From Slavery to Trophy Hunting: 6 Surprising Issues Americans Will Vote On

In addition to the obvious questions on the ballot on November 5, voters in several states will be asked to vote on a range of surprising down-ballot measures.
Abortion is one of the major issues, with 10 states including questions about how abortion should be regulated on their ballots.
Other states are including down-ballot measures on a range of subjects, from trophy hunting to psychedelic substances and euthanasia. Here are six of them.
Voters in California will vote on whether to ban forced labor in prisons.
If Proposition 6 is passed, it would amend the state constitution to include language prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.
Currently, the state constitution’s language allows inmates to be given involuntary work assignments, and those who refuse work can be disciplined.
The state’s constitution was changed in the 1970s to remove the exemption for slavery, but the involuntary servitude exception is still included.
Colorado has a measure to prohibit the trophy hunting of big cats on the ballot.
The measure, proposition 127, defines trophy hunting as “intentionally killing, wounding, pursuing, or entrapping” or “discharging or releasing any deadly weapon” at a mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx.
Mountain lions and bobcats can currently be hunted if licenses are obtained from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Hunting lynxes is already prohibited due to their endangered status.
The ballot provides exceptions, such as killing one of these animals to defend a human life.
Maine’s ballot includes a vote on whether to replace the current state flag with a design based on the state’s original flag, which was used from 1901 to 1909.
The current flag depicts a farmer and a sailor flanking an image of moose beneath a tree on a dark blue backdrop. Critics of this flag say it is cluttered and not distinctive.
The proposed flag is a simpler design, with an image of a pine tree and blue North Star on a light tan background.
The new design was selected following a contest that received more than 400 submissions.
Voters in Massachusetts will have their say on whether to legalize and regulate psychedelic substances.
If passed, the measure would allow people over the age of 21 to grow, possess and use these substances.
It would also impose a 15 percent excise tax on their sale at licensed facilities, with an option for localities to add an additional 2 percent tax.
A Natural Psychedelic Substances Commission and Advisory Board would be able to adopt regulations for the licensing of psychedelic substances and services.
Similarly to California, Nevada also has a question on its ballot about whether to prohibit forced prison labor.
The measure, if passed, would repeal language from the state’s constitution that allows the use of both slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments.
Prisoners in these states can currently be forced to work under the threat of punishment.
West Virginia’s ballot includes a vote on whether to enshrine a ban on euthanasia in the state’s constitution.
If passed, a section would be added to the constitution that would prohibit people from participating in “the practice of medically assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of a person.”
Physician-assisted death is legal in nine states in the U.S., but not West Virginia. The amendment would not have immediate effect in the state, but would put up roadblocks for lawmakers if they wished to try to legalize the practice in the future.