Nine states begin general election early voting in September
Forty-five states and Washington, D.C., will conduct no-excuse, in-person early voting for the November elections. Nine states begin early voting in September. Another 33 states and Washington, D.C., begin early voting in October. Three states begin early voting in November. The earliest start date for early voting is Sept. 19 in Pennsylvania.
Dan Cox wins Republican nomination for governor of Maryland, Democratic primary too close to call
Dan Cox won the Republican nomination for governor of Maryland in Tuesday’s primary. As of this writing, the Democratic primary remained too close to call, with Wes Moore and Tom Perez leading the 10-candidate field.
Voters also decided primaries for one U.S. Senate seat, all eight U.S. House districts, several state executive positions, and all state Senate and state House districts. Find full results at the link below.
Looking ahead to the August primaries
Sixteen states will hold statewide primaries in August, second only to June when 17 states held primaries. August primaries will take place on six different dates, compared to four in June:
- Aug. 2: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington
- Aug. 4: Tennessee
- Aug. 9: Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin
- Aug. 13: Hawaii
- Aug. 16: Alaska and Wyoming
- Aug. 23: Florida and New York
113 statewide ballot measures certified for the ballot, including new firearms measure in Oregon
As of July 20, 113 statewide measures have been certified for the ballot in 35 states, 27 less than the average number certified at this point in other even-numbered years from 2010 to 2020. One new measure was certified for the ballot last week: Oregon Changes to Firearm Ownership and Purchase Requirements Initiative. The initiative would enact a law outlining a procedure to apply for a permit to purchase a firearm. Signatures have been submitted and are pending verification for another 20 initiatives in 11 states.
156 state legislators have changed their party affiliations while in office since 1994
Ballotpedia has identified 156 state legislators who have changed their party affiliations while in office since 1994. The most common change has been Democrats switching to become Republicans. Of the 156 changes, 76, or 49%, fall into that category. This is followed by Democrats who switch to a third party or drop their affiliation to become an independent. There have been 27 such changes, representing 17% of the total.