BALLOT MEASURE FEARS UNITE DEMS, GOP IN 3 STATES

In a campaign season marked by partisan rancor, Democratic and
Republican leaders in key states have found common cause trying to
defeat ballot measures they say misuse direct democracy to legalize
marijuana and gut government finances.

In California, virtually every politician - including the rivals in
marquee races for governor and Senate - has urged defeat of
Proposition 19, legalizing recreational marijuana use. Polls ahead of
Tuesday's vote suggest the measure is trailing but the outcome could
be close.

In Colorado, there's bipartisan dread over three measures to ban
borrowing for public works, cut the income tax and slash school
district property taxes. The proposals would cost the state $2.1
billion in revenue and eliminate tens of thousands of jobs, opponents
warn.

Similar fears are being voiced in Massachusetts, where a ballot
measure would mark down the state sales tax from 6.25 to 3 percent.
All three gubernatorial candidates oppose the measure, which would
force the state to slash $2.5 billion in services, including aid to
cities and towns, opponents say.

Tax- and budget-related ballot measures in several other states also
could have sweeping fiscal impact.

In Washington state, voters have a chance to repeal new taxes on
candy, soda and bottled water adopted by the legislature last year - a
move that would worsen the state's budget gap by eliminating a
projected $352 million in revenue over five years. A related measure
would reimpose a requirement for a two-thirds majority in the
legislature to raise taxes. A third measure, by contrast, would boost
revenues - imposing a state income tax on any income above $200,000,
or $400,000 for couples.

Indiana voters will decide whether to entrench property tax limits
into the state constitution; doing so would make it difficult for
future legislatures to undo them. Legislative analysts say the caps -
1 percent of homes' assessed values, 2 percent on farmland, 3 percent
on business property - are likely to save homeowners $161 million next
year, but they have forced municipalities statewide to cut jobs and
services.

In all, 160 ballot measures in 37 states will be decided Tuesday. Many
are routine or technical in nature, in contrast to California's Prop
19 to legalize recreational marijuana use, which has attracted
attention worldwide.

If passed, the measure would allow adults age 21 and older to possess
up to one ounce of marijuana and grow 25-square-foot pot gardens for
personal use. It would authorize county and city governments to
regulate and tax commercial cultivation and sales.

The gubernatorial front-runners - Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican
Meg Whitman - oppose Prop 19, as do Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and
her GOP rival, Carly Fiorina. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has
weighed in for the Obama administration, vowing to "vigorously
enforce" federal laws against marijuana possession and distribution
even if Prop 19 passes.

Supporters of Prop 19 say the political leaders lack the courage to
acknowledge that the war on drugs is flawed.

"The truth is marijuana prohibition has utterly failed," said Stephen
Gutwillig, state director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "Banning
outright this widely available substance has only fueled a massive
black market and enriched the increasingly brutal criminal syndicates
that control it."

The initial impetus and funding to get Prop 19 on the ballot came from
Richard Lee, who operates a medical marijuana dispensary and cafe in
Oakland.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, there's ongoing litigation seeking to identify
the forces behind three ballot measures that would, if passed, slash
state revenue by an estimated $2.1 billion.

Among business leaders and politicians, alarm about the proposals is
so intense that opponents have raised nearly $7 million to make sure
they fail. The proponents' campaign appears to have largely fizzled,
with minimal endorsements and only about $17,400 raised.

Colorado's independent Legislative Council has painted a gloomy
picture if the measures succeed. It said lack of revenue would force
the state to devote 92 percent of its budget on constitutionally
mandated K-12 education funding, leaving little for higher education,
prisons and human services.

Supporters of the tax-cutting measures maintain that the economy will
grow because taxpayers will keep more of their money.

Similarly, backers of Massachusetts' Question 3 - which would cut the
sales tax by more than half - say the measure would boost the economy
and create jobs while forcing the state to live within its means.

Opponents have mounted a vigorous ad campaign, with teacher unions
pumping more than $4 million into it as of mid-October.

The question has cropped up in the race for governor, with all three
candidates saying it goes too far. Republican Charles Baker and
independent Timothy Cahill say they support returning the sales tax
rate to its previous level of 5 percent. Incumbent Democrat Deval
Patrick said he also supports lowering the rate to 5 percent, when the
state can afford it.

A brief look at some other noteworthy ballot items:

- -California's Proposition 23 would suspend the state's landmark
greenhouse gas emissions law until the unemployment rate falls to 5.5
percent for a year. It is backed by out-of-state oil companies; foes
include Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and alternative-energy
entrepreneurs.

- -Measures in Oklahoma would declare English the state's "common and
unifying language" and prohibit state courts from considering
international law or Islamic law, known as sharia, when deciding cases.

- -Measures in Arizona and South Dakota would legalize medical marijuana
- - a step already taken by 14 other states.

- -In the nation's smallest state, a measure would shorten its formal
name to Rhode Island instead of Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations.

- -Arizona's ballot includes a measure that would ban affirmative action
programs by state and local governments based on race, ethnicity and
sex.

- -Colorado voters will decide on an anti-abortion "personhood"
amendment - similar to one they rejected in 2008 - that would give
unborn fetuses human rights in the state constitution.

- -In Illinois, where the two most recent former governors have been
convicted on federal charges, a proposed constitutional amendment
would give voters the power to recall future governors.