STATUS QUO PREVAILS IN STATES' BALLOT MEASURES

Three of the boldest measures facing voters across the country were
rejected Tuesday: Nevada refused to legalize marijuana, Oregon rejected
universal health coverage and South Dakota wouldn't let jurors take the law
into their own hands.

In Washington state, a monorail system won financing approval from Seattle
voters, while North Dakota voters rejected paying college graduates to
remain in their state.

And in six measures across the nation addressing issues of animal
protection, voters in five states rallied for the animals.

In the most striking measures -- involving marijuana, health care and law
enforcement -- voters came down on the side of the establishment.

In Nevada, police complained they had little money to battle a campaign to
allow possession of up to three ounces of marijuana. Nonetheless, voters
resoundingly defeated the proposal that would have made Nevada the first
state in the nation to allow recreational pot smoking.

Voters in Arizona rejected a proposal to lessen the crime for possession of
small amounts of marijuana, and South Dakota voters opposed allowing
farmers to grow hemp for industrial purposes. Law enforcement argued that
because hemp so closely resembles marijuana plants, the job of busting pot
farms would be all the more difficult.

Oregon voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to establish a $20-billion
health care plan for everyone -- which would have made Oregon the first
state in the nation to provide full medical coverage for all.

Despite the ballot initiative's popular appeal, opponents argued that there
would be catastrophic fiscal fallout for the state if it passed.

Voters in South Dakota declared that the law's the law and should not be
changed by jurors. In strong numbers, they rejected a measure that would
have allowed juries to nullify state criminal laws if they consider them
unfair while weighing the guilt of a defendant.

Animals fared well Tuesday.

In Florida, voters adopted a measure to ban the use of cages to contain
pregnant pigs in the state's industrial hog farms, calling it cruel and
inhumane, while cockfighting was prohibited by voters in Oklahoma, even
though the state Legislature has repeatedly refused to outlaw the sport.

Arkansas voters, however, were soundly defeating a measure that would have
made cruelty to an animal a felony rather than a misdemeanor. The measure
said animal cruelty "cannot be tolerated in a civilized society."

Georgia voters adopted a specialty license plate to finance spay and neuter
campaigns, while in Arizona, voters were rejecting a measure to expand
gambling at greyhound racing tracks.

For years, Seattle residents have campaigned for an expanded monorail
system through downtown to help ease traffic congestion, and on Tuesday
voters approved a plan to finance a $1.7-billion project through increased
vehicle license fees.

To stem the flow of college graduates fleeing North Dakota, voters there
considered whether to reimburse them up to $5,000 in college tuition -- and
offer a $5,000 tax credit over five years -- if the students found
employment in the state. In early returns, the proposal was trailing.

Voters in two states were split on whether to banish bilingual education
programs in favor of full-immersion English instruction. In Massachusetts,
English won over Spanish by about a 2-1 margin, while voters in Colorado
were turning down a similar proposal.

In past years, California and Arizona had rejected bilingual education;
Massachusetts becomes the third state to do it.