38 big-money issues in balance on ballots

— -- School vouchers, stem cell research and other volatile issues will dominate the 38 ballot measures to be decided by voters in six states on Nov. 6.

The number of ballot issues this year — a year without federal elections — is down slightly from 2005 because California does not have an election this year.

Big-money slugfests are underway on ballots in Utah, Oregon and Washington. Voters in Texas, New Jersey and Maine are being asked to approve large bond issues to continue a year of record borrowing by state and local governments.

The ballot measures offer a preview of what issues could surface in dozens of states next year when political interest groups will use such initiatives to attract voters in the presidential and congressional races.

The most important test case is in Utah, where voters are being asked to overturn a law that permits school vouchers to help send children to private schools.

The National Education Association, a teachers union, is leading a multimillion-dollar campaign to have voters reject the voucher program. Voucher supporters also are spending large amounts.

The Utah Legislature approved school vouchers earlier this year. Families would get vouchers of $500 to $3,000, depending on income, to help pay tuition at private schools.

A victory in Utah would be a major win for the teachers union and public-school advocates.

"If they can win in a heavily Republican state like Utah, it sends a message that they can beat these voucher laws anywhere in the country," says John Matsusaka, president of the Initiative & Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California.

Polls show voters leaning to reject the voucher program.

The Utah measure illustrates how state ballot issues have become part of the chess game on national politics. In 2004, amendments against gay marriage drew conservative voters to the polls. In 2006, measures to raise the minimum wage attracted liberal voters.

Both sides are trying to find ballot measures that will increase turnout among like-minded voters in the 2008 elections. Liberals are looking at measures involving health care and unfair loan practices, says Kristina Wilfore, executive director of the liberal Ballot Initiative Strategy Center in Washington, D.C. Conservative groups are exploring issues involving abortion or immigration, she says.

Other key ballot issues at stake Nov. 6:

•Cigarette taxes. Tobacco companies have spent $10 million to defeat a proposal in Oregon to raise cigarette taxes by 85 cents per pack to help pay for children's health care. The most expensive ballot campaign ever in Oregon is significant because tobacco companies avoided getting involved in ballot measures in 2002 and 2004. The industry re-entered the fray in 2006, funding successful efforts to defeat tobacco tax hikes in California and Missouri.

•Medical care. Insurance companies have contributed more than $10 million to defeat a Washington law that permits suing insurers for "unreasonably" denying medical claims. Trial lawyers are leading a $2 million campaign to support it.

The insurance industry gathered signatures to put the measure on the ballot after the Legislature approved the law.

It would permit collecting triple damages against insurers that deny legitimate medical claims.

•Medical research. Texas voters will consider borrowing $3 billion over 10 years to finance cancer research. Bike racing champ Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor, is leading the campaign. New Jersey voters will consider borrowing $450 million for stem cell research.

The ballot measures continue a race among states to fund medical research. In 2004, California voters approved borrowing $3 billion for stem cell research, causing other states to fear losing ground economically if they did not have similar programs.

"This bond issue is morally the right thing to do," says New Jersey Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts, a Democrat. "It provides hope for people who are suffering from incurable diseases."

He says the money would boost New Jersey's biotech industry. "Companies are looking for incentives on where to locate and invest. States need these programs to be competitive," he says.

Critic Steve Lonegan says private investors should decide what research gets funded, not New Jersey government. "This isn't about finding cures. It's about finding jobs for politically connected friends," says Lonegan, executive director of Americans for Prosperity, an anti-tax group in New Jersey.

State and local governments borrowed $198 billion in the first nine months of this year, up 10% from a year ago.

Other ballot measures to borrow money:

• Texas voters also will consider borrowing $5 billion for roads and $1 billion for other construction projects.

• Maine voters will weigh borrowing $135 million to fund technology research, higher education and land conservation.

Maine Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, says his state's borrowing is prudent. "When a state makes an investment that covers 10 or 20 years," he says, "it's important that generation after generation recognize that they have to pay some of the cost."