Maine and Maryland are the first two states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote.
The outcomes broke a 32-state streak, dating back to 1998, in which gay marriage had been rebuffed by every state that voted on it.
Washington also voted on measures to legalize same-sex marriage, while Minnesota voters were considering a conservative-backed amendment that would place a ban on same-sex marriage in the state constitution. As of press time, Washington’s measure led 52 percent to 48 percent with half of precincts reporting.
Maine’s and Maryland’s referendums on same-sex marriage marked the first time that gay-rights supporters put the issue to a popular vote. They collected enough signatures over the summer to schedule the vote, hoping to reverse the outcome of a 2009 referendum that quashed a gay-marriage law enacted by the Legislature.
In both Maryland and Washington, gay-marriage laws were approved by lawmakers and signed by the governors earlier this year, but opponents gathered enough signatures to challenge the laws.
In Minnesota, the question was whether the state would join 30 others in placing a ban on gay marriage in its constitution. Even if the ban is defeated, same-sex marriage would remain illegal in Minnesota under statute.
Gay marriage is legal in six states and the District of Columbia - in each case the result of legislation or court orders, not by a vote of the people.
