Ohio and New Jersey voters approve ballot questions favored by agricultural interests

On Monday we reported about ballot questions relating to agriculture in Ohio and New Jersey. Tuesday, voters in both states passed each proposal. Only one Ohio county voted to defeat Issue No. 2, which formed a Livestock Care Standards Board, Alan Johnson of The Columbus Dispatch reports. In New Jersey, 52 percent of voters approved question No. 1, which allocated more money for land preservation.

The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board was proposed to head off a possible animal-rights proposal, but the debate may not be over. "We just needed to see this issue resolved before we launch reform efforts in Ohio to phase out the confinement of animals on factory farms," Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, told Johnson. "We haven't made the final decision to do that, but it's very likely." Gov. Ted Strickland said he would oppose such a move: "I think the people have spoken, and we could make the argument that the issue had been taken to the people in the form of a ballot initiative and they had expressed their desires." (Read more)