Record Number of Anti-Fracking Measures on Nov. 4 Ballots

Eight towns and counties across the country are taking their health and environmental concerns about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to the ballot boxes next week.

That's apparently a record number for a single election day, according to experts who spoke to InsideClimate News.

Fracking is "the number one political issue" related to energy this election, said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California San Diego.

The controversial process, which involves pumping a slurry of water, chemicals and sand down a well to crack open shale bedrock and extract oil and gas, has driven a surge in U.S. energy production, enriched property owners and created local jobs.

But there's a growing backlash against the industry:  opponents are concerned about air, water, waste, noise and light pollution, and they argue that regulations are too weak.

Fracking is "coming into communities where people live and work and play, and people are increasingly saying a drilling rig is not a neighbor I want to have," said Kate Sinding, senior attorney and director of the Community Fracking Defense Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Here's the rundown of the eight anti-fracking campaigns on the Tuesday, Nov. 4 ballot: four Ohio towns (Athens, Gates Mills, Kent and Youngstown), one Texas town (Denton) and three southern California counties (Santa Barbara, San Benito and Mendocino).

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