What Went Down In The 2018 Midterms

If last night was a blur for you, we don’t blame you. We also have a good way to relive all the big calls. Have a watch of this compilation video, which shows our writers reacting to the election as it unfolded.

In Washington, Measure 1631, the Carbon Emissions Fee Measure, lost, with 56 percent voting no. The measure would have put a tax on carbon emissions, and it was the second time in two years that a ballot measure on a carbon tax was voted down in the state. Groups in favor of the measure were outspent by oil interests who poured more than $31 million into defeating it.

Carbon taxes are widely favored by economists, but this second failure to pass such a tax shows how difficult it can be to convince voters. This latest effort to install a carbon tax in Washington received 57 percent of the vote in King County, where Seattle is located, revealing an urban/rural divide. Supporters of the measure pledge to continue the fight. “This problem is not going away regardless of whether we come out on top or not,” Nick Abraham, communications liaison for Yes on 1631, told Crosscut Magazine.

How did last night’s voting-related ballot initiatives shake out? It was a mixed bag, both for people in favor of expanding voting access and those in favor of restricting it. In addition to Florida’s constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to many felons, several measures that could make it easier to vote were successful:

• Automatic voter registration passed in Nevada and Michigan, where people applying for driver’s license will now be automatically registered to vote, unless they affirmatively opt out.
• Michigan voters also approved several other sweeping changes to their election laws, adding same-day voter registration, making it easier to request absentee ballots, and reinstating the straight-ticket voting option that was nixed by the Republican legislature a few years ago.
• Maryland voters approved same-day registration.

Voter ID measures — which tend to be popular — also did well at the ballot box. Voters in North Carolina and Arkansas approved measures that will require voters to show some form of photo ID when they cast ballots in person. In North Carolina, the legislature will decide which kinds of photo ID will qualify. Back in 2013, North Carolina legislators passed a similar law, but it was struck down by the courts as racially discriminatory.