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In November, citizens in states across the country in the general election will vote on the fate of over 100 different ballot initiatives. Such initiatives "
allow voters to directly decide whether to change state laws or amend state constitutions." In 2004, conservative activists across the country worked to put
hot-button social issues at the center of these ballot initiatives in an attempt to draw the conservative base to the polls on election day. While some analysts credit these ballot initiative campaigns with "
helping George W. Bush win a second term in office," other research indicates that ballot measures "
do not drastically alter voter turnout." Regardless of their effect on the result of the presidential and congressional elections, ballot initiatives advanced by conservative activists have enjoyed success in recent years. In 2004, ten states voted on ballot measures opposing marriage equality for same-sex couples and
every one of the measures passed. In 2006, conservative activists won again when seven of the eight states with ballot measures opposing marriage equality were approved. Ballot initiatives limiting women's and civil rights have witnessed less success in recent years, but the radical right is still
pouring millions of dollars into such campaigns. However, the
progressive majority in the U.S.
is growing, and states across the country appear more likely
to reject the discriminatory proposals of the radical right. In today's Progress Report, we preview what is at stake in this year's election.
GAY RIGHTS: In all, 28 states "have
approved adding marriage discrimination to their state constitutions since 1998." This year, three more states will consider bans on gay marriage: California, Arizona, and Florida. Because the populations of California and Florida are so high, "about a quarter of the U.S. population will be directly affected by marriage votes in November." In California, an estimated 15,000 people mobilized over the weekend in an attempt to garner support for overturning "the California Supreme Court
decision that legalized same-sex marriage." John Matsusaka, president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California explained, "If California voters reject the amendment banning gay marriage, it will be the
first significant popular affirmation of gay marriage." In Arizona, it will be the second time a proposed ban has appeared on the ballot. In 2006, "Arizona distinguished itself as the
first and only state where voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage." A second defeat, however, will not ensure same-sex couples in Arizona have the right to marry, as
state law already prohibits such unions. Supporters of the constitutional version of the ban "say it's important to embed that provision in the state Constitution so a judge cannot overturn the state's marriage laws." Floridians will vote on a similar proposal banning same-sex marriage. In a reversal,
the ballot measure is now supported by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist ®. Gay rights are also being challenged in Arkansas, where "a measure to change state law to
ban unmarried couples from adopting or serving as foster parents"
may appear on the November ballot.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS: California, South Dakota, and Colorado will vote on measures that would impose extreme limits women's reproductive rights. In California, voters will be asked -- for a third time -- to make "
parental notification and a waiting period before a minor can have an abortion" a legal requirement. The ballot's description of the measure, referred to by anti-choice activists as "Sarah's law," will feature the story of a 15-year old who tragically died after obtaining a legal abortion in 1994. They argue that "Sarah" would have been saved if the parental notification requirement had been in effect. Planned Parenthood
unsuccessfully challenged the description of the measure, citing the fact that "Sarah" was in a common law marriage at the time and
would not have been subject to the parental notification required by the proposed measure. South Dakota will consider a measure to ban abortion "except in cases of rape, incest or threats to a woman's health." If approved, "the proposal would give the state one of the
strictest bans in the country, and it would almost certainly lead to a challenge in the courts." The anti-choice proposal on the ballot in Colorado goes even further, giving "
a single-celled, newly fertilized human egg...the same rights and protections as a fully developed, living, breathing human being." The measure would ban abortion in all circumstances, "certain contraception, including the
morning-after pill and the intrauterine device," and even some fertility treatments. The amendment is so extreme that even James Dobson's Focus on the Family
views the measure as a political overreach, preferring instead to continue an incremental approach to banning abortion.
CIVIL RIGHTS: Voters in Nebraska and Colorado will
consider proposed bans on affirmative action. Such measures in Arizona, Missouri and Oklahoma "did not receive enough valid signatures" to qualify for a spot on their respective ballots. Heading up the initiative to ban affirmative action is Ward Connerly, the Californian who ran similar campaigns in California, Washington and Michigan. This year, his campaign has spent about $3 million and is backing the campaigns in Colorado and Nebraska. In Colorado, "three recent polls show that support for the measure is higher among Democrats than Republicans," most likely because the wording on the ballot measure does not include the words "affirmative action." Bob Loevy, a political scientist at Colorado College, explained, "Many may wake up after Election Day and
realize they probably voted for something they didn't want." Craig Hughes, an organizer of the Vote No on Amendment 46 campaign, explained that the wording tactic "follows a pattern with similar measures that passed in other states." "What's deceptive is trying to ban equal opportunity programs in the guise of expanding equal opportunity for all," he said further.
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from the Center Right. Yup, sorry all you 9 to 5 Americans who watch shrinking paychecks and shrinking home values as you pump what truly has become “Black Gold.” Let’s look carefully at these two major candidates from the self perpetuating “lesser of two evils” school of thought.
