Landslide ballot wins for property rights in 10 states.

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 ruling to throw Suzette Kelo out of her home in favor of a private developer (Kelo v. New London) provoked outrage nationwide and launched a national reform effort that has resulted in over 30 states enacting laws and/or constitutional amendments to prevent the eminent-domain abuses symbolized by Kelo.

On November 7, voters in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and South Carolina overwhelmingly approved constitutional amendments prohibiting the use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private party to another for economic development purposes. In Oregon and Arizona voters passed, by two-thirds majorities, "Kelo-Plus" statutes that both restricted eminent domain for private use as well as "regulatory takings," environmental and zoning regulations that diminish property use and value without "just compensation."

California's "Kelo-Plus" ballot measure, Proposition 90, narrowly failed (48-52 percent), after heavy spending by environmental activist groups. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's public opposition to the measure may have provided the tipping point against Prop 90. A similar measure also failed in Idaho, where anti-Kelo protections are already in place. In Washington state, voters turned down Initiative 933, a regulatory takings measure.

Although not part of the November 7 landslide, Louisiana voters got a jump on the rest of the nation, passing on September 30 an anti-Kelo constitutional amendment to protect property owners. And in July, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed into law House Bill 1944, to rein in the state's eminent-domain abuses.