Gay Marriage to Gambling: Key Ballot Initiatives

Voters in six states will head to the polls next Tuesday to decide ballot initiatives on everything from medical marijuana to livestock care. The Atlantic lists some of the most interesting, and the most likely to reverberate across state lines.

• Question 1, Maine. Maine voters are being given the chance to veto legislation allowing same-sex marriages. If they choose not to, as polls suggest they will, Maine will become the first state to affirm gay marriage via direct democracy.

• Question 4, Maine. Backers of a "taxpayer bill of rights" measure to cap state spending are pointing to the economic growth Colorado experienced after passing a similar TABOR measure, although polls show support is weakening.
• I-1033, Washington. This measure to tie state spending to population growth and inflation, and return any excess funds through property tax cuts, looks more likely to pass than Maine's.
• Issue 3, Ohio. A measure to change the state constitution to allow the building of casinos in four cities looks set to narrowly pass, dealing a blow to the economies of neighboring states.

(More ballot initiative stories.)