Ballot measures seen a distraction in election

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Four years ago state ballot measures were at the center of the presidential election, and were credited with helping George W. Bush win a second term in office.

This year proposals asking voters to ban same-sex marriages, curb access to abortions and roll back programs to aid minorities, among others, are merely distractions from major issues of the jittery U.S. economy and high fuel costs, analysts say.

The state initiatives -- by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of voters or a measure by a legislature can force a vote on a proposed statute -- have become a staple accompanying U.S. presidential and congressional elections.

"Big issues and big solutions are on voters' minds this cycle," said Kristina Wilfore, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a liberal-leaning policy group in Washington.

"The gimmicky measures on some of these social issues have failed to catch fire even at the signature gathering phase," she added.

In 2004, an unprecedented number of initiatives asking voters to decide on same-sex marriage bans were credited with energizing the conservative evangelical base to vote for Bush in 11 states.

This year as Republican John McCain faces Democrat Barack Obama on November 4, a fresh crop of at least 112 measures will be on ballots in 30 states, down from 204 during the congressional elections two years ago.

Voters will be asked to consider perennials like a bid to ban or severely restrict access to abortions which will be on ballots in California, South Dakota and Colorado, and more exotic measures such as a ban sought in Alaska on shooting wolves from aircraft.

"There's quite a few social issues, and generally conservative-leaning social issues, though there's no dominating issue," said Jennie Drage Bowser, a policy analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver.

"In 2004, we had the same-sex marriage issue, but there is nothing that is nationally dominating this year," she added.

NO CLEAR ADVANTAGE

The measures, which are state-level referendums on selected topics, first appeared on ballots more than a century ago.

The initiatives often are offered either to turn out voters for a party, or by activists to draw candidates' attention to a particular issue during their campaigns.

Measures to define marriage as solely between a man and a woman are set to appear on state ballots again this year in Arizona, California and Florida.

While there are signs social conservatives are starting to rally around the issue, it is not clear that it will give McCain an advantage.

California, the most populous state, has a trove of 55 electoral college votes and is tipped to go to Obama.

Last month a poll there showed voters likely would reject the measure that seeks to override a state Supreme Court ruling in May allowing same-sex unions.

In the battleground state of Colorado, a measure is on the ballot that seeks to block programs that aid minority groups. But neither McCain nor Obama can expect a clear benefit from it, analysts say.

"It is more likely to mobilize Obama's opponents than McCain's" supporters, said Robert Stein, a professor of political science at Rice University.

"Anything that brings a voter to the poll that is not necessarily a guaranteed vote for either the Democrats or Republicans is a problem ... It's a draw," he said.

(Editing by Ed Stoddard and Vicki Allen)