In the voters' hands: ballot questions reflect what's on the minds of the Americans.

• Author: Bowser, Jennie Drage

Statewide ballot questions have been high-profile at the national level since the 2004 election, when a whopping 11 states considered same-sex marriage bans. It was on Ohio's ballot then and is credited by some for drawing more conservative voters to the polls and helping swing the presidential election to George W. Bush. In 2006, liberals tried their hand at this game, qualifying minimum wage increases to the ballot in six states in hopes of turning out Democrats.

Whether ballot issues significantly influence who shows up on election day is a hotly debated question, but that hasn't stopped pundits from speculating on how ballot issues may have a broader influence on elections this year. Ballot questions have always reflected the issues on Americans' minds, and 2008 is no exception. Energy and the environment, immigration, election processes and same-sex marriage will all be represented on state ballots in November.

At press time, 36 citizen initiatives had qualified for statewide ballots. But petition deadlines for some of the most active states, including Arizona, Oregon and Washington, fell in early July, and 28 petitions were submitted and were in the signature verification process at press time. Petitions were still circulating in just three states with deadlines for at least 30 petitions falling in early August. The total number of initiatives will likely top out somewhere between 50 and 60.

If you include constitutional amendments, bond measures and other statewide questions proposed by legislatures, those placed on the ballot by Florida's Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, and the automatic calls for a constitutional convention that are generated by state constitutions, the total number of questions on statewide ballots so far this year is 108. If this is a typical election year for ballot questions, there will be about 200 total questions on the ballot.

Ten of the ballot initiatives so far are in California. That's no surprise. Typically, California is surpassed only by Oregon in terms of the number of initiatives. It's no surprise either that the measures Californians will consider reflect hot-button issues on ballots around the country: abortion, same-sex marriage, renewable energy and criminal justice.

ABORTION

Three states, possibly four, will consider measures limiting abortion. A tug-of-war over abortion in South Dakota continues today after a popular referendum in 2006 succeeded in repealing a ban passed by the...