Ballot Measures

Delivering same-sex marriage's first ballot box victories and the first openly gay U.S. Senator-elect, the 2012 election could be remembered as a turning point for gay rights, some observers say. Maine voters joined Maryland's in approving same-sex marriage, and the measure was leading in Washington state . In Minnesota, a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage was defeated. Before Tuesday's votes, gay marriage lost all 32 times it appeared on a statewide ballot. Same-sex couples are allowed to wed in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., as a result of court or legislative action.

Maryland enters uncharted political territory this fall as voters for the first time in decades face four major ballot questions. An onslaught of costly advertising is likely as competing interests from all over the country try to sway the state's electorate. Ballot questions aren't subject to fundraising limits, so the money spent on at least two of the campaigns — on laws legalizing same-sex marriage and expanding gambling in the state — will likely be in the millions. Two other questions, on access to higher education for some illegal immigrants and the fairness of the new congressional map, ignite deep passions likely to inspire old fashioned face-to-face politicking.

James A. Buck gladly accepted the package at his Parkville office from the deliveryman wearing a UPS uniform. But minutes later, police swooped in to arrest Buck, 54, and seized the parcel, which had contained three pounds of marijuana he sent to himself from California, according to court records. Buck pleaded guilty to a possession charge, though he said in a recent interview that the drugs were for medicinal use. Buck's case and search warrants unsealed last week offer a glimpse into a long-standing — and growing — smuggling practice: mailing drugs from California to Maryland.

In a strongly worded filing, an attorney representing opponents of a referendum seeking to overturn dozens of rezoning cases asked the state Court of Appeals to deny a review of a lower court's ruling that invalidated the ballot measure. The attorney, Harry B. Siegel, also asked the court to rebuff the last-minute attempt by a citizens group that had pushed the referendum to intervene in the case. The Howard County Board of Elections, in sharp contrast, objected to neither. There was another notable distinction: The board's filing took four pages while Siegel's, including exhibits, consumed 102. The filings were made yesterday, setting the stage for the state's highest court to decide whether scores of rezoning cases, approved last year during what is commonly referred to as "Comp Lite," will be subject to voter consent.

A coalition has submitted nearly 24,000 signatures supporting a referendum on Anne Arundel County's fall ballot that would overturn a decision allowing the state's largest slots casino at a mall. Citizens Against Slots at the Mall submitted 23,702 signatures to the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections on Thursday afternoon in support of a referendum that would allow county voters to decide whether to permit slots at Arundel Mills, according to the groups coordinating the effort.

Howard County residents have tried four times in the past nine years to challenge local government decisions on taxes and land use by referendum and failed each time to get the questions on the ballot. They've been rebuffed by opinions of the county's law department and by the courts, getting hung up on legal technicalities and the details of how signatures are validated. As difficult as it is to put a question on the local ballot, the bar would rise a bit higher if voters on Election Day approve one particular county charter revision, one of five changes proposed this year.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- FDX Corp.'s pilots' union leaders received approval yesterday from members to order a slowdown at Federal Express, the world's largest air-freight company, during the peak holiday shipping season.The FedEx Pilots Association said 93 percent of members who voted gave union leaders permission to order them to refuse to work overtime if contract negotiations with parent company FDX Corp. slow. The leadership will decide whether to call a holiday job action, and the timing of a move.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Since winning the California recall election, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been vague about how he would deal with the state's mammoth budget problems, the driving force behind the ouster of former Gov. Gray Davis. Yesterday, his first full day as governor, Schwarzenegger offered a glimpse of his strategy: He intends to borrow up to $15 billion to cover most of the existing deficit and impose a constitutional spending cap to avoid future overspending. To make sure his plan survives Sacramento's notorious political infighting, Schwarzenegger, a Republican, will ask the Democrat-controlled Legislature to put both proposals to a statewide vote in March.

Does Anne Arundel County really need a charter amendment to shave a penny or two off its property tax rate?That, apparently, will be the net effect of the much-debated referendum capping property tax levies. A glitch in the language of the proposal, it seems, creates a loophole that will all but wipe out the savings promised by tax rebels.Under the original interpretation, annual increases in levies on all property -- including new construction -- would be held to the lower of 4.5 percent or inflation.

SAN FRANCISCO - -The California Supreme Court's decision Tuesday to uphold Proposition 8 and existing same-sex marriages left in place all rights for California's gays and lesbians except access to the label "marriage," but it provided little protection from future ballot measures that could cost gays and other minorities more rights, lawyers and scholars said. In a 6-1 ruling, the court said the November ballot measure that restored a ban on same-sex marriage was a limited constitutional amendment, not a wholesale revision that would have required a two-thirds vote of the legislature to be placed before voters.