6 November Election Results & Reactions

I'd like to briefly discuss the election results and my reactions. The information here is accurate as of 20h00ish Central European Time.

PRESIDENCY
Well, I'm sure you all know how the presidential election went.
Although Obama won by a significant number of electoral votes (303 to 206, with Florida's 29 also leaning toward Obama), his win in terms of the popular vote was much slimmer (~60,199,510 [50.4%] to ~57,475,358 [48.1%]). In fact, at at least one point in the night it looked like he would win the electoral college but lose the popular vote as happened with Bush in 2000.
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As expected, Romney carried the South and much of the middle of the country, with Obama winning the West Coast and the North-East (and it looks like Obama will carry Florida by a margin of 0.6%).
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Perhaps tellingly, Romney lost in Massachusetts, where he served as governor from '03 to '07 (and Elizabeth Warren beat incumbent Scott Brown in her bid for Senator for Massachusetts). In fact, he lost all three states where he has residences (MA, NH, CA). His strongest win was Utah, which he (unsurprisingly) carried by a margin of almost 3:1.
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Obama's strongest percentage win was in his birth state of Hawaii, which he carried by about 70%.
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I probably should have paid closer attention to pre-election polling, as I didn't think the election would be nearly as close as it turned out to be, but ultimately I'm happy with the Obama win.
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(Election Map as of 21:42 CET, from Huffington Post)
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CALIFORNIA PROPOSITIONS
With 100% of Precincts reporting, the California proposition results are more or less final. I am very critical in general of the proposition system, but I feel relatively good about the results.
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Throughout most of the night, it looked like Prop 30 ("Temporary Taxes to Fund Education") was going to fail, but ultimately it passed by ~54% to ~46%. I am happy that it passed, and I am also happy that Prop 38 failed ~28% to ~72%.
Prop 30 is essential to next year's public school budget and will prevent further cuts to education.
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Propositions 35 ("Human Trafficking"), 36 ("Three Strikes Law"), and 39 ("Business Tax for Energy Funding") passed, and although I supported them all, they were less important to me than Prop 34 ("Death Penalty") and 37 ("Genetically Engineered Foods Labelling"), both of which unfortunately failed.
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Prop 34 would have repealed the death penalty and replaced it with life imprisonment without the chance of parole. It failed ~47% to ~53%. Prop 37 would have required "labelling on raw or processed food offered for sale to consumers if made from plants or animals with genetic material changed in specified ways,"and would have prohibited advertising such food as “natural.” It failed by about the same margin as Prop 34 did.
Well, at least my home county of Los Angeles voted in support of both propositions.
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COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
In Los Angeles County, Measure B ("Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry"), which I supported, passed by ~56% to ~44%. Measure J ("MTA Sales Tax Continuance"), which I also supported, passed ~65% to ~35%. 
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MARRIAGE EQUALITY
In a historical turn of events, voters in both Maine and Maryland chose to legalise Same-Sex Marriage, and it looks like a similar measure in Washington State will win as well (due to the vote-by-mail system in Washington, we won't know for another day or two). Minnesota voters narrowly defeated Amendment 1, which would have defined marriage in that state as the union of one man and one woman.
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Before this election, voters in 32 states have voted against same-sex marriage in one manner or another (by law, constitutional amendment, or by failing to approve a marriage law passed by a legislature). This is the first time same-sex marriage has won at the ballot box, and what a win it was!
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- Maine: Question 1 passed (53%-47%), reversing a November 2009 referendum that had narrowly rejected a state law legalising same-sex marriage.
- Maryland: Question 6 passed (52%-48%), approving a state law legalising same-sex marriage that was passed in February 2012. Marriage licenses will be issued starting 1 January 2012
- Washington: With 51% reporting, Washington voters appear to approve a state law passed in February legalising same-sex marriage.
- Minnesota: Amendment 1 failed, with "yes" votes (i.e. anti-same-sex marriage) receiving ~48% and "no" votes receiving ~51%.
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Currently six states (plus Washington DC and two Native American tribes) provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and with Maine, Maryland, and (hopefully) Washington joining them, that makes nine states! How long will it take to get into the double digits? ;)
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MARIJUANA
In another historical move, voters in Washington and Colorado approved propositions to decriminalise recreational marijuana use, a move that will certainly lead to a clash with the federal government, which considers marijuana an illegal drug. It was for this reason that I voted against a similar measure in California in 2010, but I now regret that vote as I recognise the symbolic importance of such a victory.
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(I know people often lie and say they have never smoked weed before, but in my case it really is true; for better or worse, I have never smoked marijuana. Although I have no interest in smoking it myself, I see no reason for it to be illegal to those who do wish to.)
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- Colorado: Amendment 64 will allow adults over 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, but they may not use it in public. People may also grow up to six marijuana plants in a private, secure area.
- Washington: By a vote of 55%-45%, voters approved Measure 502, which creates a state-licensed system of marijuana growth and sale and would allow for the purchase of up to an ounce by an adult.
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THE END
The take-home message from this is "Cali, get with the program!" Hehe