2010 Ballot Initiatives: The Strangest Choices for Voters This November

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October 11, 2010 • 4:00 pm PDT
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Each election day, buried under the votes for political office holders are ballot initiatives. Most of these are boring measures about the state budget or bond issues, and sometimes they are new amendments to a state's constitution. Occasionally, an initiative gets a lot of attention. This year, for instance, California's Prop 19 (legalizing marijuana) and Prop 23 (preventing the state from enacting its climate change law) are both in the news. As are provisions from Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma, which undermine the new health-care bill by eliminating a mandate to purchase health care in those states. And then, sometimes, ballot questions are a little bit amusing, showing off some of each state's unique foibles and issues. Here are some of the best on the ballot this year. If you want to learn more, check out Ballotpedia.

Image: Ballot paper for the Manchester TIF referendum, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from frankieroberto's photostream

Morgan Clendaniel

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