The news of Donald Trump winning the presidency and the overall victory for the Republican Party is practically the only thing that anyone is talking about right now. Since Republicans managed to keep their majority in both the senate and house of representatives resulting in Washington now being completely controlled by the GOP. But the American people voted for more than who’s going to lead their government. They also voted on 161 other issues such as the legalization of marijuana, raising the minimum wage and the death penalty. I am going to break down the most voted on ballot measures this election.
Minimum wage:
Whether to raise the minimum wage or not was voted on in Arizona, Washington, South Dakota, Maine and Colorado. And the minimum wage will increase in the states of Arizona, Washington, Maine and Colorado! Additionally, people in Arizona will now have a right to paid sick leave. Unfortunately, though, in South Dakota, the minimum wage for young people will decrease.
Marijuana:
In total nine states voted on ballot measures about Marijuana. The difference is that some are voting on whether or not to allow recreational use and some for medical use.
Medical Use
In Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota voted on whether or not to permit the use of medical marijuana and they all voted yes. So in the future medical use of marijuana will be allowed in those states. In Montana, medical marijuana is already legal, but they voted on a connected issue; “whether to repeal the three-patient limit for medical marijuana providers.” which they decided to do so now there is no three-patient limit anymore
Recreational Use
The issue of legalization recreational marijuana use was voted on in these five states: California, Maine, Nevada, Massachusets, and Arizona. Californa, Maine, Nevada, Massachusets and the people voted for the legalization. In Arizona, though the “No” side won by 82 000 votes (1,011,836-929,518)
Gun Control:
In Nevada people voted yes to expanding background checks for guns, so now all gun transfers have to go through a licensed gun dealer. This could help keep guns out of the hands of people who for some reason can’t be trusted with them. The citizens of California voted yes to “banning large-capacity ammunition magazines and requiring a background check to purchase ammo.” Another state that voted for increased gun control is Washinton where courts now have the power to remove a person’s firearm if they decide that they are too dangerous.
A state that unlike the previous states voted against and not for an expansion of gun control is Maine. The people of Maine were voting on a law that would require “background checks before gun sales and between unlicensed gun dealers.
Health Care:
In Colorado, 79.7% of voters were against the creating of ColoradoCare, which would provide universal healthcare for all residents of Colorado. Colorado also voted on another ballot measure related to health care, which they voted yes to and was about if they should legalize “assisted death for terminally ill patients who have six months or less to live.”
California voted on two ballot measure. The first one was about whether or not to start regulating the price of drugs, which they voted no to increased regulation. The second one was about whether to keep the current hospital fee program or not and they voted yes to this.
Death Penalty:
Nebraska voted to repeal a law that banned the death penalty, so there is now death penalty in Nebraska. Oklahoma now has the right to “impose capital punishment and set methods of execution, such as the death penalty.” In California, a state where they voted on a large number of ballot measures, the voters decided not to repeal the death penalty, resulting in it remaining a form of punishment in California.
Other:
Alabama voted yes to “A constitutional amendment prohibiting businesses from making rules about union membership.” Giving workers greater opportunity to organize, fight for, and expand their rights.
There is a lot of ballot measures that I didn’t mention here that might impact the state that you live in, or maybe you’re just curious about what Californians think about condom use in porn. To find out what the American people voted for in all of the other ballot measures click either here or here.
