On the ballot

The looming vote in November threatens to upset the balance of power inside the beltway. But voters across the country — including in Nevada — will do more this November than just pass judgment on incumbent politicians. They’ll also support or oppose a number of ballot initiatives, providing another measure of which way the country is trending politically.

Perhaps the most important ballot question facing Nevadans will be proposal to limit voter participation in the selection of judges. Such proposals have failed before in the Silver State. The fate of this measure rests on whether voters believe ceding some of their power over judges will result in a higher quality judiciary.

Meanwhile, residents of Arizona and South Dakota will vote on medical marijuana initiatives, while Callifornians have the chance to pave the way for full-blown legalization. Prop 19 would legalize up to an ounce of pot for personal use — with or without a doctor’s OK. Polls show residents are closely divided on a question that could have long-term ramifications for the nation’s drug policy.

Keep an eye also on three states — Arizona, Oklahoma and Colorado — where voters have a chance to reject the ObamaCare health insurance mandate. Top-ranking Democrats — particularly Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — keep insisting that the precursor to socialized medicine passed by Congress earlier this year remains wildly popular among the American people, but something tells us voters in these states might say otherwise.

In Utah, South Dakota, South Carolina and Arizona, voters will consider proposals to require a secret ballot in union organizing elections. This again runs counter to the Democratic embrace of the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, which would essentially get rid of such secret elections, making it much easier to intimidate workers into forming a union.

In Massachusetts, a major sales tax cut is on the ballot, while Florida voters may repeal their state’s “public” financing system for political campaigns, Arizona will consider a ban on state and local affirmative action programs and Oklahomans must vote up or down on a proposal to make English the state’s “common and unifying language.”

Democrats are already anticipating major losses in the House and potentially the Senate this November. But to make things worse, they’re not likely to be overjoyed with how many of these ballot questions play out.