Each election day, voters across America get a chance to to play legislator-for-a-day through the ballot initiative process, in which proposed laws go directly to constituents for an up-or-down vote. Just six states featured such measures in Tuesday’s off-year elections, but many of the issues under question touched on some of the most controversial topics in modern politics.
While the laws considered were local in nature, the debates over them drew national attention from both the media and big-money donors. Ballots in many jurisdictions are still being counted, but here’s a run-down of how voters have ruled so far.
Minimum Wage Hikes: With take-home pay stagnant for most workers, grassroots efforts are sprouting across the country to raise minimum wage. New Jersey voters ratified a constitutional amendment that raises its minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25 per hour, and ties future increases to inflation. A much bolder initiative in SeaTac, Wash., which is home to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, asked voters to approve a measure mandating a $15 minimum wage for workers in the travel and hospitality industries. Washington state already has the highest statewide minimum wage of $9.19, but if the measure is passed it would represent a significant raise for the 6,300 workers it will reportedly affect. Supporters of the measure have declared victory, though votes are still being counted.
These minimum wage increases will present excellent natural experiments for economists who are interested in the hotly debated effects of minimum wage laws. Opponents of minimum wage increases argue they lead to fewer jobs when businesses can’t afford to pay workers more than they’re worth, while proponents argue that businesses tend to adjust by raising prices and training their workers so that their labor is more valuable.
Casino Expansion: The gambling industry’s hard-fought effort to expand its footprint beyond its traditional strongholds saw mixed results yesterday, with New York voters approving a constitutional amendment to allow up to seven new casinos in the state, while Massachusetts voters in East Boston and Palmer shot down initiatives that would have allowed casino construction in those towns.
Fracking: Several localities across Colorado and Ohio voted on whether to ban or delay the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing — known as “fracking” — for the extraction of hard-to-reach oil and gas resources. Opponents of the technique have raised concerns over the environmental and health effects of fracking and won moratoriums or outright bans on the practice in three of four cities where the issue was on the ballot in Colorado, while votes are still being counted in the fourth. Voters in Youngstown and Bowling Green, Ohio, however, rejected anti-fracking measures, while a similar measure in Oberlin, Ohio will likely pass.
Taxes and Education: Colorado was also the center of a big push to raise $950 million in new taxes in order to reform the state’s education system and expand access to preschool and full-day kindergarten. The measure attracted the support of big-money donors like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, but ultimately failed by a large 66-34 percent margin. Voters in New York City however, showed support for a somewhat similar plan by electing Bill de Blasio as their newest mayor; de Blasio campaigned on a plan to increase taxes on the wealthy in order to invest in preschool and after school programs.
Marijuana: The effort to tax and regulate legal recreational marijuana use continued apace in Colorado Tuesday, as voters approved a plan there to tax pot sales at 25 percent, with the first $40 million of that earmarked for public school construction projects.
Genetically-Modified Foods: Early results in Washington state show its initiative to require labeling of foods containing genetically-modified ingredients will go down in defeat, though votes still remain to be counted. The measure would be the first of its kind in the U.S., which proponents argue is necessary for consumers to make informed choices about what they are eating. With similar measures being pushed in jurisdictions across the country and at the federal level, this race was closely watched by activists and big food companies, which spent heavily in an effort to defeat the measure. The Food and Drug Administration has declared foods with genetically modified ingredients safe to eat.
Secession: Voters in 6 of 11 rural counties in Colorado rejected initiatives that called for those counties to secede and create a 51st state. The movement underscores the changing demographic and political makeup of the state, which has grown increasingly liberal as urban centers like Denver grow more populous and powerful. Even if the measures had passed, it was unlikely to have gone anywhere as it would have needed to be approved by both the Colorado state government and by Washington.