Each week, we bring you a collection of the most viewed stories from The Daily Brew, condensed.
Here are the top stories from the week of January 29-February 2.
Proposed amendment would return initiative and referendum in Mississippi
On Jan. 24, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a proposed constitutional amendment, House Concurrent Resolution 11, that would create a new state initiative and referendum process. The amendment passed 80-39.
If the Senate approves it, the proposal will appear on the November 2024 ballot. Mississippi law requires a two-thirds vote of those present in each chamber, provided the vote is a majority of all members, to certify a legislatively referred constitutional amendment for the ballot.
75 bills introduced in legislative sessions so far on RCV
Republican legislators have introduced new ranked-choice voting (RCV) prohibitions in five states so far this year. These efforts come after Republican-sponsored bans were approved in three states last year.
In 2023, a total of 116 ranked-choice voting bills were introduced nationwide. Currently, two states, Alaska and Maine, use ranked-choice voting in statewide elections. Hawaii also uses ranked-choice voting for special congressional elections. Thirteen other states use ranked-choice voting in some local elections.
To learn more about ranked-choice voting, click the link below.
Three candidates are running in the March 5 Republican primary for governor of North Carolina
The Republican primary for North Carolina governor is on March 5. Incumbent Roy Cooper (D) is term-limited.
Democrats have controlled North Carolina’s governorship for 26 of the past 30 years.
Dale Folwell, Bill Graham, and Mark Robinson are running in the Republican primary.
North Carolina is one of 11 states holding gubernatorial elections this year. The state currently has a divided government: Democrats control the governorship, and Republicans control both chambers of the legislature.