NATION'S VOTERS WILL CONFRONT CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES AT POLLs

Elections: Initiatives on subjects such as medical marijuana use and
same-sex marriage will be decided.

Atlanta-When voters nationwide go to the polls Tuesday, they'll do
more than elect candidates. In 44 states, voters also will decide 235
ballot initiatives on such wide-ranging issues as medicinal marijuana,
campaign finance and animal rights.

Voters in Michigan, home state of suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian,
will determine whether that state becomes the second in the nation to
allow doctor-assisted suicide. And voters in Alaska and Hawaii will
have a say on same-sex marriages.

The trend for voters to decide controversial issue directly has
increased significantly during the 1990s. This year, citizens
initiated 60 ballot questions in 24 states.

"It's a general dissatisfaction that people have been expressing about
government," said Jennie Drage, a research analyst with the National
Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan lobbying group.

One of the most controversial measures this year involves allowing the
legal use of marijuana for medical purposes, which is on the ballot in
Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. A marijuana initiative also
could be on Colorado's ballot, depending on a judge's ruling.

Proponents of legal use want doctors to be able to prescribe marijuana
for the treatment of cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, chronic pain, seizures
and muscle spasms. Opponents say there's no credible medical evidence
to support legalization.

Oregon also is considering a measure that would make possession of
small amounts of marijuana a low-level misdemeanor.

Voters in Arizona also will consider an initiative to enact voluntary
campaign-finance and reporting guidelines. Massachusetts voters will
consider a similar measure.

Voters in Alaska, Colorado and Idaho will consider measures on term
limits for elected officials.

"Term limits in the '90s have been up in some shape in every
election," said Drage. "Campaign finance has been out a lot in the
'90s also. They are two measures that voters tend to pass."

Initiatives related to the environment and animal rights also are
popular this year.

Alaska has measures prohibiting billboards and outlawing the trapping
of wolves with snares. In Arizona, voters will weigh in on
cockfighting, and Ohio will decide whether to outlaw the hunting of
mourning doves. New Jersey will vote on setting aside $98 million a
year to preserve open space and farmland.

Montana residents will decide whether to ban the use of cyanide in
most open-pit gold and silver mining. The poison is prized by miners
for its ability to extract gold and silver from rock, but spills that
contaminated water sources have caused concern.

Oregon environmentalists placed an initiative on the ballot to
prohibit many current timber-harvest practices and to impose more
restrictive regulations.

Abortion, a divisive issue for the past 30 years, is on the ballot in
Colorado, where voters will consider measures on partial birth
abortions and parental notification. Washington voters also will
consider an abortion measure.

Another controversial issue - same-sex marriages - will be decided in
Alaska and Hawaii.

Alaska will vote on a constitutional amendment passed by the
Legislature that reads: "To be valid or recognized in this state, a
marriage may exist only between one man and one woman."

Hawaii, which almost allowed same-sex marriages recently, will
consider amending the constitution to give the Legislature authority
"to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples."

South Carolina has an initiative to remove the section of the state

constitution that outlaws marriages between blacks and whites.
According to Drage, the state hasn't enforced that provision since the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled a similar law illegal 30 years ago in Virginia.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady