What's at Issue: Ballot Initiatives to Watch

Oct. 27, 2006 — -- Voters face ballot measures pertaining to abortion, stem cells, eminent domain, renewable energy, gay marriage, affirmative action and the minimum wage this year.

In Arizona, a ballot measure intended to increase voter participation in "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" fashion will be put to voters. Mark Osterloh, a retired eye doctor in Tucson, created the measure, which, if it passes, would require state officials to randomly draw one voter's name for the $1 million prize. Using a cash prize to get people to vote is not looked upon favorably by some watchdog groups and editorial boards, causing some controversy around the measure. The measure's constitutionality is sure to be challenged if it passes.

Missouri will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to protect, within the state, all forms of stem-cell research that federal law allows. LINK: Stem Cell Issue Roils Missouri Race

Eight states will vote on same-sex marriage bans this November: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. While all these measures would limit the legal definition of marriage to the union of one man and one woman, they differ in their impact on civil unions and on other legal protections for gay and lesbian couples.

In Colorado, voters will not only be asked to decide on a ban on same-sex marriage, they will also vote on Referendum I, the Colorado Domestic Partnership Benefits and Responsibilities Act, which would establish legal domestic partnerships for gay couples.LINK: N.J. Gay Marriage Decision Boost to 'Values Voters'

This November California may be the first state to require registered, felony-convicted sex offenders to wear a GPS tracking device for life. Other states have imposed measures that track offenders for their term of parole after they've been released from prison, but California's Proposition 83 would be applied to an unprecedented number of sexual offenders. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Democratic opponent, Phil Angilides, both support the measure.