Which state Ballot Measures would you vote for?

[KrazyHorse]

It prohibits chicken coops.

[Kirnwaffen]

This amendment deletes the section of the Constitution which says an unmarried woman must be fourteen years old or older in order to consent to sexual intercourse. Deleting this section would allow the state legislature to set the age of consent. Currently, the state legislature has the age of consent set at sixteen for most cases.

Hmm, seems to me this probably should have been dealt with a while ago...

[Perfection]

Not voting for the Minnesota one, don't care about the other things in loser states.

[Seedle]

Why, why, why, why, why, WHY do people have such a bee in their bonnets against gay marriage/ adoption? Just makes no ****ing sense....

Let's see, legalize marijuana, teacher pay on performance, embryonic stem cell research, raise age of consent, legalize assisted suicide all seem good. Others I would consider, but am not sure about since I no nothing about what, specifically, the laws say, and really don't care since I don't live in those states: Alternative energy, farm animal bill, civil service credit for armed services, modernize oath of office.

Laws that are most likely made of fail: English as official language, tobacco prevention.

As long as their raising the age of consent, shouldn't it be to 18?

[The Emperor Fabulous]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi

Massachusetts Question 1 - Eliminate Income Tax

I would vote for all of these.

I think getting rid of income tax would be great.

You know, I kind of like having bridges and police and teachers and lower property taxes.

Very happy you can't vote in my state

[onodera]

What? RAISE AoC to 16? What is it now in SC then, 14? 12?

[Dinner]

This is how I'll be voting on the California state propositions and the San Diego city proposition.
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STATE PROPSITIONS

Proposition 1A. Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train -- State of California - Authorizes $9.95 billion in state bonds to pay for the construction of a new 300 mph train route between Anaheim and San Francisco with expansions planned for San Diego, Irvine, and Sacramento. We need this as an alternative to traveling by car especially since our state's infrastructure has been neglected for decades. As an added bonus this project will create tens of thousands of jobs at exactly the time we need them to help fight the recession. I'm voting yes.

Proposition 2. Standards for Confining Farm Animals -- State of California - Sounds nice on paper but in truth the proposed rules are so far out there that even pro-animal UC Davis's study admits that this proposition will put 95% of California's egg farmers/ranchers out of business. This will destroy jobs in rural areas which already have high unemployment and it will mean virtually all of our chicken and eggs will soon come from out of state instead of keeping local farmers in business. I'm voting no.

Proposition 3. Children's Hospital Bond Act. Grant Program -- State of California - We all love Children but just 4 years ago Children's Hospitals got a $10 billion gift from taxpayers and less then half of that has even been spent yet. Add in that these hospitals are privately owned instead of publicly owned and you have a compelling case that they should pay their own bills rather then relaying on handouts from the taxpayers. I'm voting no because they still have $5 billion on hand and shouldn't get more free money until they really need it.

Proposition 4. Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor's Pregnancy -- State of California - this anti-abortion garbage has been voted down three times in the past but the crazies and zealots keep putting it on every ballot. Screw them, I'm voting no.

Proposition 5. Nonviolent Drug Offenses, Sentencing, Parole and Rehabilitation -- State of California - Our prisons are over crowded so let's get the nonviolent drug offenders into rehab instead of clogging up our prisons. This one is a no brainer, I'm voting yes.

Proposition 6. Police and Law Enforcement Funding. Criminal Penalties and Laws -- State of California - No, no, a million times no. This proposition would make yet another mandatory spending program which could never be cut. It is precisely the type of garbage which has caused our current structural budget deficit plus if you increase mandatory spending on this issue then you have to decrease spending on everything else or raise taxes. I'm voting no.

Proposition 7. Renewable Energy Generation -- State of California - Sounds nice doesn't? 50% of all our power coming from solar and wind. To bad this proposition is so poorly written that it will result in the exact opposite and even the Solar and Wind power industries are telling voters to vote against it. It's heart is in the right place but it's written by a moron. I'm voting no.

Proposition 8. Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry -- State of California - The type of proposition only a bigot could vote for. Gay couples deserve the same legal protections as other couples and we don't need every pet issue from every idiot becoming part of our constitution. I'm voting no.

Proposition 9. Criminal Justice System. Victims' Rights. Parole -- State of California - This proposition wants to remove civil rights (such as appeals etc) and the right to an attorney at state expense from people who have been convicted and are appealing their sentences. It's dumb and unAmerican, not to mention it would violate the US Constitution. I'm voting no especially since Federal courts would just toss it out anyway.

Proposition 10. Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy. Bonds -- State of California - Approves bonds which will be used to subsidize hybrid cars, fuel cell cars, and electric cars. We need this if we ever want to achieve energy independence so I'm voting yes.

Proposition 11. Redistricting -- State of California - I'm tired of politicians gerrymandering every district so that each election not a single incumbent ever loses. Both parties do it and the main reason we can't ever get budget compromises passed is because politicians in gerrymandered districts never feel any pressure from voters. Screw the politicians and let's take redistricting out of their hands. I'm voting yes.

Proposition 12. Veteran's Bond Act of 2008 -- State of California - I am a vet so I'm biased but the truth is we **** on our vets especially our wounded vets. We just don't care for them like they should be and they can't even get decent health care despite all those yellow ribbons people wear. So do we really honor our vets or do we keep throwing them away like yesterday's pizza box? I'm voting yes because our vets deserve it.

LOCAL PROPOSITIONS

Proposition A. Regional Fire Protection Ballot Measure -- County of San Diego - Requires more money to be spent on fire preparedness with brush management, increased equipment purchases, etc. I'm voting Yes because I'm tired of us saving $1 million per year then having to spend $20 million every 3 years because a wild fire got out of control. A penny of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.

Proposition B. Marine Freight Preservation and Bayfront Redevelopment Initiative -- San Diego Port Authority - This proposal is absolutely retarded and it will help no one but 1 or 2 developers while killing San Diego's shipping port. The port is one of the big engines to our regions economy and it provides thousands of very high paying jobs and despite what the developer says every consultant has agreed this will effectively kill the Port of San Diego. I'm voting No because we only have one port and we need that port much more then we need yet another hotel.

Proposition C. Amends The Charter To Designate The Use Of Lease Revenue From Mission Bay Park -- City of San Diego - The city makes some $20-$25 million per year off of Mission Bay Park but the city has been neglecting the park and robbing these funds to pay for their pet projects. I'm tired of these nonsense and I want to keep park fund for the parks so I'm voting Yes.

Proposition D. Alcohol Consumption At City Beaches, Mission Bay Park, and Coastal Parks -- City of San Diego - A uniform ban on all alcohol at all beaches all the time. San Diego has around 70 miles of coast line so I have to believe there is room enough for everyone including a beach where adults can enjoy adult beverages. Not to mention the tourism industry brings in big money and this will harm tourism. I'm voting against this proposal being pushed by religious extremists.

Proposition F. through Q are propositions for small local cities in the county which I don't live in, can't vote on, and don't have any interest in so I won't bother listing them.

Proposition R. Classroom Repair and Job Training Measure -- Southwestern Community College District - Authorizing $389,000 worth of bonds to fund construction for local community colleges so they can expand vocational training programs (nurses, police, firemen, plumbers, computer techs, etc...). I'm supporting this as not everyone needs to go to college or can go to college but we should help them get a marketable skill at a local community college. If we help them get honest jobs then they stay employed and paying taxes. I'm voting Yes.

Proposition S. School Repair and Safety Measure -- San Diego Unified School District - Authorizes $2 billion in bonds to repair San Diego's crumbling schools. Maintenance has been deferred for 20-30 years in many cases and the fire department is threatening to condemn some schools because they're in such poor repair. This is disgraceful. Let's fix the schools before they fall over. I'm voting yes.

Propositions T through X are propositions for other local cities besides San Diego which I can't vote on so I'm not going to bother with.

[SpencerH]

Colorado Amendment 46 - End Affirmative Action
Massachusetts Question 2 - Decriminalize Marijuana
Michigan Question 1 - Legalize Medical Marijuana
Oregon Measure 60 - Teacher Raises Based on Performance not Seniority

Crap I missed

Massachusetts Question 1 - Eliminate Income Tax

[SpencerH]

>start rant> Damn these pathetic ballot initiatives anyway. Dont we vote for these morons so that they will use their judgement and (hopefully) make choices? If they dont, and we know they dont, then why are we bothering with these election farces. Lets toss the whole pissant lot out and run the country by proxy. Thats why we have the second amendment. /end rant

[Ben Kenobi]

You know, I kind of like having bridges and police and teachers and lower property taxes.

Very happy you can't vote in my state

And Texas has none of those things?

Texas > Taxachusetts.
NH > Taxachusetts.

[Ben Kenobi]

Why, why, why, why, why, WHY do people have such a bee in their bonnets against gay marriage/ adoption? Just makes no ****ing sense....

We have both up here. Trust me, you don't want it. It's a total cluster****.

[Impaler[WrG]]

I'm with GePap Ballot Initiatives are a horrible way to run a state, there are too many of them, they are deceptively written and promoted, and they simply have no coherence of policy. You can very easily have all kinds of total fiscally irreconcilable things enacted by ballot like "State gives everyone a Ferrari" and "Eliminate all Taxes", at least elected Representatives go through a budget crafting process and can be held accountable for it the state of the treasury, for good or ill, afterwards.

Also how is it that State constitutions can be amended by a 50% ballot initiative. I though 2/3 or 3/4 were the norm for amending constitutions? If the standard for constitution amendments is the same as for a normal law passed by ballot initiative then the states constitution is nothing more then a list of laws that can't be challenged by the court which is a perversion of what a constitution actually is.

Lastly dose anyone doubt that if Prop 8 passes in California it will just be over turned the very next presidential election cycle? Public opinion has moved so rapidly towards gay-rights in only the last 8 years it's inevitably going to continue in that direction and any slim majority in favor will be crushed next time around. Prop 8's passage would be the most self defeating constitutional amendment since Prohibition. Historians will look back and say Prop 8 was the high water mark of reactionary homo-phobia and the long process of over turning the other state bans began.

[Boris Godunov]

I hate ballot measures. We have a Representative Democracy for a reason--most voters are far too low-information to be entrusted to handle a lot of the crap we've seen on this year's measures in Oregon.

I voted YES on the first four, no on all the rest. We have this douchebag racketeer Bill Sizemore who makes money off of getting measures on the ballot, so it's a safe bet to vote NO on anything he proposes (which included measure 60 above, which was not the most controversial measure we had this year).

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by SpencerH
>start rant> Damn these pathetic ballot initiatives anyway. Dont we vote for these morons so that they will use their judgement and (hopefully) make choices? If they dont, and we know they dont, then why are we bothering with these election farces. Lets toss the whole pissant lot out and run the country by proxy. Thats why we have the second amendment. /end rant

Word.

[Ben Kenobi]

Lastly dose anyone doubt that if Prop 8 passes in California it will just be over turned the very next presidential election cycle? Public opinion has moved so rapidly towards gay-rights in only the last 8 years it's inevitably going to continue in that direction and any slim majority in favor will be crushed next time around. Prop 8's passage would be the most self defeating constitutional amendment since Prohibition. Historians will look back and say Prop 8 was the high water mark of reactionary homo-phobia and the long process of over turning the other state bans began.

Hubris is a ***** ain't it.

I think it will be looked at as the beginning of the end of the republic.

All good things must eventually come to an end.