The biggest 2020 state ballot initiatives

The 2020 election could have far-reaching policy implications — not just at the national level, but in a number of states as well, where important ballot initiatives are on the table.

Five states — Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota — have proposed legalizing marijuana. Marijuana is currently legal in 11 states and the District of Columbia, and it has been decriminalized in all of the above states except South Dakota. Polls indicate the measures in all five states are likely to pass.

Oregon, which has already legalized marijuana, is going a step further — an initiative is on the ballot in that state that would decriminalize all drugs. The measure would redirect the savings from law enforcement and incarceration costs to setting up a drug addiction treatment and recovery program, as Vox’s German Lopez explained.

In Colorado, voters will decide whether the state will ban abortions after 22 weeks, though abortions would still be legal after that point if the doctor believes it is necessary to save the life of the person carrying the fetus. Recent polls show the vote is likely to be close, with a large portion of voters still undecided.

For the sixth time, Puerto Rico will vote on statehood. The idea was first put to the vote in 1967, when it was rejected. For the first time in 2017, Puerto Ricans passed a referendum on statehood, but turnout was extremely low. Few polls have been released for the measure this year.

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