This thread is for discussion on state races and ballot measures. Is your state legalizing or banning abortion? Weed? Ranked choice balloting?

This is the place to discuss it!

  • jordanlund@lemmy.worldOPM
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    2 months ago

    I live in Oregon and there are a couple to watch here:

    117 enables ranked choice balloting:

    https://ballotpedia.org/Oregon_Measure_117,Ranked-Choice_Voting_for_Federal_and_State_Elections_Measure(2024)

    118 taxes companies who make more than $25 million in the state and kicks it back to residents, $1,600 per resident.

    https://ballotpedia.org/Oregon_Measure_118,Corporate_Tax_Revenue_Rebate_for_Residents_Initiative(2024)

    • kescusay@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I’m strongly in favor of 117. I like 118 in theory, but after reading it, I voted against it, because I think the end result would be to damage small Oregon businesses, while large conglomerates would be fine. I don’t want Walmarts to be the only businesses that can afford to operate here.

      • jordanlund@lemmy.worldOPM
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        2 months ago

        Well, I don’t think anyone making more than $25 million a year is a “small business”, that’s $68,493.15 a day…

        It’s still an awful idea, but the idea that it would hurt small business is a smoke screen. :)

        • doc@fedia.io
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          2 months ago

          I buy all my supplies from companies making more than 25m, who buy from other companies making more than 25m, and so on. My COGS will go up a minimum of 3%, more than likely closer to 10% when you compound the entire supply chain. I don’t care that I won’t pay into the general tax fund, but I sure as hell care that I’ll have to convince my retail customers to pay 10% more on my products after already struggling with inflation cost increases the last few years.

        • Hegar@fedia.io
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          2 months ago

          the idea that it would hurt small business is a smoke screen.

          Yeah, the ultra wealthy are always claiming that if they have to pay their fair share then all of society will suffer. 🙄 118 honestly sounds fine to me, but the array of groups I trust that were against it gave me pause. I voted no, hoping to avoid another case of doing the right thing the wrong way.

  • Skanky@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Here in ky, to nobody’s surprise, we have some Republican bullshittery.

    Prop 1 adds wording to the state constitution that makes it illegal for all non-US citizens to vote… Which is already the State law. Vote NO.

    Prop 2 is a doozie - enables the state to funnel public funds to charter schools under the guise of “educational freedom” or some bullshit like that. HARD NO on that one!

    • jordanlund@lemmy.worldOPM
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      2 months ago

      Yeah, 1 is already illegal and 2 sounds like they want to take public dollars away from public schools and feed it to religious ones. 🙄

      • Schmoo@slrpnk.net
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        2 months ago

        Kentucky’s state constitution has uniquely strong protections for public school funding, and amendment 2 nullifies all of them in one go.

        Here’s the wording:

        To give parents choices in educational opportunities for their children, are you in favor of enabling the General Assembly to provide financial support for the education costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside the system of common (public) schools by amending the Constitution of Kentucky as stated below?

        IT IS PROPOSED THAT A NEW SECTION BE ADDED TO THE CONSTITUTION OF KENTUCKY TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

        The General Assembly may provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools. The General Assembly may exercise this authority by law, Sections 59, 60, 171, 183, 184, 186, and 189​ of this Constitution notwithstanding.

        I genuinely think most KY voters don’t know what notwithstanding means, if they even bother to read that far.

      • Skanky@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        100% it’s gonna go to religious schools. I’m not even sure that any non-religious private schools even exist in this backwards-ass state

        • nickiwest@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          They do. There are a few elite non-religious private schools in Louisville.

          But they are far outnumbered by parochial schools.

    • EpeeGnome@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      We have the same thing as your prop 1 on the ballot in South Carolina. It’s already illegal at the state and federal level. It’s just on there to help get low information conservatives to the polls, since they are convinced the Democrats want to change the law to let “the illegals” vote.

    • Billiam@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Hello fellow Kentuckian!

      I saw a story this week that pointed out in Arkansas, 80% of students who got vouchers didn’t enroll in private schools. In other words, if your parents couldn’t afford private schools before, they most likely still couldn’t even with vouchers.

      That’s what’s on the ballot for KY. NO ON 2!

    • nieminen@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      My wife and I tried, looks like we lost the presidential for KY, not super surprised, but disappointed.

      Glad we won prop 2 though. We don’t have kids, and they’re not in our future, but they already keep taking too many funds from public schools.

      Anyone have the result for prop 1?

    • DragonTypeWyvern
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      2 months ago

      You want to vote Yes on 1 because it doesn’t change anything and then they can’t whine about Demoncrats trying to let illegals keep voting.

  • aaron@lemm.ee
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    2 months ago

    Please get Ted Cruz out of office Texans. He’s at risk of getting murdered on the senate floor according to Lindsay Graham and others. Save Ted Cruz

    • Billiam@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      He’s at risk of getting murdered on the senate floor according to Lindsay Graham and others.

      …it’s not like they haven’t had plenty of chances.

  • stoned_ape@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Ohio has Issue 1 regarding gerrymandering…

    …which the Ohio Supreme Court already told them to unfuck and the GOP was like, “nah, fam”…

    …and which LaRose obfuscated (just like he did with the abortion amendment) via confusing language and outright lies (under the guide of free speech, apparently) to trick people into voting No

    So, a No vote keeps the same crap we have now where a majority of the state has no voice. A Yes vote gives everyone a more equal say

  • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    A friend of mine from high school ran unopposed for state rep. Feels pretty good having someone I know well, and whose kids go to the same school as mine, so terrify the Republicans that they didn’t bother running anyone.

  • proudblond@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I’m really curious how Californians feel about Prop 34. It’s kind of bizarre to see a prop that is actively targeting a single organization, even if that org is super sketchy. I felt icky voting on it, for or against.

    • jordanlund@lemmy.worldOPM
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      2 months ago

      Not in CA so not following that… but looking it up:

      https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_34,Require_Certain_Participants_in_Medi-Cal_Rx_Program_to_Spend_98%25_of_Revenues_on_Patient_Care_Initiative(2024)

      “requiring health care providers… to spend 98% of revenues from the federal discount prescription drug program on direct patient care”

      I removed the qualifications to simply boil it down to the ask here… mathematically is this even possible?

      I don’t think any business model survives on 2% overhead.

      https://www.wphealthcarenews.com/understanding-the-complexities-of-overhead-in-a-physician-practice/

      "Most physicians believe that their practice’s overhead is somewhere between 40% and 50% of their charges. The truth is that in today’s medical practices, it is actually between 60% and 70%.

      The reasons? In the past 15 years, health insurance costs for employees rose over 200%. Reimbursements from third-party payers decreased substantially. Technology has become much more expensive. Documentation for malpractice purposes has caused physicians to do more paperwork. The billing process to third-party payers has become much more complicated. Physicians have been forced to hire more staff. With all of these changes, some physicians have taken a 50% cut in pay – or more."

      • proudblond@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        The thing is, there’s only one org that meets the threshold for it and that’s the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which throws a lot of money at props in California and has some questionable stuff about being a landlord. From calmatters.org:

        Proposition 34 would require some California providers to spend at least 98% of that net drug sale revenue on “direct patient care.” Providers that don’t risk having their state license and tax-exempt status revoked and losing out on government contracts.

        But the proposition doesn’t apply to all providers — only those that spend at least $100 million on expenses other than direct care, that also own and operate apartment buildings and that have racked up at least 500 severe health and safety violations in the last decade.

        As far as anyone can tell, that only applies to one organization: The AIDS Healthcare Foundation. \

        The measure would also put into law a Newsom administration policy that requires all state agencies to negotiate for lower drug prices as a single entity.

        • jordanlund@lemmy.worldOPM
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          2 months ago

          In THAT case, it seems specifically designed to put them out of business… Which I guess would be the basis of the vote…

          You’d think the regulatory agencies would have a better way of dealing with it.

          • proudblond@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            It’s nuts, right? That’s why it felt icky. My husband and I talk through all the stuff on our ballots together and we really went back and forth on this one. Ultimately we did vote for it, probably because we kept reading that the AHF had funded at least half of all the other props we were voting on, most of which had nothing to do with healthcare. But I’m still not sure that was the right vote. I’ll be curious to see how it shakes out.

            I’m also watching prop 36 because I see all these signs for it in my neighborhood, but I’m against it.

  • jordanlund@lemmy.worldOPM
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    2 months ago

    I am STUNNED… STUNNED that Oregon said No to ranked choice balloting and it wasn’t even close. 60/40.

  • jordanlund@lemmy.worldOPM
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    2 months ago

    Good rundown of state ballot measures here:

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/ballot-measures

    Arizona - Right to Abortion. Yes 61 to 39
    Colorado - Right to Abortion. Yes 62 to 38
    Florida - Right to Abortion. No 43 to 57 - Needed Yes >= 60 to pass.
    Maryland - Right to Abortion. Yes 74 to 26
    Missouri - Right to Abortion. Yes 52 to 48
    Montana - Right to Abortion. Yes 58 to 42
    Nebraska - Right to Abortion. Too Close To Call.
    61,000 votes remaining, “No” is +21,000
    Nebraska - Prohibit abortions after 1st Trimester - Yes 55 to 45
    Nevada - Right to Abortion. Yes 64 to 36
    New York - Right to Abortion. Yes 62 to 38
    South Dakota - Right to Abortion. No 59 to 41

    Alaska - Repeal ranked choice. Too close to call.
    111,000 votes remaining, “Yes” is +4,000
    Colorado - Ranked Choice. Too close to call.
    762,000 ballots remaining, “No” + 247,551
    D.C. - Ranked Choice. Yes 73 to 27
    Idaho - Ranked Choice. No 70 to 30.
    Missouri - Citizen voting, ban ranked choice. Yes 68 to 32
    Nevada - Ranked Choice. No 54 to 46
    Oregon - Ranked Choice. No 60 to 40
    South Dakota - Top 2 Primary. No 65 to 35

    Arizona - Eliminate partisan primaries. No 58 to 42

    Connecticut - Absentee Voting. Too close to call.
    473,000 ballots remaining, “Yes” +174,753

    Iowa - Citizen voting +17 year olds. Yes 77 to 23. Idaho - Citizen voting. Yes 65 to 35
    Kentucky - Citizen voting. Yes 63 to 37
    Missouri - Citizen voting, ban ranked choice. Yes 68 to 32 North Carolina - Citizen voting. Yes 78 to 22
    Oklahoma - Citizen voting. Yes 80 to 20
    South Carolina - Citizen voting. Yes 85 to 15
    Wisconsin - Citizen voting. Yes 66 to 34

    Nevada - Voter ID. Yes 73 to 27

    Ohio - Citizen Redistricting. No 54 to 46

    Arizona - Border Enforcement. Yes 63 to 37

    Florida - Legal weed. No 44 to 56, needed Yes >= to 60 to pass.
    North Dakota - Legal weed. No 53 to 47
    South Dakota - Legal weed. No 55 to 45

    California - Marriage rights, repeal prop 8 - Yes 61 to 39

    Alaska - Increase Minimum Wage. Too close to call.
    114,000 ballots outstanding, “Yes” +31,000
    Arizona - Decrease Minimum Wage. No 75 to 25
    California - Increase Minimum Wage. Too close to call.
    7.1 million ballots left. “No”+390,000
    Massachusetts - Increase Minimum Wage. No 64 to 36.
    Missouri - Minimum Wage + paid sick leave. Yes 57 to 43