Abortion and gay marriage among U.S. ballot issues
Pastor Dale Morgan
Tuesday October 31, 10:34 PM Reuters
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Abortion and gay marriage among U.S. ballot issues*
By Jim Christie
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apart from deciding whether Republicans keep
control of the U.S. Congress, Americans will vote next week on more than
200 state measures many politicians consider too hot to handle.
They will cast ballots on explosive cultural issues like abortion, gay
marriage and illegal immigration. In some states, voters will decide
whether to raise the minimum wage, something the lawmakers in Washington
have been loath to do.
"The issues tend to have two things in common: a frustrated electorate
and politicians who are afraid to touch the issue for fear of lasting
political damage," said Bill Whalen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution
in California.
There will be more measures on the November ballot than in any year
except 1996 and 1914, according to the Rothenberg Political Report.
"You see action on the state level because of gridlock on the federal
level," said Jack Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna
College.
Sorting through the issues can take considerable time. California has a
191-page guide to its 13 measures, which includes one that would require
doctors to notify parents if their teenage daughters seek abortions.
Oregon has a similar measure and abortion is a top issue in South
Dakota, where voters are being asked to repeal one of the nation's
strictest abortion bans. Abortion also colours debate over a Missouri
measure to allow embryonic stem cell research. Celebrities appear in TV
ads for and against the initiative.
"There is a fundamental divide (over abortion) among Americans," said
Michael Shires, a professor of public policy at Pepperdine University.
"All these initiatives, I think, reflect that divide."
BOOST FOR REPUBLICANS?
New Jersey's highest court last week backed the same rights for gay
couples as married heterosexuals but left it to state lawmakers to
decide if same-sex unions may be called marriage. That decision may
rally social conservatives to propose measures banning gay marriage.
Bans on same-sex nuptials will appear on ballots in Arizona, Colorado,
Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin,
efforts mirroring successful state measures in 2004 to prevent gay
marriages. The issue could be especially helpful to Republican Sen.
George Allen in Virginia, who is in a tight race for re-election.
Pollster Scott Rasmussen of the Rasmussen Reports expects most of the
measures to pass. "In virtually all states, Vermont and Massachusetts
being the exceptions, the majority of people prefer the traditional
definition of marriage," he said.
Such sentiment may help beleaguered Republicans win votes in tightly
contested congressional races, said Scott Keeter of the Pew Research
Centre. "It continues to function as a wedge issue, with a solid
majority of Republicans against gay marriage and Democrats split on the
issue."
With a surly public mood over Iraq working against them, Republicans are
hoping other measures on social issues -- some substantive, some
symbolic -- will work to their advantage. Michigan, for instance, may
vote to scrap some affirmative action programs and Wisconsin may allow
the death penalty.
In Arizona, voters are considering denying bail to illegal foreigners
and barring them from some state aid. They may also designate English as
the state's official language. Coloradans may vote to direct the state
attorney general to sue the U.S. government to enforce immigration laws.
Democrats hope their followers will be invigorated by other state
measures such as raising the minimum wage which is on the ballot in six
states including Missouri, Montana and Ohio where incumbent Republicans
are in close Senate races.
"We're in a situation where some of the ballot measures may energise a
small percentage of the people, and in a close race it could make a
difference," Rasmussen said.