Wave of ballot measures this fall veers left

Back in the 1990s, many high-profile citizen ballot initiatives across the country had a Rush Limbaugh conservativism driving them: They aimed to cut taxes, bust up affirmative action, impose term limits, allow school vouchers, and toughen crime policy.

But this year's big initiatives suddenly have a Ralph Nader-like slant: They would provide universal healthcare in Oregon, legalize marijuana in Nevada, institute same-day voter registration in California and Colorado, and even protect pregnant pigs in Florida.

Such is the ebb and flow of America's purest form of democratic governance. This year, even initiatives themselves are getting fresh scrutiny – with several measures aiming to limit their power and scope.

While some conservative initiatives are on this fall's ballots – such as English-immersion plans for students in Massachusetts and Colorado – the shift toward more liberal initiatives is dramatic. The most-common kinds of measures aim to reform drug policy, education, elections, gambling, fiscal policy, and to protect animals, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute. "The progressive issues have come to the surface," says Dane Waters, president of the conservative Washington-based group.

One reason for the shift: Republicans have steadily gained power in state governments over the past decade, leaving Democrats and other liberals to resort to ballot initiatives to pursue their agenda. In fact, in 19 of the 24 states that allow initiatives, Republicans control either the governor's office or the legislature or both.

Another simple reason for the shift: Some of the conservative measures of the 1990s have simply run their course. "You can't impose term limits over and over again," observes Kristina Wilfore, head of the liberal Ballot Initiative Strategy Center in Washington.

Also, after a decade of seeing conservative measures succeed at the ballot box, liberals have geared up. "Progressives have been slow to come to the table," says Ms. Kilgore. But in the past couple of years, she says, they've realized that "love it or hate it, the initiative process isn't going away – so let's use it for progressive interests." Her Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, formed in 1998, is one sign of the new vigor.

Take drug policy. There's the high-profile bid in Nevada to legalize possession of up to three ounces of marijuana. That measure, like many on both ends of the political spectrum, is being pushed by a national group aiming to turn the tide in its favor state by state.

There's also a bid in Arizona to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. In Ohio, voters will decide whether to require drug treatment – rather than incarceration – for nonviolent drug offenders.

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