Transgender Athlete Restrictions, Voter ID Ballot Measures Pass Even in States Where Democrats Won Big

President Trump urged voters to pretend that he was on the ballot in the 2026 midterm elections. And the results appear to be a clear rebuke of his second term in office.However, while some Republicans were despondent about their electoral prospects, fretting that they may be in the minority in Congress until the 2030s, there were signs that voters were not disavowing the conservative movement altogether.In several states where Democrats flipped statewide offices, ballot measures on hot-button issues such as transgender athletes and voter ID passed by double-digit margins. Transgender athletes:In Arizona, Democrats are poised to win control of the state legislature for the first time in 60 years. The state’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, also won re-election by roughly 13 percentage points. However, Proposition 318, which would prevent students from participating on sports teams that do not align with their biological sex and would require students and school faculty to use the restroom that aligns with their biological sex, passed by nearly 20 points. A similar measure was passed by more than 30 points in Nebraska. As of Wednesday afternoon, similar restrictions held vote leads in the deep-blue states of Washington and Colorado; however, those races were still close to call. Voter ID:Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio passed constitutional amendments that require voters to show ID to cast their ballots. In each state, the measure was approved by double-digits. And in each state, Democrats had a good night. In Nevada, the Democratic candidate, Aaron Ford, unseated the incumbent Republican governor, Joe Lombardo. In Ohio, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Amy Acton, defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, marking the first time in 20 years the state elected a Democratic governor. And a former Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, unseated Senator Jon Husted. And in North Carolina, Democrat Roy Cooper won the open Senate seat. Meanwhile, voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, and South Dakota approved ballot measures specifying that only citizens can vote. In Alaska, the Democrats running for governor and Senate were ahead in the vote count. Taxes:Voters in several states approved measures to cut taxes. Tennessee voters passed a ballot measure to prohibit property taxes. Voters in Florida approved a measure to lower the property taxes. And in North Carolina, voters passed a measure to lower the maximum income tax rate to 3.5 percent from 7 percent. Additionally, a one-time wealth tax on billionaires in California appears headed for defeat. Abortion:Voters in Nevada and Virginia approved ballot measures enshrining the right to abortion in their respective state constitutions. Voters in Missouri also rejected a ballot measure that would have repealed a constitutional amendment protecting abortion access. However, voters in Idaho rejected a proposal to enshrine abortion access in the state constitution.

Transgender Athlete Restrictions, Voter ID Ballot Measures Pass Even in States Where Democrats Won Big

Transgender Athlete Restrictions, Voter ID Ballot Measures Pass Even in States Where Democrats Won Big

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