Dems Look to Light Up Stoner Vote in 2012

Democratic strategists think they might be able to float to victory in 2012 on a cloud of Mary Jane. If California’s Proposition 19—the ballot initiative to legalize pot in the state—does a decent job of driving liberal young stoners to the polls, expect to see similar initiatives spring up in Nevada, Colorado, and Washington, the strategists tell the Wall Street Journal. Exploratory polls are already under way, in fact, in Colorado.

Party pollsters say Proposition 19 is already working its magic in California, where more young voters appear more likely to turn out this year than in any other state. A survey in Colorado, meanwhile, shows that 45% of Obama “surge voters”—those who voted for the first time in 2008—say a pot initiative would make them more likely to return in 2012. “If you are 18 to 29, it’s far and away the most compelling reason to go out and vote,” one pollster says. (More marijuana legalization stories.)