In Brief:
- Five states rejected ranked-choice voting Tuesday night.
- Efforts to promote public funding of private schools also failed in three states.
- Three states approved measures to increase criminal penalties for certain offenses.
A lot changed overnight in the United States. But the people of North Dakota will still have to pay property taxes.
A proposal to make North Dakota the first state to abolish state and local property taxes failed on Tuesday, with more than 63 percent of voters opposed. Supporters of the measure said they were opposed to property taxes on ideological grounds, but the proposal likely would have devastated local government services, which are largely funded by property taxes. North Dakotans rejected a similar measure in 2012.
It was one of the most extreme proposals among more than 100 ballot measures decided on Tuesday, ranging from questions about housing and school choice to election methods and crime.
Florida voters approved a measure to tie the homestead exemption — the amount of property valuation for owner-occupied homes that’s exempt from taxation — to inflation. It was one of only two constitutional amendments in Florida to be approved Tuesday, as measures related to abortion and marijuana legalization both failed.
Georgia voters also approved a constitutional amendment that caps increases in home property assessments at the rate of inflation. Some experts have warned that the measure could create new disparities in Georgia housing markets and incentivize existing homeowners to stay in place longer. Local governments and school boards have until March 1 to opt out of the cap.
Rhode Island voters approved a $120 million bond to support affordable housing. It’s the biggest housing bond in the state’s history. The funds will help subsidize housing construction, build new public housing and repair existing homes. Californians rejected a measure that would have allowed local governments to expand rent control.
Rejecting Ranked-Choice Voting
Initiatives creating ranked-choice voting systems had been on a roll for a number of years, but mostly ran into trouble on Tuesday. Ranked-choice voting is designed to let voters pick multiple candidates and ensure that winners have support from most of their constituents. But it can be much more complicated than typical voting systems, for voters as well as election officials. Voters in Portland, Ore., for example, had nearly 20 million ways to vote for mayor on Tuesday.
State-level efforts to introduce ranked-choice voting in Oregon, Nevada and Colorado were all defeated. Missouri approved a measure prohibiting ranked-choice voting. Another measure, repealing Alaska’s existing ranked-choice voting system, appeared headed for victory. But voters in Washington, D.C., did support a proposal to introduce ranked-choice voting.
State measures to increase criminal penalties performed well. Arizona voters approved measures requiring life sentences for people convicted of child sex trafficking and increasing enforcement measures on illegal immigration. Californians voted to increase penalties for theft and drug-related crimes. In Colorado, voters approved a constitutional amendment removing the right to bail for some first-degree murder cases.
Colorado voters rejected a proposal that would have established a constitutional “right to school choice.” Kentucky voters rejected a proposal that would have allowed public funding of private schools. "The public has spoken," said Robert Stivers, president of the Kentucky Senate. "They said they don't like that pathway, so we're going to look at other pathways."
Nebraska voters rejected a similar measure by a comfortable margin. “It confirms what we knew, the majority of Nebraskans don’t want public dollars going to private schools,” Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, told the Nebraska Examiner.
Massachusetts voters approved a measure ending the requirement for 10th graders to pass a state comprehensive exam. Nearly all students typically pass the exam, but the measure was hotly contested. Teachers’ unions and some progressive lawmakers backed it, while Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey opposed it, saying it would lead to disparate standards for schools.
Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, spent $2.5 million against the measure. It won with about 59 percent of the vote.
