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NEWS ABOUT: ballot initiative

San Francisco May Vote on Circumcision Ban

Activists submit signatures for ballot initiative

(Newser) - Is San Francisco about to cut out circumcision? A group of "intactivists" hope so; they’ve submitted 12,265 signatures to the city’s Department of Elections in a bid to get a ban on the practice placed on the ballot this November, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. If... More »

Oklahoma Votes Yes to English, No to Sharia

...and the results of other unusual ballot measures

(Newser) - Oklahoma's voters passed a pair of ballot initiatives last night—and progressives and immigrant-rights groups are alarmed, AP reports. One of them requires that all official state actions be conducted in English, with exceptions for Native American languages and in cases when federal law requires otherwise. The other—described as... More »

Dems Look to Light Up Stoner Vote in 2012

Ballot measures to legalize pot could motivate youth, dude

(Newser) - Democratic strategists think they might be able to float to victory in 2012 on a cloud of Mary Jane. If California’s Proposition 19—the ballot initiative to legalize pot in the state—does a decent job of driving liberal young stoners to the polls, expect to see similar initiatives... More »

Costco Fights Washington Liquor Laws

Big-box retailer seeks to cut middleman, boost profits

(Newser) - Costco is out to change the face of alcohol distribution—and, not coincidentally, sell booze at the same steep discount it applies to everything else. It’s starting with a push in its home state of Washington, where the retain giant has pumped $500,000 into a campaign to change... More »

Legalizing Pot Likely to Make California Ballot

Expect an all-out campaign brawl that could make history

(Newser) - A proposition to legalize pot in California is all but certain to garner enough signatures to appear on the ballot in November by today’s deadline. Supporters and opponents are already gearing up for the campaign, the LA Times reports. Proponents believe that California’s new, promiscuous medical marijuana culture... More »

Denver Man Gets Alien Greeting Panel on Ballot

Goal is to lay groundwork for successful 'diplomatic contact'

(Newser) - Every major US city should have a plan to greet extraterrestrial visitors, and Denver might just get its own come 2010. A local man has scared up enough signatures to have a proposition creating an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission included on the ballot next year. Given that Jeff Peckman assumes the... More »

To Protect Marriage, Ban Divorce

Calif. man thinks straight people should give up rights, too

(Newser) - If the whole point of banning gay marriage in California was to protect “traditional” marriage, shouldn’t voters go a step further and outlaw divorce, the No. 1 threat to domestic bliss? John Marcotte thinks so, and to that end the happily married—Catholic—father of two and ardent... More »

Gay Marriage to Gambling: Key Ballot Initiatives

Two states vote on taxpayer bills of rights, to curb spending

(Newser) - Voters in six states will head to the polls next Tuesday to decide ballot initiatives on everything from medical marijuana to livestock care. The Atlantic lists some of the most interesting, and the most likely to reverberate across state lines.
  • Question 1, Maine. Maine voters are being given the chance
... More »

Recession Sparks Efforts to Legalize Pot

Full-scale regulation and taxation on the table in Calif.

(Newser) - The recession has given marijuana-legalization advocates an unexpected boost, Time reports, as cash-strapped states are tempted by possible revenues from pot taxes. With an existing medical-marijuana market and cuts to education and health services pending due to a huge budget deficit, California advocates are preparing both legislation and ballot initiatives... More »

Whistleblowers Eye 6-Figure Gov't Retirees

Amid criticism, group outs fat-cat pensioners on the public dime

(Newser) - A California interest group is on a mission to publicize the names of public retirees with outsize pensions, arguing that they’re bankrupting local governments, the Wall Street Journal reports. Atop one list sits a former small-town administrator who pulls in $499,674.84 a year. But critics say this... More »

Gay Marriage Debate Key to SF Mayor's Future

Focus on issue could mount with new ballot initiative

(Newser) - As San Francisco’s mayor looks to become California’s next governor, his gay-marriage activism may threaten his success—especially if voters are again asked to decide the issue for themselves, the AP reports. Though all the Democratic candidates support gay marriage, Gavin Newsom has a particularly strong association with... More »

Ballot Measures a Final Test for Schwarzenegger

Outgoing gov must convince Calif. voters to endorse budget fixes

(Newser) - Deep into Arnold Schwarzenegger's second term, the novelty of holding political office has given way to the hard realities of governing, the New York Times reports. In the eyes of his constituents, too, the Governator’s celebrity sheen has faded, enough that Schwarzenegger is worried about the passage of several... More »

Ballot Questions May Hinge On Obama Turnout

Gay marriage, marijuana, other issues on the line

(Newser) - Barack Obama has a lot riding on his coattails. The impact of a presidential candidate's support on candidates for lower offices can be substantial, and this year's slates also include 153 ballot questions. Besides swinging gubernatorial and congressional races, measures concerning everything from gay marriage to gambling are up for... More »

Obama May Get Out the Anti-Gay Marriage Vote

Obama candidacy may bring out conservative black vote on Prop. 8

(Newser) - Black voters energized by Barack Obama’s candidacy may also support a Californian ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage, the New York Times reports, though Obama himself opposes the ban. Opponents and supporters of Proposition 8 say African Americans will play a crucial role, and each side is trying to... More »

Calif. Ban on Gay Marriage Losing Steam

Prop. 8 proponents fall off after change in language explicitly limits personal rights

(Newser) - More Californians are opposing a gay-marriage ban there after language in the measure was made more explicit, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A Field Poll showed a sharp increase in the majority who would vote no, from 51% in July to 55% today. A clause that would place a “... More »

No Kidding: Bush Sewage Plant Makes Nov. Ballot

SF group secures enough signatures to make satirical measure legit

(Newser) - San Francisco voters will decide in November not only who will succeed President Bush but also how they will remember him. A group calling itself the Presidential Memorial Commission has pushed through a ballot initiative to rename an area sewage plant after the outgoing president, the Chronicle reports. A White... More »

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