Propositon 8 Passes

While many around the country rejoiced as news came in that Barack Obama became the new President-elect, others watched in anticipation for Proposition 8 results. By the end of the evening, it became clear that Prop 8 had passed in California, effectively adding an amendment to California's Constitution defining marriage as between a man and woman. While 61 % of Californian voters elected Barack Obama for president, 52.2 % of voters supported Proposition 8.

Reasons for Proposition 8's approval are currently being debated . Some suggest, based on already suspicious exit polling, that the high volume of new African-American and Latino voters, or the "pro-Obama surge", contributed heavily to the ban. Nate Silver of Fivethirtyeight.com argues: "But the notion that Prop 8 passed because of the Obama turnout surge is silly. Exit polls suggest that first-time voters -- the vast majority of whom were driven to turn out by Obama (he won 83 percent [!] of their votes) -- voted against Prop 8 by a 62-38 margin. More experienced voters voted for the measure 56-44, however, providing for its passage".

California was not the only state to pass a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. Florida and Arizona also passed constitutional bans on same-sex, with slightly larger margins. Florida passed Amendment 2 with 62 % of voter approval, Arizona's Proposition 102 passed with 56% of voter approval. Arkansas also passed Initiative 1, a ban on gay couple adopting children, with 57 % of voter approval.

Again, it is unclear what factors specifically played roles in the approvals of Amendment 2, Proposition 102, and Initiative 1; however, it is interesting to note the wording of Florida's Amendment 2. While the actual amendment states: "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized", the summary given on the ballot says "This amendment protects marriage...". The use of the word "protect" in this statement could have very well affected the decisions of voters, creating a higher percentage of votes in favor of the ban. This leads us to wonder, what were the affects of question-wording in these amendments?