Stuffed ballots

Politics | Off-year elections present plenty of hot-button issues | Mark Bergin

Absent the daily sound-byte circus of dueling presidential or congressional campaigns, the run-up to the Nov. 8 off-year elections has still generated considerable partisan rhetoric. In 490 cities across the country, that sort of heat centers on mayoral races—New York's Michael Bloomberg and Detroit's Kwame Kilpatrick among the more prominent incumbents up for reelection.

But items on some state ballots are drawing national attention, including several outside the typical cultural hot-button fare. Proposals to limit or license state spending promise a regional gauge of the country's current comfort with government deficits—an issue that could play big in the 2008 drive for the White House.