Here is one summary, I don't honestly know if it is complete:
Election Day 2005 : Important Races
On Tuesday, voters in Virginia and New Jersey will select a new governor, and voters in California, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington will pass judgment on 39 ballot measures. In California and Ohio, voters will decide how electoral districts should be redrawn.
The gubernatorial races have set new records for campaign war chests -- at least $42 million in Virginia and a staggering $70 million in New Jersey -- as well as nastiness -- with references to Nazis (Virginia) and quotes from a candidate's ex-wife (New Jersey). For perspective on costs, assume the candidates raised money every day for a year; their average take would be a combined, and some might say obscene, $306,850 per day. For a job that, in 2001, paid $110,000 - 130,000 per year (VA and NJ, respectively - pdf).
- California - There are eight initiatives on Tuesday's ballot, including one that would wrest control of electoral redistricting from the the legislature and place it in the hands of three retired judges. The panel wold be charged with remaking the districts in time for the 2006 election; current polling suggests it will fail. In addition, voters decide ona measure to cap state spending.
- New Jersey - The governor's race pits Sen. Jon Corzine (D) against businessman Doug Forrester (R). Corzine has been considered the front-runner, since the state has voted Democrat in the last four presidential elections and the governor's office is currently held by a Democrat. In what is commonly accepted as a new political low, Forrester's campaign ran an ad which quoted Corzine's ex-wife saying he would betray the state like he betrayed his family. Perhaps in some kind of weird karmic balance, on Friday, Forrester found himself denying a New York Daily News gossip column which suggested he had had an extramarital affair.
From Newsday: "[Voters] got one of the most negative campaigns in state history, and the most expensive one too," according to David Rebovich, a Rider University political analyst. Instead, they were treated to attacks like Forrester's which featured Corzine's ex-wife, Joanne Corzine: "All I could think was that Jon did let his family down, and he'll probably let New Jersey down, too." Forrester said: "It has everything to do with governing. It has nothing to do with private life."
The two candidates have been spending almost $1 million a day in the past 18 days ... most of it for negative TV ads in the expensive New York and Philadelphia markets.
In addition, all 80 seats (47-D, 33-R) in the General Assembly are up for re-election. - Ohio - Several electoral reforms are on the ballot in Ohio, where state government has been tainted by scandal (an investment scheme in a rare coin fund, "Coingate," and a guilty plea by Governor Bob Taft (R) for failure to report free golf outings with lobbyists). One measure which would create a five-member redistricting commission; it would be charged with completing work in time for the 2008 elections. Another would establish a State Board of Elections to oversee voting; it is currently the job of the secretary of state. A third would allow voters cast absentee ballots without giving a reason. And the fourth would rescind a boost in campaign financing limit passed by the legislature earlier this year.
- Virginia - Like its neighbor to the north, Virginia is experiencing its most costly campaign on record. The race pits Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) against former state attorney general Jerry Kilgore (R) for the opportunity to replace Governor Mark Warner (D). Virginia also has a third-party candidate, Russ Potts, a former Republican state senator.
Kilgore has set a state fundraising record - at least $22 million - and has attacked Kaine for his personal opposition to the death penalty. Kaine has criticized Kilgore for opposing a 2004 budget bill -- approved by the Republican-controlled legislature. Virginia historically votes Republican in Presidential elections; Warner had reversed a trend of Republican governors.
The 98 seats (61-R, 37-D) in the House of Delegates are also on the ballot.
In other issues, voters in Texas are expected to approve a constitutional amendment banning same-gender marriages; Texas is the 19th state to consider such an amendment. In contrast, voters in in Maine are expected to ratify a state law which prohibits discrimination in employment and housing that is based on sexual orientation. Washington voters have six initiatives: one would roll back a 9.5-cent-per-gallon increase in the gasoline tax passed in the 2005 legislative session.