Ballot Initiatives
Psychonautical Journalist Michael Pollan Is Finally Ready To End the War on Drugs
The evolution of Pollan's thinking reflects the confusion caused by arbitrary pharmacological distinctions.
Judge Tosses Out South Dakota Ballot Initiative Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
Voters approved it, but the governor resisted. A court came down on her side.
Drugs Declare Victory in War on Drugs
States where recreational use has been legalized now include about a third of the U.S. population.
Alaskans Approve Shift to Ranked-Choice Voting
St. Louis residents agree to shift to approval voting for local primaries.
California Voters Rebuked Their Governor, Legislators at the Ballot Box
With several ballot initiatives on Election Day, voters decisively rejected California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the state's politically dominant unions, and the legislature.
Biden's Drug Policies Are Still Oppressive
The reformed drug warrior opposes marijuana legalization and supports "mandatory rehabilitation" for people who violate the government’s pharmacological decrees.
America Wants Legal Marijuana More Than Ever Before. Catch Up, Joe Biden.
Gallup shows 68 percent supporting legalization.
Voters Used Ballot Initiatives To Defy Power-Mad Politicians
Tax hikes? Drug wars? Racial Preferences? Not today.
Michigan Voters Demand That Police Get Warrants for Electronic Data
Constitutional amendment overwhelmingly passes.
Massachusetts Voters Affirm the Right To Repair Your Own Car
The most expensive ballot initiative campaign in Massachusetts history ended with a resounding victory for property rights.
On Election Night, the Real Winner Was Drugs
Plus: Presidential results still unclear (but Trump declares victory in a few states anyway), California approves Proposition 22, and more...
Montana Becomes the 15th State to Legalize Marijuana
The ballot initiative allows recreational consumers to grow their own or buy cannabis from state-licensed stores.
California Voters Embrace Uber and Lyft While Rejecting Rent Control and Affirmative Action
Reason's roundup of state races and ballot initiatives
South Dakota Voters Legalize Medical and Recreational Marijuana
It is the first state to do both at the same time.
Oregon Becomes the First State to Decriminalize Use of All Drugs
The initiative makes noncommercial possession of controlled substances a citable offense punishable by a $100 fine.
Oregon Becomes the First State to Legalize Psilocybin
The ballot initiative allows adults to use the promising psychedelic at state-licensed "psilocybin service centers."
Arizona Voters Approve Marijuana Legalization
The initiative makes Arizona the 13th state to allow recreational use.
Mississippi Voters Approve Medical Use of Cannabis
Mississippi is the 35th state, and the second in the Deep South, to recognize marijuana as a medicine.
D.C. Voters Tell Cops and Prosecutors to Leave Psychedelic Users Alone
The ballot measure applies to noncommercial production, distribution, and possession of "entheogenic plants and fungi."
New Jersey Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Marijuana Legalization
The constitutional amendment charges state legislators and regulators with writing specific rules.
Illinois' Governor Begs Citizens To Let Government Tax Them Even More
Lawmakers are bribing citizens with a tiny tax break in exchange for the power to jack up income tax rates down the line.
Shrooms Are on the D.C. Ballot
The reformers who canvassed for signatures for the initiative say they're optimistic it will pass despite objections from Congress, which controls D.C. spending.
San Francisco Voters Will Have a Chance To Undo Regulations Strangling Small Businesses
Prop H will make it easier for businesses to set up shop or readapt their space, all while preventing nosey neighbors from bringing everything to a halt.
Massachusetts and Alaska May Join Maine in Letting Voters Rank Their Choices
Two November ballot initiatives would introduce ranked-choice voting in two more states.
Massachusetts Voters Will Decide (Again) Who Is Allowed To Fix Their Cars
The costly fight over a “right to repair” proposal has led to a lot of cybersecurity fearmongering.
Affirmative Action in College Admissions Will Be on California's Ballot in November
A November ballot initiative would pit minority communities against each other.
California's Job-Killing A.B. 5 Scaled Back, but Only for Some Professions
Rideshare drivers and delivery people are still going to have to beg voters to let them work.
Colorado Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal From Housing Activists Who Claimed Inaccurate Election Guidance Doomed Their Ballot Initiative
City officials repeatedly gave activists false information about the requirements for getting their initiative on the ballot.
Lyft, Uber Get Last-Minute Reprieve Before They Would Have Canceled Services in California
Lawmakers and courts are trying to force them to put drivers on their payrolls. They're threatening to take a freeway out of the state entirely.
California Voters Will Decide Whether They Want To End Cash Bail Once and for All
Bail bond companies fight to protect their industry, while some civil rights groups worry the reforms won't actually reduce pretrial detentions.
California's Attorney General Decides How Ballot Initiatives Are Summarized. He's Happy To Abuse This Power.
Xavier Becerra conceals tax increases and reframes a gig economy proposition to hurt its chances.
Boulder Officials Told Campaigns They Had Until August to Qualify for the City Ballot. Now They Say the Deadline Was Actually in June.
The switch threatens an initiative to repeal Boulder's restrictions on unrelated people living together.
San Francisco Has Added a Lot of Jobs but Not Enough Housing. City Voters Approved a Ballot Initiative That Cuts Back on the Jobs.
The city's voters, politicians, and activists should stop trying to dictate how exactly their city will change over the years. They’re not very good at it.
Unions Aiming to Repeal California's Property Tax Caps
Californians' tax rates are among the nation's highest in almost every category, but their property tax levels have remained reasonable. That could change soon.
Illinois Passes Constitutional Amendment to Allow a Progressive Income Tax
Voters will decide next year whether to impose it.
Denver Mushroom Decriminalization Appears to Have Passed [UPDATED]
"Whether you're using this plant for a medical reason, or a spiritual reason, or a recreational reason, you should not be going to jail or losing your children for it."
Idaho Lawmaker Wants To Make It Harder for Voters To Ignore Him Via Ballot Initiatives
It's already very hard to force issues like medical marijuana legalization to a vote there.
California Voters to Decide the Future of Their State's Bail System
Industry representatives succeed in forcing a referendum on reforms passed by lawmakers.
Bail Bond Industry Attempting to Force California Jail Reforms to the Ballot Box
A law signed in August will eliminate cash bail entirely in the Golden State, and quite a few jobs in the process.
Maine's GOP Congressman Sues to Stop Ranked-Choice Voting
Bruce Poliquin is currently ahead. But a new requirement that he get a majority vote could unseat him.
Florida Voters Passed an Initiative That Simultaneously Bans Office Vaping and Offshore Drilling
Amendment 9 bundled two seemingly unrelated prohibitions into one ban-happy ballot initiative.
California Rent Control Ballot Initiative Goes Down in Flames. Free Marketers Should Not Be Too Hasty in Celebrating Its Demise.
Prop 10 is dead, but support for rent control is alive and well in the Golden State.
Washington State Carbon Tax Initiative Loses
Did voters recognize it as a green pork-barrel scheme?
California Is Starting to Make Halting Progress Toward Alleviating Its Housing Shortage. This Ballot Initiative Could Kill That Progress.
Prop. 10 would give cities free reign to reimpose rent control.
Fargo Considers Whether to Turn Local Elections into a Voting System of Likes (and Dislikes)
Measure 1 would introduce "approval voting" to the city, meaning voters wouldn't have to abandon independent and third-party choices.
California's Animal Rights Initiative Is an Abuse of the Ballot Box
Voters shouldn't be asked to make decisions about how much space a chicken needs in its cage.
