Up in Smoke: Marijuana, Abortion, Anti-Tax Ballot Measures Fail
Voters in 37 states decided on a diverse mix of 160 ballot measures.
Nov. 3, 2010— -- A slew of controversial state ballot measures received mixed verdicts Tuesday, as voters dealt blows to legalized marijuana and an indirect ban on abortion while approving a "right to hunt" and bans on federal health care mandates in several states.
Less than half of the 160 measures on the ballots in 37 states were approved.
All proposals to raise revenue through new taxes, fees or surcharges failed, while Washington state voters reversed tax hikes passed by the legislature earlier this year, and reimposed a two-thirds vote requirement for legislators seeking future increases. An Indiana measure to cap state property tax rates was also approved.
2010 Election Maps: Follow the Senate, House and Governors' Races
While the majority of measures dealt with fiscal policies, several addressed hot-button social issues that have grabbed headlines in recent elections.
Here's a look at how some of the most noteworthy ballot measures fared:
Efforts to expand legalized use of marijuana, including for medical purposes, all failed Tuesday.
California's Proposition 19, which would have fully legalized the cultivation, possession and transportation of marijuana failed by 54 percent to 46 percent.
Meanwhile, majorities of Oregon, Arizona and South Dakota voters rejected measures to allow legalized use of marijuana. Fourteen states currently allow medical use of marijuana.
For the second time in as many years, Coloradoans rejected an indirect attempt to illegalize abortion by redefining a human embryo as a "person."
The "Fetal Personhood" Amendment 62, which would have bestowed personhood to every human being from "the beginning of the biological development of that human being," failed with 70 percent of voters opposed.
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