In some ways, the results of ballot measures were a clearer measure of what voters think than the elections themselves, given the limitations of the two-party system. A number of progressive measures passed around the country. In the Bay Area and Oakland, landmark measures to raise the minimum wage to among the highest in the country passed with strong margins. Statewide measures for more modest increases also passed in Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota--significantly, all states that went strongly for Republicans. Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C., passed marijuana legalization measures, though in a stark lesson about the worlds greatest democracy, the will of voters wont be the final word in majority-Black Washington--Congress can overrule any law in D.C., and the Republican majority is sure to do so. Also encouraging was the defeat of initiatives in Colorado and North Dakota to grant personhood to fetuses. Californias Prop 47, which changes nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors, also passed! ACLU, NAACP, and unions were the big institutional backers.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 16:44:03 +0000