4 states ban gay marriage; Arizona OKs bills targeting illegal immigrants

Nevada and Colorado both offered measures — trailing badly in pre-election polls — that would legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by anyone 21 and older. A measure in Rhode Island would restore voting rights to felons on probation and parole.

Michigan voters decided whether to bar the state government from using race and gender to determine who gets into college, who gets hired and who receives contracts.

Elsewhere, land use was a hot issue, part of a backlash against a 2005 Supreme Court ruling allowing the city of New London, Conn., to buy up homes to make way for a private commercial development.

Eleven states considered eminent-domain measures barring the government from taking private property for a private use; Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire and South Carolina approved them overwhelmingly. In four states — Arizona, California, Idaho and Washington — voters could require state and local authorities to compensate property owners if land-use regulations lowered the value of their property.

South Dakota voters could make their state the first to strip immunity from judges, exposing them to the possibility of lawsuits, fines and even jail for their actions on the bench. Opponents, including leaders of both major parties, said it would create chaos in the judicial system.

In Maine, Nebraska and Oregon, voters considered measures that would cap increases in state spending — similar to a controversial measure approved in Colorado in 1992.

Arizona voters were deciding on the most ballot measures — 19 — including four that were approved that stemmed from frustration over the influx of illegal immigrants. One measure will make English the state's official language; another expands the list of government benefits denied to illegal immigrants.

Voters weren't keen about another, more quirky Arizona measure: They defeated a proposal that would have awarded $1 million to a randomly selected voter in each general election.