together, a record — will consider ballot initiatives designed to either limit access to the procedure or establish it as a right.
“What we’re seeing at the ballots in 2022 is a reflection of the cares and concerns of communities that people really want the government to address,” said Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, executive director of the progressive Ballot Initiative Strategy Center.
Whatever ballot initiatives pass — or fail — this year will set a roadmap for 2024, putting pressure on those pushing to pass proposals like a millionaire’s tax in Massachusetts or limits on interest rates for medical debt in Arizona.
Legalizing recreational marijuana is another big...
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