Nevada voters were just saying no to legalizing marijuana, welcoming a hike in the state's minimum wage and keeping alive eminent domain reform, among other decisions on ballot initiatives on Tuesday's ballot.

With at least 1,620 of 1,913 precincts statewide reporting, Question 7, which would have allowed Nevada residents 21 years of age or older to possess an ounce of marijuana or less, was being rejected by 56 percent of voters. Only 44 percent were in support.

Las Vegas police Lt. Stan Olsen, who oversees legislative affairs for the department and who worked against Question 7, said the measure, the latest in a string of failed efforts to legalize the drug here, was pushed by outsiders rather than Nevadans.

"They were trying to use us as a social experiment, as lab rats. Voters are engaged. They're bright. This was a bad bill of goods, and they knew it," Olsen said. "The voters didn't want it. The community didn't want it. There's nothing good that can come out of legalizing marijuana."

Despite the apparent loss, backers of the measure were heartened by the turnout in favor of the measure.

"This will be the all-time biggest vote for ending marijuana prohibition in the history of this country," said Neal Levine, Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana campaign manager. "This is an enormous amount of progress. Unfortunately, we fell a little bit short."

Levine said his group would continue its efforts to win over Silver State voters and "it is a 100 percent certainty this will be back on the ballot" in 2008 or 2010.

Outside a Henderson polling place, Jim Taylor, a 50-year-old Henderson Republican, said he was strongly against Question 7. "They want to legalize marijuana, but I think that's not a solution, it actually makes more of a problem," he said.

But 25-year-old Larry McKenzie, a Henderson voter who described himself as independent, said he wanted the measure to pass.

"They waste so much time arresting people who smoke weed when they could invest that cop time and jail space in worse crimes," McKenzie said. "I have friends who are potheads. They're not going to change, and they're not hurting anybody. My friends are very harmless."

Voters were backing Question 6, which would raise the minimum wage by $1 an hour, to $6.15, on Jan. 1. Those in favor of passage led those against, 69 percent to 31 percent.

Question 6 also would automatically tie future increases to changes in the consumer price index.

"People know you can't live off of the minimum wage, much less eat off the minimum wage," said Danny Thompson, executive secretary-treasurer of the Nevada AFL-CIO labor union, which supported the measure. "That's reflected in the (voting) numbers."

Thompson believes the increase is modest, and "is not going to destroy any businesses. It's not going to drive people out of Nevada."

Even though voters were supporting Question 2 by a 62 percent to 38 percent margin, the measure restricting how and when local and state governments can forcibly seize private land using eminent domain won't become law anytime soon.

The measure -- also known as the People's Initiative to Stop the Taking of Our Land, or PISTOL -- is a proposed constitutional amendment and, as such, must pass voter muster again in 2008 before it can take effect.

"The people know we need to have some kind of harness put on government to make sure there are not these technical ways to use eminent domain and take people's property," said Don Chairez, a PISTOL backer. "The people really feel we can't trust the politicians" to fix the problem.

Nonetheless, Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, who headed the PISTOL opposition and also chairs the Regional Transportation Commission, is urging the 2007 Legislature to enact its own eminent domain restrictions prior to the 2008 vote, in hopes of nixing the need for PISTOL.

Both Woodbury and Chairez said they are amenable to discussions on how to rewrite law to match PISTOL's intent while addressing governmental concerns that PISTOL would cripple public works projects. That doesn't mean Chairez is willing to sacrifice PISTOL, though.

"The bottom line is, we need PISTOL as a safety valve," Chairez said.

In other ballot questions Tuesday, voters were in support of Question 1, which would require the Legislature to fund public education before other state programs. The measure, which would go into effect in time for the 2007 Legislature, led with 55 percent of the vote, with 45 percent against.

Question 8, which would end sales taxes on the value of a trade-in when buying a vehicle at an auto dealership, was winning by a wide margin, 69 percent to 31 percent. It would also exempt farm equipment from sales tax.

Question 11, which would lift pay limits on legislators, was opposed by 70 percent of voters. Only 30 percent supported the idea of paying legislators for up to 120 days worked, rather than capping pay at the regular session's 60-day limit.

Voters were tightly split on Question 10, which would allow the Legislature to call itself into special session. It was being rejected by 52 percent of voters, with 48 percent behind it. Currently, only the governor can call a special session.

Question 9, which would shrink the size of the state's Board of Regents that oversees state colleges and allow the governor to appoint some of its members, also was closely contested, with 51 percent against and 49 percent in favor.

Review-Journal writer Molly Ball contributed to this report.