A Major Reform of California's Environmental Regulations Looks Destined for Failure
While votes are still being counted, a majority of voters appear to have said no to a major overhaul of the California Environmental Quality Act.
Ballot Initiatives
Houston Voters Approve Restrictions on Marijuana Arrests and a Ban on No-Knock Police Raids
The first provision might curtail local pot busts, but the second one is unlikely to have a meaningful impact.
Colorado Votes for More Spending and Higher Taxes
Voters passed Proposition NN and Amendment 87, raising the state spending cap and getting rid of its flat income tax, respectively.
Tax Cuts Won and Lost in the Midterms
Voters punished Republicans at the polls, but their appetite for lower taxes proved more complicated at ballot initiatives.
Postgame
Plus: What happened in Texas, what happened in North Carolina, what happened with tech, and more...
Midterms 2026: Data Centers Out, Reproductive Freedom In
Voters also rejected automated license plate readers, and the idea of transgender girls playing on girls' sports teams in schools.
Ohio Leads a Wave of Local Data Center Bans
Voters resoundingly approved data center bans on Tuesday, often in towns where no centers exist or are planned.
Massachusetts Voters Overwhelmingly Reject an Attempt To Repeal Marijuana Legalization
If anything, a decade of experience with legal recreational cannabis seems to have reinforced opposition to pot prohibition in the Bay State.
Quacks Vote To Approve Duck Bills in D.C. and Denver
Two measures passed banning the sale and production of foie gras. But the campaigns were based on shaky logic with a dash of class warfare.
Washington, D.C.'s Proposed Foie Gras Ban Is Built on a Lie
I spent an evening at the city's final stand for foie gras before voters decide Initiative 86, which would outlaw its sale. I came away wondering whether ducks and geese are the ones who need saving.
Massachusetts Voters Don't Seem Inclined To Repeal Marijuana Legalization Next Week
Polls suggest support for a legal recreational market has increased since voters approved it a decade ago.
California Voters Have a Chance To Address the State's Broken Environmental Regulations
The California Environmental Quality Act has led to long delays, enormous costs, and special interests that use the process to stop projects they dislike.
Jared Polis Warns Colorado's Progressive Tax Ballot Measure Could 'Cripple' the Economy
Voters in Colorado will decide a pair of ballot initiatives next week that could secure the state's low-tax reputation or shatter it.
Will the Wealth Tax Fail?
Plus: Brazilian presidential elections, passing by Cuba, Taiwanese families who hate Arizona's schools, and more...
California Republicans Pushing New Voter ID Law Are Motivated by Trump's 'Stolen Election' Fantasies
Proposition 39's requirements aren't overly obtrusive, only unnecessary.
How the Billionaire Tax Could Make California Poorer
One upcoming ballot measure would expand the state's taxing power. A lesser-known measure would limit it. Which will win?
California Democrats May Have To Choose Between 2 Republicans in November's Gubernatorial Race
California initiatives will fuel an already fiery November election, and the state's top-two primary might end up excluding Democrats in the governor's race.
The Perils of Viewing Psilocybin Strictly As a Psychiatric Medication
The most common uses of "magic mushrooms" will never gain FDA approval.
Washington's State Capital Just Voted Against Increasing the Minimum Wage, Unemployment
Olympia residents apparently learned from Seattle’s experience that minimum wage hikes do not improve the welfare of the worst off in society.
Massachusetts Town Votes To Boycott Any Business That 'Sustains Israel's Apartheid'
City officials should spend and invest public funds in the most prudent manner possible.
Utah's New Union Law Faces a Ballot Box Battle
Lawmakers passed sweeping limits on public sector union power, but opponents have gathered record-breaking signatures to attempt to overturn it in 2026.
How Trump Triggered California's Redistricting Fight
Don't believe the GOP's 'principled' opposition to Prop. 50
Will D.C. Repeal the Law That Has Cut Tipped Workers' Earnings by $1,800 a Year?
The law that was supposed to boost their wealth has left most of them poorer instead.
Justice Kavanaugh Stays District Court Order in Ohio Ballot Initiative Dispute
Not all of the action on the shadow docket involves President Trump.
Election Reforms Blocked by Elections
Ranked choice voting and nonpartisan primaries suffered a bad election cycle in 2024.
Missouri Narrowly Approves Sports Betting Measure
More than a month after Election Day, the race has been called in favor of Amendment 2.
The New York Times Claimed D.C.'s Minimum Wage Hike Created Jobs. We Exposed Their Error.
The reporting was cited by One Fair Wage as proof that its policy worked.
California Bucks Alaska and Missouri by Rejecting Minimum Wage Ballot Initiative
The Democratic state displayed more economic literacy than its Republican counterparts.
West Virginia Voters Passed a Constitutional Amendment Prohibiting Assisted Suicide
But the amendment won't prevent the state from killing you.
California Voters Opt for Orderly Urbanism on Election Day
Golden State voters decisively rejected progressive approaches to crime and housing.
Dallas Voters Nix an All-Purpose Excuse for Police Harassment: 'I Smelled Marijuana'
The ballot initiative says a whiff of weed does not establish probable cause for a search or seizure, which was already doubtful in light of hemp legalization.
Most People Support School Choice. Why Won't They Vote For It?
School choice advocates work hard, but public school interest groups work harder.
Arizona Rejects Restrictions on Governor's Emergency Powers
The ballot initiative would have put guardrails on the abuse of power from governors who declared states of emergency.
This Week's Election Results Are a Discouraging Sign for Drug Policy Reformers
Despite a few bright spots, the disappointing returns suggest that the road to pharmacological freedom will be rockier than activists hoped.
Missouri Voters Reject Court Fee Hike for Police Pensions
Voters rejected Amendment 6, keeping court costs low and pushing lawmakers to fund law enforcement pensions responsibly.
Colorado Might Allow More People To Provide Veterinary Care
A ballot initiative to create a new category of medical providers for animals is winning approval, though votes are still being counted.
Ranked Choice Voting Initiatives Massively Fail
Majorities in nine states vote to maintain partisan elections.
Arizonans Approve Life in Prison for Sex Trafficking a Minor
This isn't a policy that corrects for injustice but one that increases it.
California's Rent Control Initiative Goes Down in Flames
A related initiative preventing the state's most prolific rent control–supporting nonprofit from funding future initiatives is headed for a narrow victory.
Pro-Choice Abortion Initiatives Pass in Seven Out of Ten States
Most of these weren't close calls at all.
Voters Reject Marijuana Legalization in North Dakota and South Dakota
Residents of the two deep-red states have approved medical use of cannabis but remain leery of going further.
Massachusetts Voters Reject Decriminalization of 5 Natural Psychedelics
The initiative also would have authorized state-licensed "psychedelic therapy centers."
Massachusetts Voters Protect the Right To Work for Tips
The tug-of-war over what role the government should play in regulating compensation for tipped workers has subverted typical partisan lines.
Nebraska Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Medical Marijuana
Whether the policy will actually be implemented depends on the outcome of a legal challenge.
Washingtonians Uphold State's Climate Change Program
Initiative 2117 would have struck down the state’s cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions program, which has been criticized for its high cost and unclear results.
Florida's Marijuana Legalization Initiative Fails To Pass
A majority of the state's voters said yes to Amendment Three, but that wasn't enough to clear the 60 percent threshold required to pass a Florida ballot initiative.
New Cities Offer a Chance To Rethink How Local Government Works
California would benefit from building more housing and having more experimentation with how public services are delivered.
