MAINE OKS MEDICAL MARIJUANA PLAN

Maine defeated a ban on certain late-term abortions and approved a proposal
to legalize medical marijuana Tuesday as voters elsewhere decided on
measures ranging from a ban of ATM fees to sweeping tax changes.

The anti-abortion proposal lost with 201,115 voters or 55 percent opposed
and 162,963 or 45 percent in favor, with 88 percent of precincts reporting.
The medical marijuana measure had 223,957 votes, or 61 percent, to 140,637,
or 39 percent.

Oregonians defeated a measure that would have allowed murder convictions by
an 11 -1 jury vote instead of a unanimous one. San Francisco were deciding
for the first time anywhere on extra charges of $1, $2 or more for using
another bank's automated teller machine. The move to eliminate the fees was
leading in early returns.

In Washington state, voters approved America's most sweeping tax-revolt
proposal -a ballot measure coupling a big car-tax cut with veto power over
all future taxes and fees. It substitutes an annual fee of $30 per car to
replace a much-maligned tax of 2.2 percent of the vehicle's value -hundreds
of dollars for many motorists -for a tax break worth $750 million a year.

The measure requires state and local officials to go to the electorate
anytime they wanted to raise a tax or fee -a basic shift of tax-writing
power that no other state has adopted to this degree.

Nearly the entire political establishment, from Gov. Gary Locke down to
town councils, was united in opposition, joined by an unlikely coalition of
business, labor and environmentalists.

And for the second time in four years, Washington voters rejected a
proposal to ban most commercial fishing nets from state waters by a margin
of 58 percent to 42 percent even though backers said it could save
taxpayers' money in the fight to restore dwindling salmon runs.

Foes said the measure would cripple an entire industry, wiping out hundreds
and maybe thousands of jobs, without saving many salmon or any other fish.

The Maine referendum to ban what abortion-rights opponents call
partial-birth abortion was similar to measures adopted in some 30 states,
though the courts have barred or sharply restricted 20 states from
enforcing them. With recent court decisions going both ways, the showdown
seems headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.

The medicinal-marijuana referendum authorizes possession and use for
specific medical conditions when patients are advised by a doctor they
might benefit from the drug. The list of qualifying ailments includes loss
of appetite from AIDS or cancer treatments, glaucoma and seizures. Voter
approval means the legislation could take effect within 60 days. Since
1996, five states -California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Arizona -and
the District of Columbia have passed medical marijuana initiatives.

Also in Maine, Falmouth residents soundly rejected a ballot measure that
would have nullified a homosexual-rights ordinance adopted unanimously by
the Town Council last spring. Among other measures:

- -In a nonbinding referendum, the city of Ketchum, Idaho, decided to keep
the 25 -year-old tradition of a mock six-gun shoot-out on Main Street
during the community's annual Wagon Days festival. Supporters viewed it as
good fun, but opponents mindful of the slayings at Columbine High School in
Colorado wanted to do away with any show of violence.

- -Voters in Missoula, Mont., defeated a measure to adopt a higher minimum
wage of $8 for municipal employees and people whose employers receive at
least $5,000 in city assistance. (The federal minimum wage is $5.15. Some
40 U.S. cities and counties have such laws in some form.)

- -Voters approved a $2.3 billion bond issue for 28 statewide road
improvements in Colorado, including widening congested Interstate 25, which
runs through Denver. A measure to expand a light-rail system in the Denver
area also passed.

- -A constitutional amendment to restrict Mississippi state legislators to
back-to-back terms was defeated. Mississippi, which has a history of
long-serving politicians, becomes the first state to reject limits after 18
other states adopted them in recent years.