Voters have been deciding more than just who will sit in the White House. States have weighed several different issues this election, such as whether to legalize marijuana, limit access to abortion, reform voting and more.
Here are some of the top ballot measures states voted on:
Arizona, New Jersey, South Dakota vote to legalize recreational marijuana
Voters have approved ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona and New Jersey, and both recreational and medical use in in South Dakota, CNN projects.
South Dakota will be the first state ever to approve medical and recreational marijuana measures at the same time.
Results have not yet been determined for Montana's ballot questions on recreational marijuana and Mississippi's medical marijuana measure.
The initiatives would only be the first step in the process, said John Hudak, deputy director at the Brookings Institution, where he specializes in state and federal marijuana policy.
After voters approve the measures, he said, the state legislatures normally would need to set up regulatory structures within each state. Currently, 11 states have legalized full, adult marijuana use[1].
You can read more detail on each state's marijuana ballot here[2].
Louisiana voters approve amendment limiting abortion protections
Louisiana voters approved Proposed Amendment No. 1[3] by 62% to 38%, according to CNN projections. Should Roe be overturned, the amendment would prevent the state courts from declaring abortion restrictions unconstitutional at the state level.
The state isn't the first to amend its constitution this way — Alabama[4] and West Virginia[5] did so in 2018, as did Tennessee[6] in 2014.
The Louisiana ballot measure marked another attempt by the state to restrict abortion. The US Supreme Court struck down in June[7] a Louisiana restriction barring doctors from performing the procedure unless they had admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, and a decision from a federal appellate court prevented the state's "heartbeat" abortion ban[8], passed last year, from going into effect.
Colorado voters reject a ban on abortion beginning at 22 weeks of pregnancy
In Colorado, voters rejected Proposition 115[9] by a 59% to 41% vote, according to CNN projections. It would have banned abortion beginning at 22 weeks of pregnancy. The measure included exceptions to save the life of the pregnant woman but not for instances of rape or incest. Doctors who continue to perform abortions at 22 weeks would have faced a fine up to $5,000.
The results maintain Colorado as one of seven states that do not bar some abortions past a specific point in pregnancy, according to data[10] from the abortion-rights research group the Guttmacher Institute. Data[11] from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's office shows that women from more than 30 states have traveled to Colorado to access abortions[12].
Follow live updates on the congressional race here[13].
References
- ^ 11 states have legalized full, adult marijuana use (www.cnn.com)
- ^ here (www.cnn.com)
- ^ Proposed Amendment No. 1 (parlouisiana.org)
- ^ Alabama (www.cnn.com)
- ^ West Virginia (ballotpedia.org)
- ^ Tennessee (ballotpedia.org)
- ^ US Supreme Court struck down in June (www.cnn.com)
- ^ "heartbeat" abortion ban (www.cnn.com)
- ^ Proposition 115 (www.sos.state.co.us)
- ^ data (www.guttmacher.org)
- ^ Data (drive.google.com)
- ^ traveled to Colorado to access abortions (www.cnn.com)
- ^ here (www.cnn.com)
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