While coverage of the 2016 presidential election (which is still 12 months away) ramps up, it's easy to forget that tomorrow is still Election Day. The national political stakes may not be high, but there are a number of ballot measures that could have resounding impacts on state and city-level politics.
Here's a quick preview of some of the initiatives that voters across the country will be considering:
Maine
Campaign-finance rules could be drastically changed if Maine voters approve Question 1 on the ballot. Backed by a grassroots coalition of good-government advocates, the measure would bolster the state's public campaign-funding system to better compete with increases in outside spending, increase penalties for those who violate campaign-finance laws, and work to shine a light on dark money. Here's a good explainer on the measure from the Bangor Daily News.
Voters in Portland, the state's biggest city, will also consider a measure that would increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Portland's city council recently voted to raise the city's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Critics have vehemently argued that the city's economy cannot handle an increase to $15, while supporters say it's necessary for workers to earn a living wage.
Washington
Seattle residents will consider tomorrow whether to institute an innovative public campaign-finance system that would give voters $100 in vouchers, to distribute to candidates as they see fit. This would be a big victory for campaign-finance reformers who see vouchers as a promising way to get big-money influence out of politics.
On the other side of the state, in Spokane, a bold new Worker Bill of Rights would unilaterally improve conditions for the city's workers. As In These Times has reported, the ballot measure would increase the minimum wage, guarantee equal pay for equal work, protect against wrongful termination, and prioritize worker rights over corporate rights.
Statewide, Washingtonians will decide on a controversial tax measure that critics say amounts to nothing more than "legislative blackmail." Long-time anti-tax crusader Tim Eyman is backing the initiative, which would cut the state's sales tax by 1 percent if the legislature doesn't reinstate a constitutional amendment that requires a two-thirds majority to pass any tax hike.
Ohio
Ohioans will vote on two major ballot measures tomorrow-one that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana and another that would make the state's redistricting process bipartisan.
Many marijuana-legalization advocates are skeptical of the ballot initiative, given that deep-pocketed investors who stand to gain a monopoly over commercial growing rights are bankrolling the measure. Another measure on the Ohio ballot aims to nullify the legalization initiative, if it passes.
Also on the ballot is a measure that would work to reduce political gerrymandering in the state's redistricting process. The current system uses a five-member partisan board that critics say has created district borders that reduce the power and representation of minorities across the state. The measure would reform the system by creating a seven-member board appointed in a more bipartisan manner.
Mississippi
As a state that is perennially on the bottom of national education rankings, voters in Mississippi will decide on a measure that advocates say is an attempt to improve education standards by changing the way the state funds public schools. The measure would force the legislature to adhere to a 1997 state law that was meant to increase public-school funding allotments. However, the law's funding formula has only been met twice. If this measure is passed, lawmakers would be required to fully fund public schools, or relinquish their power to a county judge.
From campaign finance and tax reform to public-education funding and minimum wages, these are all likely to be central to the 2016 presidential election. And tomorrow, we'll get a peak at how some possible policy solutions fare with voters.
