Marijuana Legalization Voting Live Results: Follow The Election Day Results From California, Florida, And All The Other States Voting On Legalization
Marijuana legalization efforts could take a major leap forward on Election Day, and voters who want to follow along the live voting results will be able to see up-to-the-minute voting totals from the nine states voting on legal pot.
Advocates for legalizing marijuana have looked at Tuesday as what could be a turning point for the nationwide efforts to decriminalize. Five of the states voting on Election Day will be looking to fully legalize recreational marijuana — California, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada. Four others will offer a vote on legalizing medicinal marijuana — Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota, and Montana.
Links to live results for the marijuana legalization votes can be found below.
As the Huffington Post noted, Election Day could end with nearly one-quarter of the nation’s population living in states where marijuana is now legal — with 29 states in total legalizing it in some form.
“Nov. 8 is the most important day in the history of the marijuana legalization movement,” Tom Angell, chairman of drug policy reform group Marijuana Majority, told the Huffington Post. “The stakes couldn’t be higher. Big wins will dramatically accelerate our push to finally end federal marijuana prohibition, perhaps as soon as 2017. But on the other hand, huge losses could interrupt the momentum we’ve been building for the last several years.”
Legalizing marijuana is up for vote in 5 states:
– Maine
– Massachusetts
– California
– Nevada
– Arizona pic.twitter.com/uGrxa7Xh2t— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 8, 2016
Those who follow live results of the marijuana legalization votes are likely to see many of the measures go through. In California, pot-legalization Prop. 64 had wide support leading up to Election Day, the Mercury News noted.
“Most polls suggests Prop. 64 will succeed, if perhaps by a slight margin. Surveys in recent weeks show the proposition enjoys solid support, anywhere from a just-barely-respectable 51 percent to an impressive over-the-top win with 71 percent of voters backing the legalization of pot starting on Nov. 9.”
The California measure also has some firepower in its corner, including an endorsement from Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.
Nancy Pelosi says she plans to vote in favor of a California proposition to legalize marijuana https://t.co/q3m2T7EjBr pic.twitter.com/SEv61OcRGQ
— CNN (@CNN) November 6, 2016
Support was similarly high in Florida, the Huffington Post noted.
“Recent polling showed Floridians likely approve medical marijuana on Tuesday, leading to hopes that it could become the first state in the South to legalize weed for any purpose (polls close earlier in Florida than in Arkansas). One survey conducted in late October showed support for the state’s Amendment 2 at over 70 percent.”
Polling for marijuana legalization measures pointed toward passage in other states, Reason noted. Polls in Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada all topped 50 percent.
Support for legalization is also growing nationwide. A recent survey from American Values Survey found that support was at 63 percent, up from 44 percent last year. Another Gallup poll found that 60 percent of Americans were in favor of legalization while Pew Research Center found 57 percent support — both of which represented all-time highs from each pollster.
There could be a lot riding on the results of the marijuana legalization votes on Tuesday. If most of them can pass, especially if they do so be a healthy margin, some experts see it as a potential tipping point that allowed more states to join in.
“Still, with three national surveys this year showing 60 percent or greater support for legalization, it seems that public attitudes have reached some sort of tipping point,” noted the Washington Post writer Christopher Ingraham, an expert on legalization efforts. “From a governing standpoint, it may become increasingly difficult for policymakers to maintain a strict prohibition that nearly two-thirds of citizens oppose.”
Those who want to find live results of the marijuana legalization votes on 2016 Election Day can check here for live updates from the Huffington Post. Ballotpedia is also offering up-to-date results from the nine states voting to legalize pot. They can be found by clicking on the links for 2016 votes from the nine states.
[Featured Image by Scott Olson/Getty Images]
