States Consider Ballot Measures on Abortion, Marijuana, and Other Key Issues
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Voters across the country are considering ballot measures that could change their states’ policies on a wide range of issues.
Abortion: Five states are voting on abortion rights, including Michigan, Kentucky, California, Vermont, and Montana. While three of the measures would protect abortion access, Kentucky’s measure would bolster the state’s abortion restrictions, and Montana’s measure would grant legal personhood to “born-alive” fetuses who are born prematurely or survive an attempted abortion and require medical interventions to save them.
Marijuana: Five states are voting on marijuana legalization: Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota. They would join 19 states and Washington, D.C. in allowing recreational marijuana use for adults.
Other Issues: Other states are voting on raising the minimum wage, requiring a photo ID to vote, and requiring a permit and safety training for gun purchases. Culver City, California is considering joining several other cities in allowing 16-year-olds to vote in municipal elections.
How the Media Covered It: Right-rated outlets were more likely to focus on tax reform measures and New York City’s racial equity initiative. Left-rated outlets were more likely to highlight Oregon's gun control measure. Both groups covered abortion and marijuana with dedicated articles.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Five ballot measures to watch on Tuesday
In addition to who represents them in Congress and in state legislatures, voters on Tuesday will weigh in directly on issues including abortion, marijuana and vaping.
Here are the measures we’re watching on Tuesday:
Abortion
Five states will have abortion on the ballot Tuesday, the most abortion-related ballot initiatives ever to take place in a single year. The referendums come more than four months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion that had been in place for nearly 50 years and kicking...
From the Left
EXPLAINER: Which states put marijuana on the ballot in 2022?
Recreational marijuana could be legal in half the country if the handful of states with cannabis measures on ballots this November pass them.
Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota have measures on their ballots this fall for voters to consider legalizing recreational marijuana. They would join 19 states and the District of Columbia with recreational cannabis.
A decade since Colorado and Washington approved recreational cannabis, prohibitions have fallen across the country: in big, populous states like California and New York and smaller rural ones like Maine and Vermont. States in...
From the Right
The five states that will have abortion measures on the ballot in November
Voters in California, Michigan, Vermont, Kentucky, and Montana will weigh in on ballot measures this November deciding on the future of abortion access in their states.
All six states have proposed ballot initiatives that will either codify or restrict abortion rights, an increasingly galvanizing issue following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in June, eliminating the federal right to the procedure.
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