STRIKE TWO: Arkansas's attorney general, for the second time, has rejected the language of a ballot initiative filed to deny public benefits to unauthorized immigrants. The a.g. has said the language is ambiguous and that initiative sponsors need to hire an attorney; he suggested that he could substitute language himself, but after being criticized for his first rejection of the measure, he decided not to.

THESE COPS ARE MAD: Police officers in Monrovia, Calif are locked in a contract fight, and they've decided to use the ballot initiative process to help. They're circulating petitions on two local initiatives: one that would mandate they are paid at least the average salary of other local police departments, and another to prevent other city officials from making more than their counterparts in nearby municipalities. Also, they have posted billboards around town that read: "You're Approaching Monrovia. Higher Violent Crime. Fewer Officers Patrolling. Thank the City Manager and City Council." 

WAS NYT RIGHT ON COLORADO CIRCULATORS? A libertarian institute says an April 2 New York Times report on complaints about signature gathering Colorado are overblown. He also raises questions about the reporter the NYT has on the story--questions that may have some validity (though it would be nice if the post's author could spell the reporter's name right).

MISSOURI ANTI-GAMBLING MEASURE has the signatures. Turn-in was Friday, according to this report.

AT LEAST ONE COLORADO MEASURE DOESN'T MAKE THE BALLOT: An initiative to put term limits on judges fails to get the signatures.

ARIZONA PRESERVATION: Here's a look at an Arizona ballot initiative would preserve hundreds of thousands of acres of undeveloped land.

CONSERVATIVE DELUSIONS: The National Review weighs in with a piece praising the doomed effort to convince Californians to enshrine a gay marriage ban in the state constituion. There's a lot of nonsense here about how difficult the signature gathering process was. Here's a counter political analysis: this initiative is likely to spark a backlash that will accelerate the legalization of same sex marriage in California.

MISSOURI STEM CELL RESEARCH: An appeals court approved the rewriting part of a constitutional amendment designed to limit the state's stem cell search program, which was approved by voters two years ago.