Ballot initiatives are a terrible feature of our political system, and I think everyone would be better off if they didn't exist. Sometimes they're stupid but relatively harmless like the ones you and Bitt have pointed out, but more often than not, they allow voters to do stupid thing and hamstring elected officials who know more about the long-term consequences than the uninformed electorate does.

Of course, a bigger problem than ballot initiatives is the ridiculously high number of elected officials we have. States don't need bicameral legislatures, and we don't need nearly as many elected officials at the state/local levels. We also shouldn't have any elected judges -- they should all be appointed by the chief executive at the proper levels. Having all these elections for comptroller, registrar of wills, and dog catcher just leads to voters voting for people they know nothing about based on party affiliation, yard sign counts, etc.

Oh, and "There are too many states, please eliminate 3, PS, I am not a crackpot."