Americans have spoken out on the basics: life, death and taxes. And their
message to the government is simple leave us alone.

Voters casting ballots Tuesday on 235 statewide initiatives said they
didn't want the government to intrude in their lives, whether to limit
abortions, deny medicinal marijuana to the seriously ill, or tell people
where they could gamble.

Some also said no to one of the most divisive political issues of the '90s:
affirmative action. Washington state, following a similar move by
California two years ago, approved a measure to ban racial or gender
preferences in government hiring and contracts and college admissions.

``They are clearly saying, 'We want to treat everybody equally,' '' said
Ward Connerly, the California businessman whose organization spearheaded
passage of that state's measure and helped plan and finance the Washington
effort.

John Carlson, the conservative political commentator who led the campaign,
said voters wanted to ``look beyond what makes us different.''

Election Day also brought big victories to a group whose previous election
gains were stalled in courts: supporters of medical marijuana.

Voters in Alaska, Arizona, Nevada and Washington state approved the medical
use of marijuana, which advocates say can help ease pain and nausea.

Nevada passed a constitutional amendment approving its use pending a second
``yes'' vote in 2000. Washington's endorsement came a year after voters
vetoed a broader plan that some say would have left the door open to
legalizing other drugs.

``We worked hard to bring back a very tightly worded, specific medical
marijuana initiative. It's a model for the rest of the country,'' said Rob
Killian, the Seattle physician who sponsored the Washington measure.

Arizona voters reaffirmed their 1996 approval of a plan that makes legal
the prescribing of medical marijuana and some other illegal drugs for
seriously ill patients,

Alaska's measure will shield users from most state and locals laws that
forbid possession while protecting doctors who recommend its use.

In Oregon, where two-thirds of people vote by absentee ballot, early
returns indicated medical marijuana would pass there, too, but the vote in
Washington, D.C., remained unknown. Election officials opted to keep
results under cover because Congress, which controls the capital's budget,
opposes legalization and cut funding for the initiative after it appeared
on the ballot.

Gambling supporters also were dealt a winning hand on Election Day.

California's Indian tribes won broad voter approval to continue running
their casinos unhampered by state control.

This marks ``the first time that wealthy business interests have not been
allowed to sacrifice the lives of Indians and future Indians to satisfy
their greed,'' said Anthony Pico, chairman of the Viejas tribe in San Diego
County.

Missouri voters approved lucrative slot machines on the so-called ``boats
in moats.'' At issue was a 1997 state Supreme Court decision that the
Missouri constitution didn't allow slots on the boats, tethered in manmade
lagoons, and that such games of chance could be played only on the main
channels of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

Hunting and animal rights activists could both call themselves winners.

Cockfights were banned in Missouri and Arizona. California approved a ban
on body-gripping steel traps to capture fur-bearing animals and outlawed
the sale or export of horrses intended to be slaughtered for human
consumption.

But Alaskans rejected a ban on wolf snares, Ohioans turned back a ban on
mourning dove hunting and Minnesota became only the second state in the
nation to pass constitutional protections for hunting and fishing.

Voters also dealt with two issues that have constantly been in the courts
abortion and the right to die.

Washington and Colorado rejected proposals to restrict the late-term
procedure known by opponents as ``partial-birth abortions,'' but Colorado
approved parental notification for minors seeking abortions.

Michigan, meanwhile, rejected a plan that would have made the state home to
Dr. Jack Kevorkian the second in the nation with legalized
physician-assisted suicide. Oregon remains the only state where doctors can
prescribe lethal doses.

Gay rights advocates suffered setbacks from the voters.

Hawaii moved closer to banning same-sex marriage, giving state lawmakers
the go-ahead to write a prohibitive law. Alaskans voted a gay-marriage ban
into their constitution.

South Carolina, meanwhile, erased the state's 103-year-old constitutional
ban on interracial marriage.

Taxes figured prominently in several states.

South Dakotans rejected a plan to prevent property tax revenues from
financing schools, Nebraskans vetoed a proposal to limit the amount of
money state and local governments could raise through taxes, and Coloradans
said no to income-tax credit for parents of school-age children, whether in
public or private school or taught at home.

Early numbers from California showed a cigarette tax backed by director Rob
Reiner was too close to call. Proceeds would go to children's funds.

The environment also was on the agenda. South Dakota voters tightened
restrictions on corporate farming, with an aim to rein in sprawling hog
farms; Oregon rejected limits on forest clearcutting; and Montana approved
a ban on cyanide in new gold mining projects.

In other ballot results:

Massachusetts and Arizona agreed to give political candidates substantial
public money if they voluntarily limit their spending and raise certain
small contributions.

Massachusetts voters affirmed support of the state's new electricity
deregulation deal. Californians also endorsed their new deregulation system
by rejectiing a measure to cut off customers' obligation to pay billions in
utility debt.

The Denver Broncos will get a new football stadium. The San Diego Padres
will get a new ballpark. And Cincinnati voters removed an obstacle to a new
stadium.

And two states, Iowa and Florida, became the first in 22 years to pass
measures acknowledging women's equality, while New Hampshire retained all
male pronouns in its constitution never mind having a female governor.

Checked-by: Richard Lake