Florida's "Hometown Democracy" initiative, now headed for the 2010 ballot, may be the most important measure on an American ballot next year.

The initiative would turn land use into a thoroughly democratic exercise. If the measure is approved, any Florida city or county that wants to adopt or amend its land use plan would have to put the change to a vote of the people. That's right -- any change in a land use plan would require a referendum. (Advocates say the initiative would exempt specific decisions on zoning, variances, or building permits).

This is not a new phenomenon--cities and counties all over the country have been adopting similar rules for the past 25 years. In general, such requirements act as an effective shield against major development. That's good for environmentalists who oppose development, and for political consultants who need campaign business. But it's at best a mixed blessing for local economies. Cities and counties with such restrictions typically have far less new development than those without them.

Florida's initiative has already sparked an all out war between development, community and environmental interests. Expect this election to be nationalized, as real estate and development interests from around the country come to see this initiative as a possible precedent that must be strangled in the crib.

There are plenty of initiatives in California cleared for circulation, but nothing on the street, as of my last check last weekend. The May 19 special election came too quickly for anyone to qualify an initiative, and the next scheduled statewide election isn't until June 2010. And many of state's signature gatherers have departed for Florida or Washington.

What are they working on there? In Florida, there are two redistricting initiatives on the ballot, paying 70 cents a piece. In Washington, a conservative, anti-property tax initiative is paying 75 cents. Both prices are low, but I'm told that circulators are showing a lot of interest in both petitions. Deflation and the bad economy have not spared direct democracy. (Hat tip: Public Petitioner).

Bans on same-sex marriage appear to have won in Florida and Arizona. And Prop 8, the California ban on gay marriage, is leading early, with nearly 53 percent of the vote. That number will likely shrink as the night goes on. Early tallies are heavy with mail ballots; those voters tend to be older, and age is the best predictor of how people vote on same-sex marriage. It's possible that this race will remain so tight that we may not know the outcome for days, if not weeks.

NO REVOCATION IN FLORIDA: A Florida appeals court ruled that voters cannot revoke their signatures on ballot initiative petitions. The court struck down as unconstitutional a 2007 on signature revocation, saying that such revocation was not part of the state constitution and could "serve to burden" the initiative process. The context: Florida, more than any other state, has taken measures to restrict direct democracy and signature gathering--this ruling could undermine part of that move.

UPDATED APRIL 4 After two nights of contacting gatherers and reading initiatives from all over the country (AND SOME EXCELLENT CORRECTIONS ON ARKANSAS AND MICHIGAN FROM Ballotpedia), here's my report on what's "on the street" and circulating in this great democratic land of ours. Please let me know if you think I'm missing important measures. For a more progressive take and focus, you can look at the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center's issues map.

CRACKDOWN ON SIGNATURE GATHERERS? The Contra Costa Times has this item in praise of a bill that will attempt to hold initiative sponsors liable for misstatements and misrepresentations made by signature gatherers. One wonders if the sponsor has met any signature gatherers, who tend to be, shall we say, independent-minded. They often are folks who, because of their life choices, like to be paid in cash. How does one police these misrepresentations? Who decides? This bill may pass, but it seems like an outrageous criminalization of political speech that will produce nothing more than litigation.

NO EMERGING NATIONAL TREND: Those Nevada ballot initiatives -- one putting more scrutiny on government contracting, the other banning taxpayer funds from being used for lobbying -- have been withdrawn by their conservative backers. Those backers blame legal challenges by labor for slowing down qualification of the measures.

SARASOTA COUNTY: Florida is billed as a model for how to use ballot initiatives to control growth.

It happened this week in Broward County, Florida, offering the world more damning evidence that Floridians aren't to be trusted in matters of democracy. The referendum was to decide whether a 200-person neighborhood would become part of the community of Tamarac. But not one registered voter showed up. One lesson: small communities are better off holding town meetings than formal referenda.

Think Florida has made a mess out of presidential politics in this era? The state’s record is even worse when it comes to direct democracy. Florida continues to take legislative and regulatory steps that undermine the public’s right to make and reverse laws.

In this excellent piece from the Daytona Beach paper, environmental activist John Hedrick explains how Florida has set the deadline for turning in initiative petitions and for certifying signatures for the EXACT SAME DAY. Since signatures don’t count themselves, this ensures administrative chaos -- and worse. To exploit the last minute crunch of signature gathering, some groups have taken to deluging the Secretary of State’s office with signatures at the deadline to make it more difficult to count the signatures on initiatives they don’t like.