Year: 2021
-
Early voting in Newsom recall ends on Sept. 10
Early voting centers opened in 15 counties in California for the recall election targeting Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will close on Sept. 10. The election is on Sept. 14. The counties holding early voting are participating in the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA), which Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed in 2016. The VCA replaced traditional polling…
-
Minneapolis City Council approves new ballot question for initiative to replace Minneapolis Police Department
On Sept. 7, the Minneapolis City Council held an emergency meeting to adopt language for a citizen-initiated measure to replace the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) with a Department of Public Safety (DPS). The 12-1 vote came hours after District Court Judge Jamie Anderson struck down the then-existing language as “vague to the point of being…
-
Federal appeals court rejects claim that Georgia requirement that voters pay postage for absentee/mail-in ballots amounts to a poll tax
On Aug. 27, 2021, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously affirmed a lower court’s decision finding that a Georgia law requiring voters to pay the price of postage for returning absentee/mail-in ballots does not constitute an illegal poll tax. The plaintiffs had argued that requiring absentee/mail-in…
-
Maryland state supreme court’s chief justice to retire on Sept. 10
Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Justice Mary Ellen Barbera is retiring on Sept. 10, upon reaching the state court’s mandatory retirement age of 70 years. Governor Larry Hogan (R) appointed Steven Gould to succeed Barbera on the court on Sept. 3. Gould was Hogan’s fifth nominee to the seven-member supreme court. Gould is a judge…
-
Economy and Society: Regulatory scrutiny over ESG-related sustainability claims intensifies
ESG Developments This Week In Washington, D.C., and around the world Regulatory scrutiny over ESG-related sustainability claims intensifies As was noted in last week’s newsletter, the SEC is investigating DWS (the asset management arm of Deutsche Bank) for alleged ESG-related fraud—claims DWS rejects. Many ESG observers believe that the DWS probe is the beginning of…
-
Recall election for Sonoma County District Attorney to be held Sept. 14
A recall election seeking to remove Jill Ravitch from her position as the district attorney of Sonoma County, California, is on the Sept. 14 ballot. The candidate filing deadline passed on July 1, but no candidates filed to run in the replacement race. However, two write-in candidates—Omar Figueroa and Joey Castagnola—filed to run afterward. The…
-
Special election to be held in Tennessee House district
A special election is being held on Sept. 14 for District 29 of the Tennessee House of Representatives. DeAngelo Jelks (D) and Greg Vital (R) are running in the general election. The winner of the special election will serve until November 2022. The seat became vacant after the death of Mike Carter (R) on May…