Depending on how the Supreme Court rules this week on the issue of same-sex marriage, 2014 could end up being another big year for marriage equality at the ballot box. After the success of several same-sex marriage initiatives and referendums in 2012, all across the country campaigns are being started to put this issue before the voters.

Initiative campaigns have either already been launched or are under serious consideration in California, Oregon, Arizona and Ohio. A few other states could start campaigns as well if it looks as if they will be needed and potentially successful. Both polling of individual states and meta-analysis indicate that equal marriage initiatives could easily pass in multiple states where it is currently illegal.

Even though a non-Presidential election will likely see lower turnout among young voters who strongly support marriage equality, the rapid growth in support over just the past few years has convinced activists that in several states there is no need to wait any longer before putting it on the ballot.

Of course all these possible campaigns hinge om the Supreme Court decision that may come tomorrow. If the Court effectively legalizes same-sex marriage nationally that would make these efforts mostly redundant. But if the Court decides to leave the issue up to the states, expect these state-based campaigns to receive a large influx of new support.

Photo by darcyandkat under Creative Commons license