A repeat of 2004 elections on ballot questions? Not exactly

Published: 2006-10-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In some ways the ballot questions voters are facing in 2006 may seem like a repeat of two years ago: A number of states are considering constitutional amendments to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, and one state is facing an initiative that could make embryonic stem-cell research and human cloning a constitutional right. But this year the stem-cell question comes up in Missouri, not California, and the ballot measure likely to get much of the nation's attention is a proposal in South Dakota to repeal a law banning most abortions in the state. "Real lives are at stake," says Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City, S.D., who adds that the referendum "provides all citizens in South Dakota the chance for a public debate on what kind of society we want to have." California and Oregon ballots include measures that would require parental notification before a minor's abortion. In all, there are more than 200 ballot measures before voters in 36 states Nov. 7.

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