Marijuana, Campaign Finance Reform and the Death Penalty Win in State Ballot Measures

While most of the headlines the morning after Election Day were related to the presidential election, voters across the country also cast their ballots on a host of important issues affecting their states.

It was a big night for marijuana legalization, with eight states adding new pot laws to their books. Recreational marijuana was on the ballot in five states — Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada. While Arizonans rejected the proposal and ballots in Maine are still being counted (legalization is winning), the other measures all passed and if Maine does too, that would bring the number of states with legal weed to eight. On the medical side of the marijuana debate, voters in Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota legalized medical weed, while Montana voters eased restrictions on their state’s program.

Anti-death penalty activists will be disappointed that capital punishment remains legal in California after voters defeated a referendum to repeal it and a rival ballot measure that would have sped up the execution process. In Nebraska, the death penalty was reinstated as voters chose to repeal a ban on capital punishment that had gone into effect.

Voters in some states had the opportunity to weigh in on the role of money in politics and forced union membership. California and Washington voters approved measures that formally asked their states’ congressional delegations to work toward overturning the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United. Voters in Alabama chose to add the "right-to-work" without being compelled to join a union to their state constitution, and while Virginians rejected a similar proposal, the commonwealth remains a right-to-work state.

But that’s not all, read on to see which ballot measures passed in different and learn more about what exactly they do:

Alabama

Amendment 8: Right-to-Work Constitutional Amendment
PASSED - 70%

Arizona

Proposition 205: Marijuana Legalization
REJECTED - 52%

Arkansas

Issue 6: Medical Marijuana Legalization
PASSED - 53%

California

Proposition 59: Asking California Lawmakers to Overturn Citizens United
PASSED - 52%

Proposition 60: Requiring Condoms in Pornographic Films
REJECTED - 54%

Proposition 61: Prescription Drug Price Caps for State Purchases
REJECTED - 54%

Propositions 62 and 66: Repealing or Speeding Up the Death Penalty
REPEAL REJECTED - 54%

Proposition 63: Background Checks for Ammunition Purchases and Large-Capacity Magazine Ban
PASSED - 63%

Proposition 64: Marijuana Legalization
PASSED - 56%

Propositions 65 and 67: Plastic Bag Fees / Ban
BAN PASSED 52%

Florida

Amendment 2: Medical Marijuana Legalization
PASSED - 71%

Georgia

Amendment 1: State Oversight of Failing Public Schools
REJECTED - 60%

Indiana

Question 1: Adding the Right to Hunt and Fish to the State Constitution
PASSED - 78%

Kansas

Constitutional Amendment 1: Adding the Right to Hunt and Fish to the State Constitution
PASSED - 81%

Maine

Question 1: Marijuana Legalization
PASSING - 50%

Question 3: Background Checks for Private Gun Sales
REJECTED - 52%

Question 5: Ranked Choice Voting
PASSED - 52%

Maryland

Question 1: Party Affiliation Requirements for Filling Attorney General or Comptroller Vacancies
PASSED - 73%

Missouri

Constitutional Amendment 6: Allowing Voter Identification Laws
PASSED - 63%

Nebraska

Referendum 426: Reinstating the Death Penalty
PASSED - 61%

Nevada

Question 1: Background Checks for Private Gun Sales
PASSED - 50%

Question 2: Marijuana Legalization
PASSED - 54%

North Dakota

Initiated Statutory Measure 5: Medical Marijuana Legalization
PASSED - 64%

Oregon

Measure 97: Increasing the Tax on Corporate Sales
REJECTED - 59%

Virginia

Amendment 1: Right-to-Work Constitutional Amendment
REJECTED - 53%

Washington

Initiative 688: Increasing the Minimum Wage and Requiring Paid Sick Leave
PASSED - 69%

Initiative 735: Urging WA’s Congressional Delegation to Overturn Citizens United
PASSED - 69%

Not seeing a ballot measure you're interested in? Check out NPR’s full results here.

— Eric Revell