Ballot measures don’t often earn much attention nationally, but such statewide initiatives are arduous to launch. They require an incredible investment in advertising and boots-on-the-ground organizing. And almost always, progressive measures face deep-pocketed corporate opposition. In spite of these incredible odds, several states are moving forward with ballot questions on a diverse range of issues from housing and the environment to sexual violence . Next week Californians will weigh in on Proposition 10 which would repeal a real-estate developer-funded state pre-emption law on housing that dates back to the 1990s and the administration of Republican Governor Pete Wilson. State pre-emption is a perfect example of a complicated concept—one that often carries the taint of racism—that has enormous local ramifications. In an effort to prevent further regulation of the housing and the environment sectors, many corporations have relied on largely white state...