US Features
Background: Iraq war, stem cells, gay marriage drive US ballot issues
By Anne K Walters
Nov 2, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Washington - In addition to electing national and state legislatures, US voters on November 7 will get to settle matters of hotly contested public policy ranging from gay marriage to restrictions on state spending, raising the minimum wage and smoking bans.

With public dissatisfaction with the course of the war in Iraq threatening to oust Republican control of Congress, it's also no surprise that some voters will be voting on the issue - even if they have no direct authority in the matter.

But perhaps the quirkiest ballot issue will be decided by Arizona voters, who could establish a lottery that would reward one lucky voter each election with 1 million dollars just for casting a vote.

A near record number of so-called ballot initiatives were proposed by citizens this year, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with government at state and national levels in general, said Jennie Bowser, a policy analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures, a group that monitors state policy.

Here are some of the issues:

- War in Iraq: Although the Congressional elections have become a strong referendum on US President George W Bush's conduct of the war in Iraq, voters in several states will als have a chance to speak their minds on the issue. A third of the voters in the solidly Democratic state of Massachusetts will have a chance to say whether the US should immediately withdraw troops from Iraq. Voters in a handful of cities in Wisconsin and Illinois will do the same.

- Gay marriage: Same sex marriage is not quite as hot a topic as 2004, when voters in 13 states banned such unions with wide margins. The issue was touted from the White House and helped Bush gain re- election by turning out conservative voters in key battleground states like Ohio.

Next week, voters in eight states will take a crack at the issue, with support slipping - a reflection of more wide spread acceptance of homosexuality and of a huge fund raising effort by opponents of such bans.

- Stem-cell research: A ballot question in Missouri seeks to bolster research using human stem cells by keeping laws off the books that would prohibit the controversial research or place stricter controls than at the national level. The ballot initiative drew support from Parkinsons-plagued actor Michael Fox, and could affect the outcome of a closely contested Senate race in the state.

- Abortion: A measure before South Dakota voters would overturn a restrictive ban on nearly all abortions that was passed by the state's legislature earlier this year. The law, the most restrictive in the nation, offers no exceptions for women victimized by rape or incest.

- Property rights: Voters in 12 states could place tougher restrictions on how government can take private land for public use. A 2005 ruling by the US Supreme Court found that governments can seize private property under the process known as eminent domain, even if the property is used by a private developer.

There was widespread, grassroots feelings among both conservatives and liberals that the ruling trampled a strong tradition of property rights in the US - making it the most common issue at the polls on Tuesday.