In addition to who will win the presidency, seats in the US Congress and other political offices, voters across the country will consider a wide range of ballot questions this Election Day.
What it would do: Ban abortion beginning at 22 weeks of pregnancy. The measure includes exceptions to save the life of the pregnant woman but not for instances of rape or incest. Doctors who continue to perform abortions at 22 weeks could face penalties.
What it would do: Continue to treat ride-hail and delivery drivers as independent contractors with some benefit concessions granted by the proposition. If it doesn’t pass, those workers would likely be considered employees who are entitled to a minimum wage, overtime pay, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance and paid sick leave.
What it would do: Allow adults 21 years and older to possess, consume or transfer up to one ounce of cannabis and create a regulatory system for the products’ cultivation and sale.
What it would do: Allow physicians to recommend medical cannabis for patients with any of 22 qualifying conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder.
What it would do: Limit the smoking of medical cannabis to people who are terminally ill, and would leave the future regulatory framework up to the legislature.
What it would do: Allow adults in the state to possess, buy and use cannabis for recreational use and defined a 20% tax on recreational cannabis. It would also allow people serving a sentence for certain cannabis-related acts to apply for resentencing or records expungement.
What it would do: Approve a new state flag design, after the state Legislature this summer retired its 1894 flag that featured a Confederate battle emblem. The new design was picked out of 3,000 options and features a magnolia flower surrounded by 20 stars, signifying the state’s status at the 20th state. The flag also includes the words “In God We Trust,” as required by law. If voters decide against the proposed design, the process of picking a new flag will begin again.
What it would do: Record voters’ response to the question: “Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the Union as a State?” Statehood is ultimately in the hands of the US Congress.
What it would do: Make a redistricting commission — composed of eight members of the General Assembly and eight citizens — responsible for drawing congressional and state legislative districts. The General Assembly, without the governor, would vote on the districts but couldn’t change them. The state Supreme Court would draw the districts if the redistricting commission failed to do so or the General Assembly didn’t enact them. Under the current state Constitution, the General Assembly and the governor draw the new election districts for the US House of Representatives, the state Senate and the House of Delegates
Mississippi’s Ballot Measure 2 asks voters whether to remove a Jim Crow era voting provision that requires a candidate to secure a majority in the state’s popular vote and to win a majority of Mississippi’s 122 state house districts.