Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio voters approve voter ID while California rejects billionaire tax
Voters in several states approved voter-ID measures and an English-language amendment in Idaho, while abortion, billionaire tax and voter-ID proposals in California were defeated.
Voters in several states approved measures requiring photo or document-based identification at the polls, even as other ballot questions on abortion, taxes and voter rules were rejected on the same night. The mixed results complicated any single reading of the electorate, coming alongside a broader Democratic sweep in the midterm elections.
Nevada Question 7 passed with 62.1 percent of the vote, making Nevada the first state to adopt a voter-ID requirement through this route. Under the measure, mail ballots will require the last four digits of a driver's license or Social Security number. In North Carolina, a constitutional amendment requiring photo identification for all voting passed with 59.6 percent. In Ohio, Issue 3 passed with 65.3 percent, writing voter identification into the state constitution. The wins came as federal discussions on the issue had stalled.
California voters, however, rejected a similar proposal. Proposition 39, which would have required voter identification and registration checks, failed with 39.4 percent in favor. The divergence between states shows that voter-ID rules remain a contested question even where supporters have found success at the ballot box.
In Idaho, voters approved HJR6 with 63.1 percent, enshrining English as the official language in the state constitution. Idaho had already designated English as its official language by statute since 2007. The sponsor, Representative Dale Hawkins, tied the measure to a federal executive order on the same subject.
Abortion rights also appeared on the ballot. Idaho Proposition 1 failed with 44.0 percent in favor. The measure would have created a right to abortion before fetal viability in Idaho. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, claimed the outcome as a win for the anti-abortion movement.
On taxation, California Proposition 40 failed with 47.5 percent in favor. The measure would have imposed a 5 percent tax on billionaires, applying to business stakes, securities, art, collectibles and intellectual property, and it would have been retroactive to billionaire residents as of January 1, 2026. The initiative was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Governor Gavin Newsom opposed it, citing concerns about the state's competitiveness.
Taken together, the results show voters supporting identification requirements and English-language measures in several states while rejecting a wealth tax and an abortion-rights amendment, a pattern that will likely be read in different ways by each side of the debates.
Source: foxnews.com
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