Tomorrow’s not just another Tuesday: it’s an Election Day for a lot of Americans, and there’s enough on the ballot to push higher participation than normal in many states. Of course, we here at National Zero will do our darnedest to keep you up-to-date on the results.
In Ohio, a ballot measure for a Constitutional amendment enshrining a patient’s right to an abortion is on the ballot, something Republicans feared so much they tried to sneak a special election in to change the percentage needed to pass an amendment. Voters will also vote on legalizing recreational use of marijuana. Both measures were drawing support in the high 50s in recent polling, but the marijuana measure could still be in doubt because of voter couchlock.
In what many consider a bellwether for the GOP’s chances in 2024–and possibly a presidential run for the state’s Republican Governor Glen Youngkin to challenge Donald Trump–the entire purple-ish Virginia Legislature is up for grabs. Democrats control the Senate while Republicans hold the House. Should Republicans gain control of both chambers, pundits expect Youngkin to push through a far-right agenda on the state.
Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron is challenging Democratic incumbent Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, with polling showing a dead heat as people head to the polls Tuesday after the polls tightened in the previous two weeks.
In Mississippi, incumbent Republican Tate Reeves is expected to win reelection against Brandon Presley who, yes, is a distant cousin of that Presley–although a Democratic poll showed the pair in a dead heat last week. Outside of statewide office, Maricopa County will vote to extend the terms of judges, which normally wouldn’t be an issue, but last year, voters rejected three judges, the total number of judges that voters had rejected over the last half century. Could it have been the start of a right-wing/libertarian/Peter Theil-funded plot to take over the judiciary in a key swing state? We’ll see.