Big Wins for Marijuana and Gun Control on Election Day
Policy + Politics

Big Wins for Marijuana and Gun Control on Election Day

The election of Donald Trump to be the 45th U.S. president wasn’t the only decision Americans made on Tuesday. Voters in a host of states considered ballot measures from the legalization of pot to the death penalty. Here are some of the big results:

Marijuana legalization

Voters in California, Massachusetts and Nevada all chose to fully legalize marijuana for recreational purposes, joining Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia. Maine also had recreational legalization on the ballot, but so far, the tally is too close to call. Arizona voters rejected legalization.

Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota voters legalized medical marijuana, while Montana voters voted to relax the state’s rules on medicinal marijuana.

Related: 5 Reasons Why Trump Won the Election

Minimum wage

Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington approved proposals to increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour. In South Dakota, voters rejected a proposal to reduce the minimum wage for those under 18.

Gun control

California voters approved a measure that mandates background checks for ammo purchases and bans large-capacity ammo magazines. Voters in Nevada voted for an initiative that requires background checks for all gun purchases except for gun transfer between family members or temporary gun exchanges for sports shooting and hunting.

In Washington, voters accepted a measure to allow police and family/household members to get an order from judges that temporarily keeps someone at risk of harming himself or others from buying a gun. But in Maine, voters rejected a proposal to require background checks for private sales.

Criminal justice reform

Voters in California defeated a measure to repeal the death penalty and voted for a proposal to accelerate it. Nebraska voters reinstated capital punishment and voters in Oklahoma approved a measure to put the death penalty in its state constitution.

Related: 11 Huge Questions Americans Face Under President Trump

Voters in California and Oklahoma passed measures to reduce prison sentences, while New Mexico voters approved a constitutional amendment that says no one can be jailed because they can’t afford bail.

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