By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A record number of ballot initiatives in yesterday’s election produced some losses for the pro-life movement, as well as for the legalization of marijuana and the ObamaCare mandate that would force citizens to buy health insurance.
A total of 160 ballot initiatives greeted voters at the polls yesterday, giving citizens the chance to speak their mind on a variety of topics.
A hotly contested battle in Colorado resulted in voters refusing to amend the state constitution to define “personhood” as beginning at conception. A similar initiative failed in 2008.
Voters in Arizona and Oklahoma have voted to prohibit mandatory participation in the new federal health care plan in their states. A similar initiative was on the ballot in Colorado but last count showed 53 percent of voters opting to allow ObamaCare to force them to buy insurance.
Californians decided the legalization of pot was not in their best interests. Supporters of the initiative blamed the heavy conservative turnout which brought older voters to the polls and an insufficient number of the more supportive youth vote. Proponents of legalization are already promising to try again in 2012. Arizona and South Dakota had similar initiatives that also failed, and voters in Oregon disapproved of a proposal to allow marijuana to be sold through dispensaries.
Oklahoma had one of the most unusual ballot initiatives which polled voters about formally adopting federal and state laws as the sole code used in court rulings, banning courts from relying on international laws. It would also ban the use of Sharia law, which is a set of laws based on Islamic teachings. The initiative was overwhelmingly approved.
Kansans voted overwhelmingly to amend the state constitution and give people the right to own a gun for any lawful purpose.
Four states – Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah – all voted to guarantee the right of their workers to cast secret ballots in labor union elections.
Citizens of Vermont voted to allow 17 year-olds to vote in a primary election provided they turn 18 by Election Day.
For a complete list of state ballot initiatives, visit http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=479649
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