Democracy

In the aftermath of the 2012 election, the nation's big money donors may be reassessing their "investments" -- particularly those managed by Republican strategist Karl Rove.

With most voter ID laws blocked before the 2012 elections and local election officials and civic groups prepared for True the Vote's intimidation tactics, some of the worst fears about voter disenfranchisement were averted in Tuesday's vote. But partisan voting laws and continued confusion over election administration led to long lines -- prompting President Obama to note "by the way, we have to fix that," in his acceptance speech.

Across the country in states that allow for citizen lawmaking through ballot propositions, yesterday voters in many states had a direct say in the laws that govern them. There were 188 measures on the ballot in 38 states. Below we review the official, unconfirmed election results of some of the key propositions. Join the conversation on Facebook and tell us about other important propositions in your state.

At the Mt. View gas station in Wausau, Wisconsin last week, some motorists were able to secure a gallon of gas for $1.84, thanks to a subsidy from David Koch's Americans for Prosperity. These astroturf publicity stunts have taken place at gas stations around the country in recent weeks as part of AFP's effort to mobilize votes for Mitt Romney by drawing attention to an alleged rise in gas prices since President Barack Obama took office. But since most experts attribute the rise in gas prices to long term trends and crude oil commodity speculation, AFP's hijinks only underscore the role of Wall Street speculators -- including the Kochs themselves -- in jacking up critical commodity prices on average Americans.