The people's choice: from stem cell research to electoral college reform, citizens have their say.

• Author: Bowser, Jennifer Drage

When voters are asked to pass laws directly, they often are quite selective. This year was no different. The people in 34 states considered 162 ballot measures in November. Some of them were high-profile and drew national attention--same-sex marriage bans, stem cell research and immigration, for instance. But most dealt with the nuts and bolts of state policy--how elections should be conducted, funding essential programs like education, health care and energy policy.

OF NATIONAL INTEREST

Banning same-sex marriage was the issue of the day. On the ballot in 11 states, it passed with large margins in every one of them. Oregon was the only state where opponents believed it might fail, but it garnered about 56 percent of the vote.

Other issues that received national attention included two in California--stem cell research and the "three-strikes" law, an anti-immigration measure in Arizona, and Colorado's proposal to change the way it allocates its electoral votes.

California's Proposition 71 passed comfortably. It will provide $3 billion over the next 10 years for embryonic stem cell research, making California the first state to allocate public funds for such study. A second California measure in the national spotlight was Proposition 66, which would have relaxed the state's three-strikes law, requiring that the third strike be a serious or violent crime. The people agreed with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who opposed the proposition.

Colorado's Amendment 36, which would have changed the state's procedure for allocating electoral votes, went down in flames. It received just 34 percent of the vote. Had it passed, five of Colorado's electoral votes would have gone to George Bush and four to John Kerry. Because it failed, Colorado continues to use its winner-take-all system for allocating electoral votes, and this year George Bush received all nine.

Arizona's anti-immigration measure, Proposition 200, proved popular. It will require that everyone registering to vote in Arizona prove their U.S. citizenship, and that state and local workers verify the eligibility of all people who apply for public benefits, mainly welfare. If someone who isn't eligible applies, government employees are required to report it to federal authorities or face a four-month jail term.

TORT REFORM ACROSS-THE-BOARD

Voters in six states considered tort reform measures, with mixed results. California voters passed a measure limiting who can sue for unfair business...