VOTE: More than 205 measures on ballots in 37 states.

By DAVID CRARY

Associated Press

Amendments to ban gay marriage won approval Tuesday in four states — including Wisconsin, where gay-rights activists had nursed hopes of engineering the first defeat of such a ban. Arizona passed four measures targeting illegal immigrants, including one making English the state’s official language.

Nationwide, a total of 205 measures were on the ballots in 37 states — ranging from routine bond issues to a riveting contest in South Dakota, where voters chose whether to uphold or reject a toughest-in-the-nation law that would ban virtually all abortions.

Activists on both sides of the abortion debate were on edge over the campaign, and early returns showed an edge for those seeking to quash the law. If the ban was upheld, abortion-rights supporters were likely to launch a legal challenge that could lead all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Eight states had ban-gay-marriage amendments on their ballots; South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia joined Wisconsin in approving them, while results were pending in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and South Dakota. Similar amendments have passed previously in all 20 states to consider them.

Colorado voters had an extra option — a measure that would grant domestic-partnership rights to same-sex couples.

Conservatives hoped the same-sex marriage bans might increase turnout for Republicans. Democrats looked for a boost from low-income voters turning out on behalf of measures to raise the state minimum wage in six states. The wage hike passed in Missouri, Montana, Ohio and Nevada; results were pending in Arizona and Colorado.

In Missouri, a proposed amendment allowing stem cell research was a factor in the crucial Senate race there; incumbent Republican Jim Talent opposed the measure, while Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill supported it.

Missouri — along with Arizona, South Dakota and California — had a sharp increase in tobacco taxes on its ballot. In California alone, big tobacco companies spent more than $56 million fighting a tax increase that would boost the average price of a pack of cigarettes to $6.55.

In Ohio, anti-smoking activists won a showdown with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. Voters approved a tough ban on smoking in public places and rejected a rival, Reynolds-backed measure that would have exempted bars, bowling alleys and racetracks.