Marijuana Legalization Fails in Florida as Numerous States Approve Citizen Voting Amendments

The Associated Press

13:18 JST, November 6, 2024

A costly campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida failed Tuesday as voters in dozens of states weighed more than 140 measures appearing on the ballot alongside races for president and top state offices.

Florida was one of several states deciding high-profile marijuana measures and was among 10 states considering amendments related to abortion or reproductive rights. About two dozen measures are focused on future elections, including several specifically barring noncitizens from voting. Other state measures affect wages, taxes, housing and education, including a school choice measure that was defeated in Kentucky.

Many of the ballot measures were initiated by citizen petitions that sidestep state legislatures, though others were placed before voters by lawmakers.

Marijuana legalization

The Florida marijuana amendment fell short of the 60% supermajority needed to approve constitutional amendments. It would have allowed recreational sales of marijuana to people over 21 from existing medical marijuana dispensaries, with the potential for the Legislature to license additional retailers.

The campaign was funded predominantly by Florida’s largest medical marijuana operator, Trulieve, which had provided almost $145 million of the $153 million campaign through the end of October. The measure was opposed by the Florida Republican Party and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said it would reduce the quality of life by leaving a marijuana stench in the air.

Voters in North Dakota and South Dakota also are deciding whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. The election marks the third vote on the issue in both states. In Nebraska, voters are considering a pair of measures that would legalize medical marijuana and regulate the industry.

About half the states currently allow recreational marijuana and about a dozen more allow medical marijuana. Possessing or selling marijuana remains a crime under federal law, punishable by prison time and fines.

In Massachusetts, a ballot measure would legalize the possession and supervised use of natural psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms. It would be the third state to do so, following Oregon and Colorado.

Citizen voting

Constitutional amendments declaring that only citizens can vote won approval in Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin. They also are being considered in Idaho and Missouri. All the measures were referred to the ballot by Republican-led legislatures.

A 1996 U.S. law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and many states already have similar laws. But Republicans have emphasized the potential of noncitizens voting after an influx of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexican border. Though noncitizen voting historically has been rare, voter roll reviews before the election flagged potential noncitizens registered in several states.

Some municipalities in California, Maryland, Vermont and Washington, D.C., allow noncitizens to vote in certain local elections.

Sports betting

In Colorado, where sports betting launched in 2020, voters approved a measure allowing the state to keep more than the original $29 million limit on sports betting tax revenue.

Missouri voters, meanwhile, are deciding whether to become the latest to legalize sports betting. A total of 38 states and Washington, D.C., already allow sports betting, which has expanded rapidly since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for it in 2018.

Minimum wage

Voters in Arizona rejected a measure that would have let tipped workers be paid 25% less than the minimum wage, so long as tips pushed their total pay beyond the minimum wage threshold. In Massachusetts, by contrast, voters were weighing a measure that would gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped employees until it matches the rate for other employees.

Elsewhere, ballot measures in Missouri and Alaska would gradually raise minimum wages to $15 an hour while also requiring paid sick leave. A California measure would incrementally raise the minimum wage for all employers to $18 an hour.

A Nebraska measure would require many employers to provide sick leave but would not change wages.

Voting methods

Voters in Washington, D.C., approved a measure allowing ranked choice voting in future elections.

Ranked choice voting is currently used in Alaska and Maine. But Alaska voters are considering whether to repeal provisions of a 2020 initiative that instituted open primaries and ranked choice general elections.

Measures in Montana and South Dakota would create open primary elections in which candidates of all parties appear on the same ballot, with a certain number advancing to the general election. Measures in Colorado, Idaho and Nevada also propose open primaries featuring candidates from all parties, with a certain number advancing to a general election using ranked choice voting. An Oregon measure would required ranked choice voting in both primaries and general elections.

Arizona voters are deciding between competing ballot proposals that would require either open primaries with candidates of all parties or the state’s current method of partisan primaries. If conflicting measures both pass, the provision receiving the most votes takes effect, but that could be up to a court to decide.

Connecticut voters are considering whether to authorize no-excuse absentee voting, joining most states that already allow it.

Immigration

An Arizona measure crafted amid a surge in immigration would make it a state crime to enter from a foreign country except through official ports of entry, and for someone already in the U.S. illegally to apply for public benefits using false documents.

Taxes

A Colorado proposal would make it the second state after California to impose a sales tax on firearms and ammunition, with revenue going primarily to crime victims’ services. The federal government already taxes sales of guns and ammunition.

North Dakota voters are considering a measure to eliminate property taxes. If approved, local governments could need more than $3 billion biennially in replacement revenue from the state.

A South Dakota measure would repeal the state’s sales tax on groceries, a move already taken in most other states.

An Oregon measure would raise the minimum tax on large corporations to fund a tax rebate for residents.

Housing

California voters are deciding whether to repeal a 1995 law limiting local rent control ordinances. If approved, it would open the way for local governments to expand limitations on the rates that landlords could charge.

A unique proposal in Arizona links property taxes with responses to homelessness. It would let property owners seek property tax refunds if they incur expenses because a local government declined to enforce ordinances against illegal camping, loitering, panhandling, public alcohol and drug use, and other things.

Climate

Voters in Washington state are considering whether to repeal a 2021 law that caps carbon emissions and creates a market for businesses exceeding the mark to purchase allowances from others. Washington was the second state to launch such a program, after California.

Redistricting

An Ohio initiative would create a citizens commission to handle redistricting for U.S. House and state legislative seats, taking the task away from elected officials.

Assisted suicide

West Virginia voters are deciding whether to amend the state constitution to prohibit medically assisted suicide. The measure would run counter to 10 states and Washington, D.C., where physician-assisted suicide is allowed.