Rhode Island becomes 22nd state to enact a readability requirement for ballot measure questions

By

Ethan Rice

Welcome to the Tuesday, June 25, 2024, Brew.

By: Ethan Rice

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Rhode Island becomes 22nd state to enact a readability requirement for ballot measure questions 
  2. Six candidates running in the July 30 Republican primary for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District
  3. Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for June 2024

Rhode Island becomes 22nd state to enact a readability requirement for ballot measure questions 

In Rhode Island, a new law requires that ballot measure questions be written in plain language and reasonably calculated to be understood by those with an eighth-grade reading level. 

The bill was passed unanimously by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Daniel McKee (D) on June 4, 2024. This makes Rhode Island the 22nd state to enact a law governing ballot measure readability.

Rhode Island does not have an initiative and referendum process, meaning the Rhode Island State Legislature refers all measures to the ballot.

Ballotpedia publishes an annual readability report that analyzes what level of education voters would need to understand the ballot titles and summaries of statewide ballot measures. From 2018 through 2022, fourteen measures were on the ballot in Rhode Island. The ballot titles had an average ballot title grade of 12, meaning about twelve years of education would be required to understand it according to the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), which analyzes the text and produces a score equivalent to the estimated number of years of U.S. education required to understand a text. Across all states, from 2018 through 2022, the average ballot title readability grade was 18.

During this time, the Rhode Island ballot measure with the lowest ballot title grade level was Question 3 in 2018, which asked voters to authorize $43.7 million in bonds for environmental, water, and recreational projects, which had an FKGL grade of 4. Question 2 of 2018, a bond measure for higher education facilities, had the highest grade level at 25.

Several other states have enacted bills related to ballot measure readability in recent years:

  •  In 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a bill that went into effect this year. The bill required state ballot measure questions to be written using clear language and not exceed an eighth-grade reading level. The bill also received a unanimous vote in the state legislature.
  • In 2023, North Dakota enacted a bill requiring summaries of ballot measures to be written in “plain, clear, understandable language using words with common, everyday meaning.”
  • In 2019, Maine passed a law requiring ballot questions to be written as simple as possible.

Like the Rhode Island bill, the New York law also included a specific grade-level requirement and based it on an index called the Automated Readability Index. The New York law defined the phrase “plain language” as “easily comprehended, concise language” that does not include semicolons, double negatives, or more than one passive sentence. The definition of plain language was not provided in the Rhode Island law. In Maine and North Dakota, the laws did not provide specific definitions or grade-level requirements.

As of June 20, 2024, Ballotpedia had tracked 320 legislative proposals concerning ballot measures, initiatives, veto referendums, referrals, local ballot measures, and recall elections in 41 states during 2024 legislative sessions. As of June 20, 27 bills had been enacted into law. For more on changes to laws governing ballot measures this year, click here. 

Keep reading

Six candidates running in the July 30 Republican primary for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District

Throughout the year, we’ll bring you coverage of the most compelling elections — the battlegrounds we expect to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive. You can catch our previous coverage of other battleground races here. 

Today, we’re looking at the Republican primary in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District on July 30, 2024. Six candidates are running, and five lead in endorsements, polling, fundraising, and local media attention: Trent Franks (R), Abraham Hamadeh (R), Anthony Kern (R), Blake Masters (R), and Ben Toma (R).

Incumbent Debbie Lesko (R) is not running for re-election, leaving the district open. Lesko won election to the district in a 2018 special election after Franks, who represented the district for 14 years, resigned on Dec. 8, 2017, following allegations of sexual misconduct.  In the 2018 special Republican primary Lesko defeated 11 other candidates with 36% of the vote. In the 2020 and 2022 Republican primaries, Lesko ran unopposed. 

According to Arizona political strategist Barrett Marson, “A Republican will win in this district, no matter what, it’s just a question of what type of Republican…The road to the gavel does not run through CD-8. So it will attract money, for sure, but that’s because of the individuals as opposed to the seat.” The Arizona Republic’s Laura Gersony said the candidates “are lockstep on most issues, but their approach to governance and their level of enthusiasm for discredited election challenges set them apart.” 

Masters, a businessman with experience in software and investments, said his priorities are to “deport illegals, finish the wall, and back Trump 100%.” Masters ran for U.S. Senate in 2022 and lost to incumbent Mark Kelly (D) 51.4%–46.5%.

Toma is the speaker of the Arizona House. Toma, who Lesko has endorsed, said compromise and party unity were necessary, adding  “at the end of the day, you have to look at, who has actually moved the ball forward? Not who has simply talked about moving the ball forward, but who has actually done it?”

Franks is a former member of the U.S. House, representing Arizona’s 2nd and 8th districts from 2003 to 2017. Franks is running on his record as a representative, saying he is “a proven conservative leader for such a time as this.” 

Hamadeh, a former Maricopa County prosecutor and U.S. Army Reserve intelligence officer endorsed by former Pres. Donald Trump (R), said he is “taking them all on—the uni-party elite, the propaganda machine in the media, the cabal of corruption in Maricopa County, and our badly-compromised courts.” 

Kern is a member of the Arizona Senate. Kern said he would prioritize his legislative priorities over party unity, saying leaders should “do what’s right for the country, and not necessarily what’s right for the Republican agenda.”

Patrick Briody (R) and write-in candidate Isiah Gallegos (R) are also running. Briody and Gallegos completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.

Keep reading 

Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for June 2024

In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from May 2, 2024, to June 1, 2024. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.

Highlights

  1. Vacancies: There have been three new judicial vacancies since the May 2024 report. There are 44 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report. Including the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, 45 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant. There are fewer vacancies than at this time in 2020 (73) and 2016 (84). The highest number of vacancies since 2011 was 145 in July 2018, and the lowest was 44 in January 2015.
  2. Nominations: There have been eight new nominations since the previous report.
  3. Confirmations: There have been seven new confirmations since the previous report.

New vacancies

There were 44 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 5.1, which is 0.2 percentage points higher than the vacancy percentage in May 2024.

  1. The nine-member U.S. Supreme Court does not have any vacancies.
  2. One (0.6%) of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions are vacant.
  3. 41 (6.1%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.
  4. None of the nine U.S. Court of International Trade positions are vacant.

A vacancy occurs when a judge resigns, retires, takes senior status, or passes away. Article III judges, who serve on courts authorized by Article III of the Constitution, are appointed for life terms.

Since the May report, three judges have left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies. As Article III judicial positions, these vacancies must be filled by a nomination from the president. Nominations are subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

  1. Judge Jon Levy assumed senior status on the United States District Court for the District of Maine.
  2. Judge Gene Pratter left the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania upon her death.
  3. Judge Cormac Carney retired from the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

U.S. Court of Appeals vacancies

The following map shows the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals as of June 1, 2024.

The following map shows the number of vacancies in the United States District Courts as of June 1, 2024.

The following chart shows the number of federal judicial vacancies each month during the Biden administration from January 20, 2021, to June 1, 2024.

New nominations

President Joe Biden (D) has announced eight new nominations since the previous report.

  1. Embry Kidd, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  2. Adam Abelson, to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
  3. Joseph Saporito, to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
  4. Meredith Vacca, to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York
  5. Karla Campbell, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  6. Julia Lipez, to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  7. Catherine Henry, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  8. Mary Kay Lanthier, to the United States District Court for the District of Vermont

Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has nominated 238 individuals to Article III positions.

New confirmations

Since the previous report, the U.S. Senate has confirmed seven of Biden’s nominees to Article III seats:

  1. Angela Martinez, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
  2. Dena Coggins, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
  3. Seth Aframe, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  4. Krissa Lanham, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
  5. Camela Theeler, to the U.S. District Court for the District of South
  6. Sanket Bulsara, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  7. Eric Schulte, to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota

As of June 1, 2024, the Senate has confirmed 201 of Biden’s judicial nominees—156 district court judges, 42 appeals court judges, two Court of International Trade judges, and one Supreme Court justice—since January 2021. For more on federal judges nominated by Biden, click here. 
Keep reading