For Americans, the choice was not just between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump (and the other smaller candidates). Nor to elect members of Congress and the House of Representatives. On Tuesday, November 5, some 140 local referendums on various topics (criminal response, cannabis or even electoral limits) were presented to Americans, which also elected key figures such as governors, sheriffs and even mayors.
Many of the proposed measures were initiated by petitions from citizens who wanted to bypass state legislatures, while others were presented to voters by legislators.
• Reproductive rights
Voters were asked to vote on reproductive rights, a central issue during the presidential campaign and one that has become state-specific since the Supreme Court’s overturning of the federal Roe v. Wade decision in June 2022. Of the ten states that called to vote To decide, seven voted in favor of proposals that strengthen the right to abortion (Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Missouri, Nevada and New York), while three others, including Florida, rejected them .
Cannabis
There Florida He spoke out against the legalization of recreational marijuana for those over 21 years of age. The Republican Party of Florida and Governor Ron DeSantis campaigned against it. Opposite, the state’s largest medical marijuana provider, Trulieve, had paid almost €135 million to the Smart & Safe Florida political committee to campaign for the “yes” vote. In 2016, Florida approved the legalization of medical marijuana.
Measures were also being considered to legalize recreational marijuana in the North Dakota and the South Dakotatwo states won by the Republicans. They were finally rejected. In it NebraskaAnother “red state,” voters largely approved the legalization of medical marijuana and the regulation of its industry.
In it MassachusettsIn the vote, won by Kamala Harris, voters spoke out against the legalization of the cultivation, consumption and possession of natural psychedelics: psilocybin, psilocin, dimethyltryptamine. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, only Oregon and Colorado authorize them.
Before the election, more than half of Americans (53%), spread across 24 states and Washington DC, had legalized marijuana for adults. In total, 38 states and Washington DC had laws authorizing the medical use of marijuana.
Criminal response
There Californiaa historic Democratic stronghold, took a step toward tightening drug laws ten years after relaxing them, voting in favor of “Proposition 36”: criminalizing shoplifting for repeat offenders and increasing penalties for certain drug crimes, including those involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl. It also gives judges the power to order people convicted of drug use to undergo treatment.
The measure partially reverses a law approved by voters in 2014 that downgraded several non-violent crimes to misdemeanors, including thefts worth less than $950 (885 euros) and certain drug-related crimes.
Immigration
The voters ofArizona decided that for an illegal person to apply for benefits or employment using false documents, enter the State outside of legal points of entry, and refuse to comply with Orders to Leave the United States becomes a crime. This measure authorizes local authorities to arrest offenders and judges to order their expulsion.
In 2024, Republican lawmakers in Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma also passed immigration laws. In each case, federal courts have halted state efforts to enforce them. The Arizona measure will not take effect immediately because it says violators cannot be prosecuted until a similar law in Texas or another state has been in effect for 60 consecutive days.
the governors
Electors in eleven of the 50 states were called to elect their governor, a central political figure since he is the head of the executive at the federal level.
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Eight of those elections were won by Republicans: New Hampshire, Vermont, West Virginia, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Montana and Utah. Three of the Democrats: Washington state, Delaware and North Carolina.
Climate
voters in the state of WashingtonThe deputies, located in the northwest of the country, are preparing to maintain a climate change law aimed at reducing carbon pollution (62% of the votes had been counted by early afternoon). The vote defeated an attempt to repeal a 2021 state law that limits carbon emissions and requires big polluters to pay for the right to do so by purchasing “allowances.” Washington was the second state to launch such a program, after California.
Taxes
Another issue, national and local, submitted to voters: taxes. In it North DakotaA proposal that would have eliminated most property taxes was rejected. One legislative group estimated the measure would have cost the state more than $3 billion over two years, or about half the overall budget passed last year.
In itOregonVoters overwhelmingly rejected “Measure 118,” which would have increased the minimum tax on large businesses to fund a tax cut for residents. South Dakota voters rejected a plan to repeal the food sales tax.
In it ColoradoVoters are considering a proposal that would make the state the second, after California, to impose a sales tax on firearms and ammunition, with revenue going primarily to crime victim services. The federal government already taxes sales of guns and ammunition.
electoral division
In itOhioVoters rejected an initiative that would have created a 15-member citizens commission to redistrict House of Representatives and state legislative seats. This would have required the proportion of districts favoring each political party to reflect the proportion of votes received in previous state elections.
Ohio’s districts were created after the 2020 census by a Republican-led commission of state officials, and courts have repeatedly ruled that they are unconstitutional and favor Republicans.
Voting methods
the voters of Connecticut adopted a measure that authorizes voting by mail without justification, thus joining the majority of states that already authorize it.
Ranked-choice voting received a mixed reception from voters. A measure authorizing this system was adopted in Washington, D.C.as well as a semi-open primary system where voters not affiliated with a party will still be able to participate in the primary vote. But in theOregonVoters rejected a proposal that would have required ranked-choice voting for the primary and general elections. HE Missouri approved a measure that prohibits voting by order of preference.
Ranked-choice voting is currently used in Alaska and Maine. However, in AlaskaThe repeal of the provisions of a 2020 initiative that establishes open primaries and general elections with ranked choice voting, prevailed at first glance, on Wednesday, November 6 at noon, while 25% of the ballots have not yet been analyzed .
The voters ofIdaho and of Snowfall rejected proposals to establish open primaries bringing together candidates from all parties, and several of them advanced to the general election through ranked-choice voting. In it South DakotaVoters rejected a measure to create open primaries in which candidates from all parties would appear on the same ballot.
