Some gay rights groups say they need more time to convince voters to back legalization of same-sex marriage in California, the LA Times reports. Reaction: this may be too cautious, but there may be advantages to waiting. One developing problem with the 2010 ballot is that it appears likely to be crowded with high profile measures on taxation, budgeting, the constitutional convention and, of course, marijuana legalization.

This San Francisco Chronicle story does a very good job explaining why it's unlikely that Prop 8 will be overturned by the California Supreme Court. The key question is whether the initiative is an amendment to the constitution, which is permitted by initiative, or is actually a revision because the court ruled in May that there is an inherent constitutional right to marriage that applies to gay and straight couples alike. Traditionally, the court has been reluctant to declare an initiative invalid because it's a "revision." The Chronicle points out this has only been done twice, and neither case would seem to apply easily to the case of Prop 8.

As a regular feature, I'll provide updates measures as they qualify in California and around the country.

This weekend's qualifiers: Medical marijuana makes the ballot in Michigan. (Five cities already have municipal measures)... Ban on same sex marriage (and maybe civil unions) in Florida…