Mitch Perry
In Florida, we have two constitutional amendments on the ballot that will be decided next Tuesday.
The way it looks now, it would be a major upset if Amendment 2, the medical marijuana initiative, fails to get 60 percent of the electorate’s vote. Then again, conventional wisdom was that it would pass in 2014, and it came up a few points short.
There’s also Amendment 1, the solar power amendment, where the momentum seems to be going against it at the moment. Yesterday, two groups critical of the measure went to the Florida Supreme Court, calling on them to reject the results of the vote next week because they contend the measure was created to intentionally deceive Florida voters.
Nationally, there are plenty of ballot measures to watch next Tuesday. No fewer than five states are voting on legalizing marijuana outright, with everyone looking to see if California will lead the way there. I was in the Golden State immediately after the 2010 election, when people couldn’t believe a similar measure went down to defeat. Methinks that won’t be the case this time around.
Four states — Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Maine — are voting to increase their minimum wage. Washington would raise it the highest, to $13.50 by 2020. South Dakota would DECREASE the wage for workers under 18 from $8.55 to $7.50.
And four states will vote on gun restriction laws: Maine, Washington, California, and Nevada.
As usual, California leads the way in the number of total ballot measures, with 17 different ones on the ballot. You can read about them all here. The most significant one might be the measure that would repeal the death penalty, though polls show that may not pass. There’s also the measure requiring actors in pornographic films to wear condoms.
In other news …
All four candidates in Florida’s state Senate District 18 race competed in a debate at the University of Tampa — where Bob Buesing, Joe Redner, and Sheldon Upthegrove took turns blasting Dana Young’s voting record.
Take it for what it is, but a poll released on Tuesday night of people who had already voted in Florida says 28 percent of Republicans have voted for Hillary Clinton in Florida.
The Hillsborough County Commission has green-lighted $1 million for marketing the NCAA College Football Championship game, to be held in Tampa next January.
Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee Chair Ione Townsend filed a complaint with the state’s Election Commission on Wednesday regarding that $1,000 contribution to Tampa City Council District 7 candidate Jim Davison from the local GOP. Davison later said he has since returned the money.
