CANDIDATES SHARE SPACE WITH ISSUES INCLUDING HEALTH CARE AND MARIJUANA LAWS

Voters in 40 states weighed in on a wide array of citizen-backed ballot
initiatives and referendums that sought fundamental changes in health care,
drug policy, school programs and transportation.

In Oregon, a plan to create a single statewide health plan for all
residents appeared to be in trouble as the initiative's supporters conceded
that they were likely to lose.

The proposal would have replaced almost all public and private health care
programs and individual health insurance, at a cost to state taxpayers of
$1.7 billion in the first year.

The initiative represented the second effort in Oregon to extend health
benefits to all residents since the collapse of President Bill Clinton's
effort to overhaul the national health care system nearly a decade ago.

Despite what polls show is widespread dissatisfaction with elements of the
existing system, voters appeared receptive to the arguments advanced by
business, health care companies and other critics that the proposal was too
costly or was likely to harm employers or drive doctors from the state.

Oregon voters were also to decide on an initiative that would require foods
bearing genetically altered ingredients to be labeled. The requirement,
which is being promoted by consumer groups, organic food distributors and
farmers, would apply to all foods that are grown or sold in Oregon for
people or animals.

A majority of processed foods in American stores contain ingredients whose
cellular structure has been altered to allow for the reduced use of
pesticides or fertilizer.

But proponents of labeling, who enlisted the help of Paul McCartney, said
that the effects of genetic enhancements were unknown, and asserted that
consumers were entitled to know what they were eating.

The state's Agriculture Department estimated that the annual cost of the
labeling would be about $11.2 million, after a start-up of $6.3 million the
first year. But opponents of the measure, generously backed by
biotechnology and food processing companies, contended that the requirement
would unnecessarily alarm people and add about $550 a year in food costs
for a family of four

In Nevada, an initiative backed by wealthy advocates of changes in drug
policy would legalize the use and possession of three ounces of marijuana
or less by people over the age of 21. The proposed constitutional amendment
would also require the state, which already allows the use of marijuana as
medicine, to set up a system to distribute it at low cost to patients
seeking it.

The measure is the latest of several initiatives backed by national groups
seeking to change drug laws and rates of incarceration for nonviolent drug
offenders. One group, the Campaign for New Drug Policies, was founded by
three deep-pocketed individuals: George Soros, Peter Lewis and John
Sperling. It has sponsored at least 13 of 15 drug policy initiatives in the
last eight years, with considerable success.

The advocates for changes in drug policy have also set their sights on
Washington, D.C., and Ohio, where they hope to emphasize drug treatment
over incarceration. In Washington, voters were expected to support a
measure to require treatment for nonviolent users of cocaine, PCP or
methamphetamine. A similar measure in Ohio appeared destined for defeat
late yesterday.

Voters took up several initiatives on education. In Florida, residents were
expected to approve free pre-kindergarten education for all 4-year-olds by
2005. Until now, the Head Start program has been available free to those
below the poverty line, while other families have been required to pay $75
a week for the early education.

In Massachusetts and Colorado, voters took up proposals to abolish
bilingual education in the schools. The initiatives are the latest
campaigns led by Ron K. Unz, a Silicon Valley millionaire who led a
successful English-only effort in California in 1998.

Ballot initiatives in eight states sought to expand gambling, with three
separate initiatives in Arizona alone. Tennessee voted on whether to lift
its prohibition on operating a state lottery, as it struggles with a budget
deficit.

Voters took up several major transportation initiatives, including a
proposal in Washington State to build the country's largest monorail system.

Residents of California and Colorado decided whether to allow voters to
register at the polls on Election Day. In the six states that allow the
practice - Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Wyoming -
turnout is higher than the national average by as much as 17 percent. But
critics say the same-day process invites fraud and raises costs.