Police officers exit a polling station in New York City. Voters in nine states will decide on 11 ballot measures this fall addressing a variety of criminal justice and drug policies. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Voters in nine states will weigh changes to their criminal legal systems and drug policies this fall.
The Nov. 3 ballot measures include questions about pretrial release, fentanyl and human trafficking penalties, immigration enforcement, traffic cameras, drug cartels and marijuana regulation.
The measures reflect a recent increase in ballot proposals that would expand criminal penalties or limit opportunities for pretrial release, according to Ballotpedia, a nonpartisan election research organization. From 2012 through 2020, measures proposing to reduce penalties or bail restrictions outnumbered those proposing increases, 11 to five.
Trump administration faces second lawsuit to block ICE agents at polls
Since 2022, all 16 statewide measures in those categories have moved in a more punitive direction, according to Ballotpedia’s analysis. Twelve of those 16 measures involved expanding the circumstances under which bail could be denied.
More broadly, of the 29 approved criminal justice-related ballot measures since 2022, 11 were more punitive, either by restricting bail, increasing criminal penalties, imposing stricter parole eligibility rules or expanding enforcement against illegal immigration.
This year’s ballot measures come as the Trump administration has prioritized crime, public safety and immigration enforcement, while states and local governments continue to pursue their own criminal justice policies.
The Trump administration has directed federal agencies to expand support for state and local law enforcement, seek tougher sentences for crimes against officers and increase prison capacity. It has also sought greater cooperation from state and local authorities in immigration enforcement, including through agreements that allow local police officers to perform certain immigration-enforcement functions.
That shift comes as national crime rates have fallen sharply. Violent crime declined an estimated 9.3% in 2025, the largest year-to-year decline in the national violent crime rate since the FBI began estimating crime in 1936. Property crime also declined 12.4% from 2024. Preliminary data show crime continued to decline during the first half of 2026.
Bail restrictions dominate
Three states will decide bail-related measures, after lawmakers in Indiana, Louisiana and Tennessee referred proposals to voters, continuing a recent wave of changes to local and state bail laws and constitutional protections.
Bail also has become a major focus of the Trump administration. In 2025, President Donald Trump issued executive orders directing federal agencies to take steps against cashless bail policies and to pursue pretrial detention for people deemed a threat to public safety.
In Indiana, voters will consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow courts to deny bail when “proof” of guilt is evident or the presumption is strong and the defendant poses a substantial risk to another person or the community.
“Public safety is not a partisan issue,” said Indiana state Republican Rep. Chris Jeter, who sponsored the measure in the legislature.
Voters in Louisiana will decide whether to prohibit post-conviction bail, also known as an appeal bond, for people convicted of aggravated offenses against minors.
In Tennessee, a proposed constitutional amendment would remove the right to bail for people accused of terrorism, second-degree murder, aggravated rape of a child, grave torture and other offenses for which a convicted person would be required to serve at least 85% of a sentence before release.
Alabama voters already approved a similar measure in May. Amendment 1 allows judges to deny bail for defendants charged with certain offenses involving the discharge of a weapon or with solicitation, attempt or conspiracy to commit murder. It passed 81.6% to 18.4%.
Tougher drug, trafficking penalties
Colorado voters will consider two citizen-initiated measures that would increase criminal penalties.
One would increase penalties for fentanyl offenses, including certain offenses involving the sale and possession of the drug. It also would require court-ordered treatment for people convicted of certain fentanyl possession offenses and change how drug possession is considered under the state’s habitual criminal law.
The other would require life in prison without parole or release for people convicted of human trafficking of a child for sexual servitude.
Crime victims and law enforcement
Tennessee voters will decide whether to expand constitutional protections for crime victims. Amendment 3 would add a set of rights modeled after “Marsy’s Law,” including the right to be present at criminal proceedings, to receive reasonable notice of public proceedings, to be heard during proceedings involving release, pleas, sentencing and parole, and to have the safety of victims and their families considered in parole decisions.
If the measure is approved, Tennessee would become the 16th state with Marsy’s Law in its constitution.
No more ‘hypothetical situations’: States move to fortify elections against Trump
Measures on other state’s ballots address drug cartels, traffic enforcement, immigration and local law enforcement.
In Arizona, voters will consider a measure that would designate drug cartels as terrorist organizations and require the state Department of Homeland Security to use its authority to address threats posed by cartels.
Another Arizona measure would prohibit the state and other government entities from installing new photo traffic enforcement systems and require voter approval for local governments that already use them to continue doing so.
Colorado voters will consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would require state and local law enforcement to notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after charging someone who is not lawfully present in the United States, or whose immigration status cannot be determined after a reasonable effort, if the person is charged with a violent crime or has a prior felony conviction.
In Missouri, voters will decide whether to require county sheriffs to be elected in most counties, establish sheriffs as the chief law enforcement officers in those counties and limit the circumstances under which they can be removed from office.
Marijuana policy takes different paths
Voters in Massachusetts and Idaho also will decide measures involving marijuana and other psychoactive substances.
In Massachusetts, voters will decide whether to roll back the state’s legal recreational marijuana market. The measure would repeal much of the state’s law allowing licensed recreational marijuana sales while continuing to allow adults to possess up to 1 ounce. Possession of more than 1 ounce but no more than 2 ounces would be subject to civil, rather than criminal, penalties.
Massachusetts voters approved recreational marijuana legalization in 2016. If the measure passes this November, the state would become the first in the country to repeal a law allowing regulated recreational marijuana sales.
Twenty-four states have legalized recreational marijuana possession and adult use, while 41 states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Washington, D.C., also allows marijuana for both recreational and medical use.
High-potency cannabis fuels state debates over psychosis and addiction risks
More state policymakers nationwide have been rethinking cannabis regulations this year, including potency limits, labeling and packaging requirements and consumption warnings.
In Idaho, voters will consider a constitutional amendment that would give the state legislature exclusive authority to legalize marijuana, narcotics or other psychoactive substances. It would prevent citizens from using the state’s initiative process to enact laws legalizing those substances.
The measure would not itself legalize or prohibit marijuana. Instead, it would change who has the power to make those decisions. A separate citizen initiative that would have legalized medical marijuana failed to qualify for this year’s ballot.
The federal government has also taken some steps to ease restrictions on medical marijuana while continuing to consider a broader change to marijuana’s status under federal law.
In April, the U.S. Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration moved FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana products covered by qualifying state medical marijuana licenses from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act. The change applied only to those medical products; it did not broadly reclassify marijuana.
The DEA is separately considering whether to move marijuana more broadly from Schedule I to Schedule III. The agency held a formal hearing on the proposal this summer, but the DEA has not yet issued a final decision on whether marijuana should be moved to Schedule III.
Stateline reporter Amanda Watford can be reached at awatford@stateline.org.
This article was originally published by Stateline and is republished by MetroSTL under a Creative Commons license. The reporting is the outlet’s; please support them.