Voters decide dozens of ballot measures that affect life, death, taxes and more

In electing officials to make and enforce laws, voters in dozens of states also decide on more than 140 ballot propositions that affect the way people legally live, work and die.

While 10 states are considering measures related to abortion or reproductive rights in Tuesday's votes, about a half-dozen states are considering legalizing marijuana for recreational or medical use. About two dozen measures focus on future elections, including several that explicitly ban noncitizens from voting. Other government measures affect wages, taxes, housing and education.

Many of the ballot measures were initiated through citizen initiatives that bypass state legislatures, but others were put before voters by state legislators.

Voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. The election is the third vote on the issue in both North Dakota and South Dakota. In Nebraska, voters are considering a pair of measures that would legalize medical marijuana and regulate the industry.

About half of the states currently allow recreational marijuana and about a dozen more states allow medical marijuana.

In Massachusetts, a ballot measure would legalize the possession and supervised consumption of natural psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms. It would be the third state to do so, after Oregon and Colorado.

A measure in Arizona crafted amid a surge in immigration would make it a state crime to enter from a foreign country except through official ports of entry and provide public benefits to someone already in the U.S. illegally using false documents to apply.

The border crossing measure is similar to a challenged Texas law that the U.S. Justice Department says violates federal jurisdiction.

A proposed amendment to the Kentucky Constitution would allow lawmakers to use state funds for private schools. A Colorado measure would create a constitutional right to school choice for K-12 students.

In Nebraska, voters will decide whether to repeal a new state law that requires state money to fund private school tuition.

Most states offer some type of state-sponsored program to cover the cost of private schools.

Missouri voters will decide whether to legalize sports betting. A total of 38 states and Washington, DC already allow sports betting, which has grown rapidly since the US Supreme Court cleared it in 2018.

A Colorado proposal would make it the second state after California to impose a sales tax on firearms and ammunition, with revenue going primarily to crime victim services. The federal government already taxes the sale of guns and ammunition.

North Dakota voters are considering a measure to repeal the property tax. If approved, local governments could need more than $3 billion in replacement revenue from the state every two years.

A measure in South Dakota would eliminate the state's sales tax on groceries, a move that has already been implemented in most other states.

A measure in Oregon would raise the minimum tax on large corporations to fund a tax rebate for residents.

California voters will decide whether to repeal a 1995 law that limits local rent control ordinances. If approved, it would pave the way for local governments to expand limits on the rates landlords could charge.

A first-of-its-kind proposal in Arizona links property taxes to homelessness efforts. It would allow property owners to seek a property tax refund if they incur expenses because a local government refuses to enforce ordinances against illegal camping, loitering, fraud, drinking alcohol and drugs in public and other things.

Voters in Washington state are considering whether to repeal a 2021 law that caps carbon emissions and creates a market for companies that exceed that limit to buy allowances from others. Washington was the second state, after California, to launch such a program.

Republican-led legislatures in eight states – Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin – have proposed state constitutional amendments that would require only citizens to vote.

A 1996 U.S. law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and many states already have similar laws. But Republicans have stressed the potential for non-citizens to vote following an influx of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Although it was rare in the past for non-citizens to be able to vote, pre-election checks of voter rolls revealed that potential non-citizens were registered in several states.

Some municipalities in California, Maryland, Vermont and Washington, DC allow non-citizens to vote in certain local elections.

Connecticut voters are considering whether to allow no-excuse absentee voting, joining most states that already allow it.

Measures in Montana and South Dakota would create open primaries, with candidates from all parties appearing on the same ballot and a certain number advancing to the general election. Measures in Colorado, Idaho and Nevada also call for open primaries with candidates from all parties, with a certain number advancing to the general election through ranked-choice voting. A measure in Oregon would require ranked-choice voting in both primary and general elections.

Ranked choice voting is currently in use in Alaska and Maine. But Alaska voters are considering whether to repeal provisions of a 2020 initiative that established open primaries and ranked-choice general elections.

Arizona voters are deciding between competing voting proposals that would require either open primaries with candidates from all parties or the state's current method of partisan primaries. If both opposing measures pass, the provision that receives the most votes will take effect. However, the decision on this could be left to a court.

An initiative in Ohio would create a citizens' commission to oversee the redistricting of U.S. House and state seats, taking that task off the hands of elected officials.

Ballot measures in Missouri and Alaska would gradually raise minimum wages to $15 an hour while requiring paid sick leave. A California measure would gradually raise the minimum wage to $18 an hour for all employers.

A measure in Nebraska would require many employers to provide sick leave but would not result in a change in wages.

A measure in Massachusetts would gradually increase the minimum wage for tipped workers until it matches the rate for other workers. In contrast, a measure in Arizona would result in tipped workers being paid 25% less than the minimum wage as long as tips take their total wages above the minimum wage threshold.

Voters in West Virginia will decide whether to amend the state constitution to ban medically assisted suicide. The measure would conflict with ten states and Washington, DC, where physician-assisted suicide is legal.