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What Kind of Weird Referenda Are You Voting on Today?

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Comment Diversions | Comments (47)

tenminutesvote.jpg

It’s election day, and what’s most fun about mid-term elections is usually the strange referenda your states and localities try to squeeze in, often trying to take advantage of low-turnout combined with rabid constituents devoted to one particular issue. They also like to frame the questions in such a way that you’re not sure if a yes vote is for no, or the other way around. During the last election, up here, we had to vote no to say yes to gay marriage, and I’m convinced that the narrow loss on that issue can be attributed to confusing language. (We did, however, vote yes on medical marijuana, so while gays can’t yet marry here, they can get high together).

This year, our ballots are several pages long, thanks to eight referenda, though none are particularly exciting: Casinos, mayors, and allowing non-citizens to vote (which I agreed to vote yes on, in exchange for my wife’s vote on a particular gubernatorial candidate, who will still get beaten by the Tea Party candidate, making our state a laughing stock thanks to four more progressive candidates who will split the vote and the lack of a run-off election).

This is just a quickie diversion to elicit reaction to your voting experiences today, the weird ballot issues you might have faced, and maybe a place for some of you to commisserate. And if you haven’t yet, go vote.










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Comments

my local city council wanted to make it's meeting pvt, that seems like all kinds of wrong

Posted by: BigTodd at November 2, 2010 11:36 AM

Apologies if this is an abuse of the thread, but may I use it to plug two important referenda:

Missouri is voting on establishing humane standards for dog breeding to eliminate the cruelty of puppy mills: Vote yes on Prop B

Arizona is voting on a referendum that would replace scientific management of wildlife refuges with a partisan politically motivated panel (i.e., people who think wildlife refuges are communist): Vote no on Prop 109.

Posted by: PaddyDog at November 2, 2010 11:36 AM

I can't vote as I'm not a citizen, but I did get a frisson of excitement from Dustin's use of the word 'referenda'.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at November 2, 2010 11:40 AM

my local city council wanted to make it's meeting pvt, that seems like all kinds of wrong
Posted by: BigTodd at November 2, 2010 11:36 AM

---------------------------------------------

Are you serious? Why don't they just turn the city council into a Stonecutters' lodge.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at November 2, 2010 11:41 AM

We only had statewide referenda on the ballot today. Only one wording pissed me off, implying that the ability to enforce non-compete clauses with more impunity would somehow bring more businesses to Georgia. So would child labor, but I ain't voting for that, either.

Posted by: Wednesday at November 2, 2010 11:43 AM

There were four on my ballot:

-Living wage restrictions on companies that contract with the city.

-Implementing electronic bidding and purchasing for city materials.

-Prohibiting discrimination in city contracts based on sexual identity, orientation, age, and ancestry.

-Borrowing a shit ton of money for projects like transit, sanitation, museums, parks, and community development.

Posted by: Julie at November 2, 2010 11:45 AM

A Governor Recall Amendment is on the ballot (you know, because of Blago [shudder]).

No matter if you’re Blue or Red, we’re ALL glad to see him out.

Posted by: Scully at November 2, 2010 11:46 AM

Let's see...there's Prop 203 and Prop 420: one is to legalize medical marijuana, the other is to keep the Chicago Cubs spring training complex in AZ. Guess which is which? Nope, you are WRONG.
(seriously, Prop 420 isn't the weed one? way to throw a curveball at the potheads, AZ)

Posted by: Jessie at November 2, 2010 11:54 AM

I guess it's not all that "weird," but here in Arizona we've got medical marijuana on the ballot once again, despite voting for it twice before by overwhelming majority only to see the state congress toss it right back out again. I'm not sure I'll even bother this time.

We've also got a band of tea party people who have decided to begin their path to world domination by taking over the state water department, so I'll actually be paying attention to who I vote for in that one.

And PaddyDog, I vote how my mom tells me to vote when it comes to propositions, but I'm sure she'll have marked "no" on the sample ballot for that one.

Posted by: Todd at November 2, 2010 11:55 AM

Indiana has a referendum to cap property taxes, which will probably pass, seeing as it was such a big success in California.

Posted by: Keith at November 2, 2010 11:55 AM

way to throw a curveball
HAHA, literally...just realized I made an unintentional pun. Go ME!

Posted by: Jessie at November 2, 2010 11:56 AM

My local city council has so criminally mismanaged the budget that they're asking to add a fee to everyone's utility bill in order to repair the roads. They've sunk millions into the world's dumbest convention center, are building more nature centers that they can't afford to staff, converted the youth center into a senior center (after a study that indicated there was NO demand for another place to take pottery classes- and no cash to staff it, besides) and they want more money to misappropriate?

No. And this from the woman who has to drive down one of the worst roads in the area to get to/from her house. Fuck it, I'll keep paying for frequent re-alignments before these clowns get another revenue stream from me.

Posted by: Brook at November 2, 2010 11:59 AM

You states with your medical marijuana propositions are so quaint. Here in California we're voting to legalize the whole thing kit and kaboodle. Go Prop 19!

Posted by: DarthCorleone at November 2, 2010 12:01 PM

@DarthCorleone: Us Arizonans have no worries--if your Prop passes, I will be perfectly happy to make the 6 hr drive to what will henceforth be known as Amsterfornia.

Posted by: Jessie at November 2, 2010 12:09 PM

There were... zero referendums on my ballot in my district in Texas. But there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 local seats up for grabs. About 30 of which had Republicans running unopposed. That's about the only time I consider not voting (in those "races") a valid choice.*

*Not primarily because they're Republicans, but because they're unopposed.

Posted by: RobP at November 2, 2010 12:12 PM

"my local city council wanted to make it's meeting pvt, that seems like all kinds of wrong
Posted by: BigTodd at November 2, 2010 11:36 AM

---------------------------------------------

Are you serious? Why don't they just turn the city council into a Stonecutters' lodge."


One of the counties here just recently took away the right of private citizens to make public comments at their monthly Councty Commissioner's Court meetings. The commissioners thought the comments were getting "out of hand". I believe that that has to be in violation of something - I just don't know what.

The big thing that's getting voted on here by several small towns is whether to allow the sale of wine and beer. The county where I grew up and the neighboring county where I now live have historically been dry counties - no alcohol sales allowed. So, anyone who wanted alcohol had to drive to any of the remainng neighboring counties to get it. Recently, several towns in both counties have voted in the sale of alcohol. So while both counties are still technically "dry", you can buy alcohol in some towns within those counties.

Anyway, two nearby towns have alchohol sales on the ballot this go around and there has (expectedly) been a huge campaign to ban the sales. One of the local news stations did a story the other night that the person behind the "Keep 'Small Town' Dry" campaings actually owns one of the largest liquor stores in a neighboring county. He claims that, even though he is obviosuly for alcohol sales, he doesn't want to see it happen in the small town where he lives. Yeah, right.

Posted by: elsie at November 2, 2010 12:15 PM

except even if prop 19 passes(which it won't if polls are any indication) the federal gvt has already stated that they will prosicute anyways as federal law trumps state...ask those in Az who had their law trumped for the same reason.

Posted by: BigTodd at November 2, 2010 12:19 PM

"my local city council wanted to make it's meeting pvt, that seems like all kinds of wrong
Posted by: BigTodd at November 2, 2010 11:36 AM

---------------------------------------------

Are you serious? Why don't they just turn the city council into a Stonecutters' lodge."

-----------------------------------------

One of the counties here just recently took away the right of private citizens to make public comments at their monthly Councty Commissioner's Court meetings. The commissioners thought the comments were getting "out of hand". I believe that that has to be in violation of something - I just don't know what.

------------------------------------------

Speaking from professional experience, it would be nice to be able to limit the public's ability to waste precious time during meetings. We can only close a meeting to the public for very specific reasons and it does become a burden having to listen to lamentations about the neighbor's un-spayed cat and how yours won't stay at home because he's out fucking. But of course neutering is out of the question.

That's not to say that the public should be completely cut off. Just, fuck people, use your fucking brain.

Posted by: admin at November 2, 2010 12:27 PM

I've got one that (after reading it about 3 times, which is pretty good 'cause usually I've got to read them 6 or 7) boils down to, "do you want unemployment/disability funds collected from your pay to only be used for unemployment/disability?" which is kind of weird to me because what else is it being used for? Why is this even an issue? (This is, by the way, for an amendment to the state constitution, not even just like a rule or something, which kind of weirds me out more, even.)

I kind of hate politics. Just on general principles.

Posted by: Anna von Beav at November 2, 2010 12:32 PM

admin:

In my town we tried to be sensible about it for an issue we campaigned on a few years ago. We went door to door and got about 300 signatures on a petition. Then at the village meeting, one person represented the group, restated our issue and presented the petition. The response was: "clearly you don't have the support you claim because there are not 300 people here asking to speak". You can better believe that the following week we flooded the meeting and "wasted time" by having each and every person repeat the same position over and over again.

Posted by: PaddyDog at November 2, 2010 12:37 PM

I know that people can be stupid on both sides of the council table, Paddy. We never would have acted in that manner. I'm speaking more about those people that have too much time on their hands and nothing better to do than be a pain in the ass and make uninformed commentary on every item on the agenda whether it effects them or not. Or the guy with the horny cat.

Posted by: admin at November 2, 2010 12:54 PM

Here in Missouri, Proposition B is the big one. People are up in arms because we are the largest producer of breeding dogs in the country and a lot of people are going to lose a lot of money when they are forced to cut down to a reasonable number of dogs owned for breeding (50, to be exact). Money hungry breeders are using fear tactics to try to dissuade people from supporting the proposition, but many breeders support it. My feeling is that if you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about. Go Prop B!

Posted by: tinmo at November 2, 2010 12:55 PM

In my midwestern college town, the city council voted to repeal a long-standing law that allowed 19 and 20 year olds in bars at night. They did this over the summer, while students weren't around. Now there's a measure on the ballot to go back to 19.

Well they can suck it. Do like I did in college and get a fake ID.

Posted by: space oddity at November 2, 2010 12:58 PM

In the city of Denver we have initiative 300, which would creat a panel of experts to research the validity of UFO sightings. No fucking joke.

Posted by: The_wakeful at November 2, 2010 1:03 PM

None. Our elections are just boring-ass rep and county judge races. And the gubernatorial election.

Posted by: Slash at November 2, 2010 1:06 PM

I'm with Mrs. Julien. Appropriately declined nouns get me hot and bothered.

Posted by: FyreHaar at November 2, 2010 1:11 PM

admin, I get what you're saying. I work for a City government, although, thankfully, I don't have to attend public meetings all that frequently. I think the person in charge of a public meeting should keep order to the meeting. Someone got up at one of the last city council meetings I did have to attend and started rambling about some perceived slight and how the city wasn't doing a thing to help him out. It seems fairly clear that he had attended and rambled about the same issue before. The mayor told him that this meeting wasn't the proper forum for his complaint and that he needed to sit down. She was very polite but still managed to maintain order and keep things moving along. That is her job. Barring public comments or attendance is not the way to govern in good faith.

Posted by: elsie at November 2, 2010 1:11 PM

that is my point elsie holding meetings that I'm not allowed to go to makes me think they are trying to hide something

Posted by: BigTodd at November 2, 2010 1:20 PM

Money hungry breeders are using fear tactics to try to dissuade people from supporting the proposition, but many breeders support it.
Posted by: tinmo at November 2, 2010 12:55 PM

Are they threatening to release the hounds?


/I'll see myself out...

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at November 2, 2010 1:30 PM

BarbadoSlim that isn't even worth a groan...good day sir...I said GOOD DAY!

Posted by: BigTodd at November 2, 2010 1:34 PM

So you're saying the stoners in your state are more coherent and/or smarter than the gheys? Wow. I'm never going to try to buy some blow in Maine.

Posted by: , at November 2, 2010 2:04 PM

The_wakeful FTW.

All we got is zoning.

Posted by: , at November 2, 2010 2:10 PM

The_wakeful, that was one of the jokey segues used on NPR Morning Edition this morning.

We have a bunch of boring initiatives this year, which is actually a relief. The biggest one, in my opinion, is we are voting on going from a bi-yearly to a yearly legislative session. We are one of about five states or so who currently only meet every other year and it really mucks things up in tight economic times to try to project budgetary needs two years out. It usually means we end up scrambling at the last minute for funding and having to vote in "temporary" tax hikes to cover the predictable shortfalls. Fortunately it looks like other voters see this as a no-brainer issue as well and it will pass.

Posted by: katy at November 2, 2010 2:13 PM

wait hold up someone actually whatches/listens to NPR I thought that was something made up for SNL skits

Posted by: BigTodd at November 2, 2010 2:14 PM

Appropriately declined nouns get me hot and bothered.

Fer serious...there are so many morons running around saying "I am an alumni of (insert university name)" that it has me all grumpified. When someone correctly uses the singular "alumnus", my heart skips a beat and I have to stifle the urge to hug them.

Posted by: Jessie at November 2, 2010 2:34 PM

We have an amendment to raise the sales tax in the county by 1/4 of a cent, so that the sales tax is 7% instead of 6.75%. It's been on the ballot at least three times already, but never passes.

The other one was for a state constitutional amendment that would prevent anyone with a felony conviction from serving as a sheriff.

North Carolina, in case you are asking.

Posted by: Mrs Smith at November 2, 2010 2:48 PM

Ugh. I just had to go vote against Sharon Angle. That woman terrifies me. None of my referenda were nearly as exciting.

Posted by: Anne (in Reno) at November 2, 2010 2:48 PM

I'm also in Missouri, and Prop B is the most interesting referendum we have. Its opponents have had to resort to ridiculous conspiracy theory - "no more private pet ownership!" "government takeover of dog breeding!" et al. - to get people to join them. I take that as evidence that the proposition is a very good start, even if we have to finesse the details later.

Now. I'm all in favor of the proposition, both from the logical sense and from the whole dogs-are-awesome-to-us-let's-be-good-to-them perspective, but seriously? Those graphic ads in favor of the proposition, featuring mutilated and mistreated (and, in one case, dead) puppies? Completely and horribly unnecessary.

Posted by: jeem at November 2, 2010 3:19 PM

In Arkansas we got to vote on an amendment to make hunting and fishing a fucking right.
I voted no.
What an asinine thing to add to a state constitution.

Posted by: Jules at November 2, 2010 3:29 PM

*cues banjos*

Posted by: admin at November 2, 2010 3:39 PM

There is nothing good on the ballot this year in Florida. Just a bunch of boring shit. The best one was several years ago - an amendment to the state constitution to ensure that pregnant pigs in commercial farms are given a large enough cage. Now, I love all animals especially cute piggies but let that sink in for a second. On the constitution for the state, there is a bullshit amendment about gestating swine.

That sound was your brain breaking.

Posted by: stardust at November 2, 2010 3:46 PM

BigTodd >> It's true that the federal government might contest it, but legalization is a long fight in any case, and a mandate by the nation's most populous state would be a big step.

Given how much of a potential economic boon it would be and how little legalization actually links with access, opposition just makes absolutely no sense to me. That's just my editorializing, though.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at November 2, 2010 4:09 PM

DarthCorleone, I was'nt offering an opinion, I was just pointing out that the Obama administration has publically stated their intent.

Posted by: BigTodd at November 2, 2010 4:25 PM

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/11/02/voters-decide-ballot-initiatives-states/
A great review of some of the different referendums on the ballot, don't hate just cause it's on fox news

Posted by: BigTodd at November 2, 2010 5:30 PM

I'm in Arizona. We've got the legalize weed prop which I will of course be supporting for all the good it will do.

We've also got another one where they want to be allowed to take money from early childhood education and put it towards the budget deficit that they caused in the first place. I say screw them. They should find the money someplace else. Vote no on 302.

Oh and it's a lost cause but don't vote for Jan Brewer about the only people worse than her are Sharon Angle and Christin O'Donnell.

Posted by: wandereraz at November 2, 2010 6:46 PM

BigTodd >> I was worried that sentence might come off that way. That's why I said I was just editorializing. Apologies - it wasn't directed at you. Rather, I was shouting my bootless cries at the majority of an electorate that does not share my opinion.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at November 2, 2010 7:03 PM

I can't vote yet, but MrFig said there were 4 referendums about ending some really stupid alcohol-sales laws here in Dallas. Apparently in certain places you can't get alcohol in restaurants unless you join their clubs or something? They seem pretty silly, anyway.

Posted by: figgy at November 2, 2010 9:47 PM