Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Gifford Fire Is California’s Largest Blaze This Year, Tops 82,000 Acres

20 hours ago

Wall Street Pares Gains After Fresh Economic Data; Earnings in Spotlight

21 hours ago

Israel Considers Full Gaza Takeover as More Die of Hunger

21 hours ago

US to Initially Impose ‘Small Tariff’ on Pharma Imports, Trump Says

21 hours ago

Cruz Criticizes Hochul for Wearing Headscarf at Slain Officer’s Funeral

21 hours ago

Trump Says Banks Discriminate Against His Supporters While White House Prepares Order

21 hours ago

Fresno Man Pleads Guilty in $30 Million Fraud Scheme

2 days ago

Texas Governor Vows to Replace Democrats Absent at Monday Redistricting Vote

2 days ago
Ballot Measures: Florida OK's Restoring Felons' Voting Rights
By gvwebguy
Published 7 years ago on
November 7, 2018

Share

NEW YORK — Potentially altering the election landscape in a key swing state, Florida voters Tuesday approved a ballot measure that will enable more than 1 million ex-felons to regain their voting rights.

Floridians also approved a measure aimed at phasing out greyhound racing in the state, the last stronghold of the sport in the U.S.

Those were the first notable results as voters in 37 states considered an array of intriguing ballot measures — ranging from marijuana legalization to boosting the minimum wage to civil rights protections for transgender people.

In all, 155 statewide initiatives were on the ballot across the country. Most were drafted by state legislatures, but 64 resulted from citizen-initiated campaigns, including many of the most eye-catching proposals.

In North Dakota and Michigan, for example, voters had a chance to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, a step already taken by nine other states. The ballots in Missouri and Utah included proposals to legalize the medical use of pot.

A minimum wage increase was up for a vote in two states. An Arkansas measure would raise the wage from $8.50 an hour to $11 by 2021; Missouri’s would gradually raise the $7.85 minimum wage to $12 an hour.

Medicaid expansion was another multistate topic, on the ballot because Republican-led legislatures refused to take advantage of expanded coverage offered under President Barack Obama’s health care law. Measures in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah would expand Medicaid coverage to tens of thousands more residents; a Montana measure would to raise tobacco taxes to extend an existing expansion.

Proposals to change the redistricting process so it’s potentially less partisan were on the ballot in Missouri, Michigan, Utah and Colorado.

The goal is “giving citizens, not politicians, a greater voice in the drawing of their voting district lines,” said Sam Mar of the Action Now Initiative, which provided more than $7 million in support of the measures.

Ohio’s ballot included an ambitious proposal to make drug possession a misdemeanor in an effort to reduce the state prison population and divert any savings to drug treatment.

Florida’s measure on felon voting rights was among those placed on the ballot by citizen initiative. Under its terms, most felons will automatically have their voting rights restored when they complete their sentences or go on probation. The amendment exempts those convicted of sex offenses and murder.

Supporters said the state’s current system was too onerous. It required felons to wait at least five years after completing their sentence before they could file a request with the governor and Cabinet. About 1.5 million people are affected. Nearly all states allow felons to vote after completing their sentences.

While liberal-leaning groups succeeded in getting some of their favored policy proposals on the ballot in Republican-controlled states, the partisan pattern was reversed in Democratic-leaning Oregon and Massachusetts. In both states, conservatives used the initiative process in a bid to overturn existing policies.

The target in Massachusetts was a 2016 law extending nondiscrimination protections to transgender people in their use of public accommodations. It was the first-ever statewide vote on this question, occurring as President Donald Trump’s administration moves to weaken civil rights protections for transgender Americans.

Conservatives in Oregon targeted two policies — one allowing use of state money to pay for low-income women to have abortions, the other forbidding law enforcement agencies from using state resources or personnel to arrest people whose only crime is being in the U.S. illegally. Oregon adopted its “sanctuary state” law in 1987, becoming the first state to do so.

Oregon and its northern neighbor, Washington, each had measures that would prohibit local governments from imposing new taxes on soda or grocery items.

Washington voters also had a chance to toughen background checks for people buying semi-automatic rifles and to make their state the first to charge a direct fee on carbon pollution to fight climate change.

Climate change also was an issue in Arizona and Nevada, where voters considered measures requiring that 50 percent of electricity come from renewable sources by 2030. A measure in Colorado could sharply reduce oil and gas drilling, including the method known as fracking, by requiring new oil and gas wells to be further from occupied buildings than allowed under current law.

Curiously, slavery also was on the Colorado ballot. A proposed amendment would remove language in the state Constitution allowing slavery and involuntary servitude to be used to punish a crime.

The two most expensive ballot-measure campaigns — each generating more than $100 million in contributions — were in California. One of those would cap profits for dialysis clinics; the other would allow local governments to expand rent control.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Slovenia Becomes First EU Nation to Ban Weapons Trade with Israel

DON'T MISS

Trump Suggests Vance Is His Likely Heir Apparent in 2028

DON'T MISS

Former Fresno City Attorney Returns to Serve as County Counsel

DON'T MISS

Trump to Host Armenia, Azerbaijan Leaders for Peace Talks on Friday, US Official Says

DON'T MISS

Two Suspects Wanted in Alleged Fresno Arson at T.J. Maxx on Shaw Avenue

DON'T MISS

‘Yes’ to Outreach, ‘No’ to Condoms. Fresno Supervisors Rein in County Holidays

DON'T MISS

Trump Declines to Say if He Supports or Opposes Potential Gaza Takeover by Israel

DON'T MISS

Fresno Three-Vehicle Crash Slows Traffic on Herndon Avenue

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens to Take Over Washington DC’s Governance

DON'T MISS

Who’s Off to a Strong Start in Raising Money for Fresno Area School Board Races?

UP NEXT

‘Yes’ to Outreach, ‘No’ to Condoms. Fresno Supervisors Rein in County Holidays

UP NEXT

Fresno Three-Vehicle Crash Slows Traffic on Herndon Avenue

UP NEXT

Who’s Off to a Strong Start in Raising Money for Fresno Area School Board Races?

UP NEXT

Valley Children’s Sees Big Spike in Summer Football Injuries. Has State ‘Overcorrected’ Its Rules?

UP NEXT

Fresno and Visalia Rank Among Least Educated Cities, WalletHub Study Shows

UP NEXT

Fresno Junkyard Fire Damages 17 Vehicles

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Michael Angelo Chavez

UP NEXT

Fresno State Professor Combines Tech and Medicine in Cutting Edge Research and Care

UP NEXT

Visalia CHP Arrest 5 in Weekend DUI Checkpoint Operation

UP NEXT

Big Tell Film Contest Provides 10 Winners with $5K Grants for Short Documentaries

Trump to Host Armenia, Azerbaijan Leaders for Peace Talks on Friday, US Official Says

12 hours ago

Two Suspects Wanted in Alleged Fresno Arson at T.J. Maxx on Shaw Avenue

12 hours ago

‘Yes’ to Outreach, ‘No’ to Condoms. Fresno Supervisors Rein in County Holidays

13 hours ago

Trump Declines to Say if He Supports or Opposes Potential Gaza Takeover by Israel

14 hours ago

Fresno Three-Vehicle Crash Slows Traffic on Herndon Avenue

14 hours ago

Trump Threatens to Take Over Washington DC’s Governance

15 hours ago

Who’s Off to a Strong Start in Raising Money for Fresno Area School Board Races?

15 hours ago

Two Chinese Nationals in California Accused of Illegally Shipping Nvidia AI Chips to China

15 hours ago

Senators Ask US to Probe Data Security Issues With DeepSeek

15 hours ago

Marjorie Taylor Greene Asks for George Santos’ Sentence to Be Commuted

15 hours ago

Slovenia Becomes First EU Nation to Ban Weapons Trade with Israel

Slovenia announced it will ban all weapons trade with Israel over the war in Gaza, becoming the first European Union country to impose such ...

11 hours ago

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
11 hours ago

Slovenia Becomes First EU Nation to Ban Weapons Trade with Israel

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance take part in ceremonies in commemoration of the Memorial Day holiday, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., May 26, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Trump Suggests Vance Is His Likely Heir Apparent in 2028

12 hours ago

Former Fresno City Attorney Returns to Serve as County Counsel

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters ahed of boarding Marine One to depart for New Jersey, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 1, 2025. (Reuters)
12 hours ago

Trump to Host Armenia, Azerbaijan Leaders for Peace Talks on Friday, US Official Says

Two suspects are being sought in Fresno after allegedly starting a fire on July 15, 2025, at 2097 W. Shaw Avenue, and Valley Crime Stoppers is asking for anonymous tips. (Valley Crime Stoppers)
12 hours ago

Two Suspects Wanted in Alleged Fresno Arson at T.J. Maxx on Shaw Avenue

Garry Bredefeld Pride Parade
13 hours ago

‘Yes’ to Outreach, ‘No’ to Condoms. Fresno Supervisors Rein in County Holidays

President Donald Trump shouts to reporters as he walks on the roof of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 5, 2025. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
14 hours ago

Trump Declines to Say if He Supports or Opposes Potential Gaza Takeover by Israel

A three-vehicle crash on Herndon Avenue in Fresno prompted police to block off the area Tuesday, August 5, 2025, after one car was spun around, though no injuries were reported. (GV Wire)
14 hours ago

Fresno Three-Vehicle Crash Slows Traffic on Herndon Avenue

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend