A costly campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida failed Tuesday as voters in dozens of states weighed more than 140 measures appearing on the ballot alongside races for president and top state offices.
Florida was one of several states deciding high-profile marijuana measures and was among 10 states considering amendments related to abortion or reproductive rights. About two dozen measures are focused on future elections, including several specifically barring noncitizens from voting. Other state measures affect wages, taxes, housing and education, including a school choice measure that was defeated in Kentucky.
Many of the ballot measures were initiated by citizen petitions that sidestep state legislatures, though others were placed before voters by lawmakers.
Marijuana legalization
The Florida marijuana amendment fell short of the 60% supermajority needed to approve constitutional amendments. It would have allowed recreational sales of marijuana to people over 21 from existing medical marijuana dispensaries, with the potential for the legislature to license additional retailers.
The campaign was funded predominantly by Florida’s largest medical marijuana operator, Trulieve, which had provided almost $145 million of the $153 million campaign through the end of October. The measure was opposed by the Florida Republican Party and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said it would reduce the quality of life by leaving a marijuana stench in the air.
Citizen voting
Constitutional amendments declaring that only citizens can vote won approval in Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin. They also are being considered in Idaho and Missouri. All the measures were referred to the ballot by Republican-led legislatures.
A 1996 U.S. law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and many states already have similar laws. But Republicans have emphasized the potential of noncitizens voting after an influx of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexican border. Though noncitizen voting historically has been rare, voter roll reviews before the election flagged potential noncitizens registered in several states.
Some municipalities in California, Maryland, Vermont and Washington, D.C., allow noncitizens to vote in certain local elections.
Sports betting
In Colorado, where sports betting launched in 2020, voters approved a measure allowing the state to keep more than the original $29 million limit on sports betting tax revenue.
Minimum wage
Voters in Arizona rejected a measure that would have let tipped workers be paid 25% less than the minimum wage, so long as tips pushed their total pay beyond the minimum wage threshold.
Voting methods
Voters in Washington, D.C., approved a measure allowing ranked choice voting in future elections.
Ranked choice voting is currently used in Alaska and Maine. But Alaska voters are considering whether to repeal provisions of a 2020 initiative that instituted open primaries and ranked choice general elections.