Local measure results rundown: Fracking, Marijuana, Minimum wage and GMOs
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November 5, 2014
By Josh Altic
Below is Ballotpedia's post-election summary of results from some key local races concerning hot-button issues that affect the lives of every resident in the area.
Fracking
Ohio:
- See also: Notable Ohio measures
Activists in Youngstown, Ohio, failed for a fourth time to pass their "Community Bill of Rights" and fracking ban. Their Issue 4 measure received only 42 percent approval, down from their last attempt in May of 2014 that garnered 46 percent approval. Other anti-fracking "Bills of Rights" in Ohio fared just as poorly, with measures defeated in Kent and Gates Mills. The only fracking ban that found favor with voters in Ohio yesterday was approved in the city of Athens, giving anti-fracking folks a score of one for four in the Buckeye State.
California:
- See also: Notable California measures
Fracking bans did markedly better in California, with two of the three measures passing. Voters in Santa Barbara County decisively rejected Measure P. Perhaps the 20 to 1 advantage in campaign spending helped expedite this defeat; Measure P opponents spent over $7 million, while supporters barely broke a quarter million in spending. The slightly lower-profile measures in Mendocino County and San Benito County were approved by voters.
Texas:
- See also: Notable Texas measures
Texas, a state to which the oil and gas industry has brought substantial wealth, was the only state to feature a perfect approval record for anti-fracking measures, with just one ban proposed and approved. This measure was approved in Denton and is the first local law in the state to permanently prohibit the process of hydraulic fracturing.
Marijuana
Marijuana was featured heavily in both state and local measures yesterday. For a rundown of statewide results on the issue see this page.
Washington, D.C.:
- See also: Notable Washington, D.C, measures
Everyone interested in the fate of cannabis prohibition turned their eyes towards the nation's capital, where Initiative 71 was proposed to legalize marijuana according to city law. Those who favor legal marijuana were not disappointed. Nearly 65 percent of voters approved the initiative. Now, however, there will have to be some conflict resolution between the city government and the federal government - especially Congress - as law makers try to smooth out the conflicts between the capital's new law and federal law prohibiting recreational marijuana use.
Michigan:
- See also: Notable Michigan measures
In Michigan, supporters of marijuana legalization were, perhaps, a little disappointed by local results. The Safer Michigan Coalition saw their near perfect record with local legalization initiatives tarnished by four outright losses and one measure that, when all ballots were counted, ended up behind by just six votes, making it too close to call before results are certified. Six measures making small amounts of marijuana legal according to local law were approved, giving the pro-marijuana enthusiasts a winning score of just over 50 percent at the polls yesterday. For information on all local measures concerning marijuana in Michigan, visit this page.
Colorado:
- See also: Notable Colorado measures
Colorado featured a smorgasbord of local measures concerning marijuana. Some asked to legalize retail sale of pot and marijuana shops, while others asked to prohibit the operation of pot shops. In the end the election results were just as mixed; two prohibitions against retail sale of marijuana were approved and two were defeated. All five of the measures seeking to explicitly allow the retail sale of marijuana, however, were defeated by the time all the ballots were counted, although one was only behind by 18 votes. For details see this page.
Maine:
- See also: Notable Maine measures
In Maine, one measure seeking local legalization was approved and one was defeated.
New Mexico:
- See also: Notable New Mexico measures
Voters in Bernalillo and Santa Fe counties got to express their opinion on legal marijuana through advisory questions. Although no legally binding effect was produced, voters in both counties approved an end to pot prohibition, with an approval rate of nearly 60 percent in Bernalillo County and an overwhelming 73 percent in Santa Fe County.
California:
- See also: Notable California measures
A variety of proposals seeking to increase or decrease regulation of medical marijuana cultivation and dispensaries were seen by voters in California. For details about each measure and its results see this page.
Massachusetts:
- See also: Notable Massachusetts measures
Results for the advisory-only public policy questions featured on ballots in eight legislative districts are proving illusive. They will be posted here as they are released to the public.
Minimum wage
In most of the places where local voters saw minimum wage increase measures, they approved them. Whether in San Francisco or Oakland, California or in local advisory questions across Wisconsin, voters mostly said "yes." One measure, however, seeking a $12 per hour minimum wage in a small city called Eureka in northern California was rejected by a margin of 62 to 38 percent.
Genetically Modified Organisms
Two local measures, one in Humboldt County, California, and one in Maui County, Hawaii, sought to prohibit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Both measures were approved as of the last vote count. The very high-profile and contentious Maui County measure, however, was a very close race with just 51 percent approval. Opponents of this measure broke local campaign spending records by amassing a war chest of over $9.7 million, largely donated by Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences, LLC, the two companies that will be hit the hardest by the new restrictions on GMOs.
See also
- Local fracking on the ballot
- Local wages and pay on the ballot
- Local GMO on the ballot
- Local marijuana on the ballot