U.S. election not just about Republicans and Democrats

Americans put a check on President Donald Trump by handing control of the House of Representatives to the Democrats on Tuesday night.

It wasn’t all bad news for Trump as the Republicans strengthened their hold on the Senate, which will make confirming his appointees like judge Brett Kavanaugh a little easier for the next two years.

But overall, Trump is not going to have the compliant Congress he has had for the last two years.

The Democrats in charge of the House are not going to roll over when he blusters and they’re also going to want to look at some of the goings-on in his administration — and at his love affair with Vladimir Putin — that House Republicans liked to pretend weren’t happening.

As always on U.S. election night, the focus is on the Democrats and Republicans and who wins what race and control of the legislative bodies.

But when Americans go to the polls, they vote on so much more.

The citizen-driven initiatives are always interesting and revealing.

From a B.C. point of view, it’s always curious to take a look right over the border to see what our neighbours in Washington are thinking. For example, carbon tax. B.C. has one. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trying to implement a national one, but Washington voters rejected a carbon tax proposal, though not by a massive margin. It still had considerable support.

According to the Seattle P-I, the now online-only newspaper, the no campaign, led by an oil industry lobby group, outspent the yes campaign $31 million to $16 million.

A ban on imposing soft drink and grocery taxes anywhere in the state outside of Seattle (where there already is one) was approved.

The P-I says the American Beverage Association spent more than $20 million to win that fight.

Tougher gun laws were approved. They include enhanced background checks for people buying semi-automatic rifles, raising the minimum age to buy a semi-automatic from 18 to 21, adding a waiting period get such a weapon and requiring the weapons’ safe storage.

That initiative didn’t seem to make as much noise during the campaign as the other two. Perhaps the National Rifle Association knew this was not a state in which it could mount a winning fight.

A measure also passed that will make it easier to prosecute police officers for negligent shootings. It also calls for improved police training in de-escalation tactics.

Around the U.S., Florida, despite being split pretty much 50-50 in statewide races, overwhelming supported giving ex-felons their votes back.

Missouri approved a constitutional amendment to make it easier for charities to run bingo games. Instead of requiring two years’ membership in an organization, now only six months’ membership will be needed for people to be permitted to run a bingo.

A few more states allowed medical and recreational marijuana.

California voters approved Proposition 7, the first step toward permanent year-round daylight saving time. The measure still requires a two-thirds vote from the Legislature and a change in federal law, according to an Associated Press story.

Citizen-driven initiatives are much harder to get to the ballot in B.C. The only one that ever worked here led to B.C. voters repealing the Harmonized Sales Tax.

However, B.C. is undergoing some citizen democracy of its own now with the mail-in electoral reform referendum. Tonight at 7, Premier John Horgan and BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson debate the topic on CBC and Global.

This should be a debate worth watching. For many British Columbians, it’s also our first chance to see who this Wilkinson fellow is.