On ballot measures across the nation, communities voted on key progressive issues. From raising the minimum wage to labeling genetically modified foods to ending corporate personhood, these local fights spotlight how communities are trying to take back their democracy. Yet these battles have largely been left out of corporate media coverage this election season.
Look below to see which side will win in these local elections.
Reproductive Rights
Voters in three states—Colorado, North Dakota and Tennessee—are voting on anti-choice measures. Colorado and North Dakota both face measures that would give full "personhood" rights to fertilized zygotes, while the Tennessee law, if passed, would pave the way for restrictive, Texas-style anti-abortion laws.
Click here for results of the Colorado measure.
Click here for results of the North Dakota measure.
Click here for results of the Tennessee measure.
Fracking
Voters in three counties in California, a city in Texas and four municipalities in Ohio are voting on measures that seek to ban fracking in their communities. The ban supporters say their rights to public and environmental safety should trump corporations' right to frack.
Click here for results of Measure P in Santa Barbara County, California.
Click here for results of Measure J in San Benito County, California.
Click here for results of Measure S in Mendocino County, California.
Click here for results of the Denton, Texas measure.
Click here for results of the Athens, Ohio measure.
Click here for results of the Kent, Ohio's Community Bill of Rights measure.
Click here for results of Youngstown, Ohio's Issue 4.
Click here for results of the charter amendment in Gates Mills, Ohio measure.
GMOs
In Colorado and Oregon, ballot measures to mandate the labeling of foods made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have become two of the most expensive ballot fights in the states' histories with outside money from industry groups flooding the opposition. Meanwhile, citizen-led initiatives in Hawaii's Maui County and California's Humboldt County are asking to ban GMOs altogether, citing unknown risk to human and environmental health.
Click here for the results of Oregon's Measure 92. (Polls close at 11 pm EST)
Click here for the results of Colorado's Proposition 105. (Polls close at 9 pm EST)
Click here for the results of the Maui County measure. (Polls close at 12 am EST)
Click here for the results of the Humboldt County measure (Polls close at 11 pm EST)
Marijuana Reform
Efforts to expand legal access to marijuana continues this year with three major votes on full legalization taking place in Washington, D.C., Alaska, and Oregon.
Click here for the results of Alaska's Measure 2 (Polls close at 12 am EST)
Click here for the results of Oregon's State Ballot Measure No. 91 (Polls close at 11 pm EST)
Click here for the results of Washington, DC's Initiative 71 (Polls close at 8 pm EST)
Ending Mass Incarceration
California voters are weighing a measure that will reform the state's troubled mass incarceration system by reducing sentences for low-level, nonviolent crimes. Advocates say the measure will save the state hundreds of millions of dollars that will in turn be invested in schools as well as drug and mental health treatment programs.
Click here for the results of Proposition 47. (Polls close at 11 pm EST)
Gun Laws
Two competing ballot measures in Washington are taking aim at the state's gun laws. In the face of legislative inaction, gun control advocates are hoping to defy the national gun lobby's influence and expand background checks to all firearm purchases within the state.
Click here for results of the Washington's Initiative Measure No. 591. (No polls - mail-in ballots)
Click here for results of the Washington's Initiative Measure No. 594. (No polls - mail-in ballots)
Minimum Wage
Five states—Alaska, Illinois, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota—have ballot measures that would raise the minimum wage. Though none of the wage increases would reach the $15 an hour wage demanded by many low-wage workers, they would still mark a positive step on an issue on which there's been an absence of federal action.
For each of the measures, a Yes vote would increase the wage.
Click here for results of the Alaska measure. (Polls close at 12 am EST)
Click here for results of the Illinois measure. (Polls close at 8 pm EST)
Click here for results of the Arkansas measure. (Polls close at 7:30 apm EST)
Click here for results of the Nebraska measure. (Polls close at 9 pm EST)
Click here for results of the South Dakota measure. (Polls close at 9 pm EST)
