Year: 2024

  • Biden has appointed 205 federal judges through September 1 of his fourth year

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    President Joe Biden (D) has appointed and the U.S. Senate has confirmed 205 Article III federal judges through September 1, 2024, his fourth year in office. This is the most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since President Ronald Reagan (R). The Senate had confirmed 203 of President Donald Trump’s (R)…

  • Harris and Trump face off for the first time in second presidential debate

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    Welcome to the Tuesday, Sept. 10, Brew.  By: Ethan Rice Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Harris and Trump face off for the first time in second presidential debate ABC News will host a second presidential debate tonight, Sept. 10. It will be the first debate between Vice President Kamala…

  • 54.85% of state legislators are Republican, 44.25% are Democratic

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    At the end of August 2024, 54.85% of all state legislators in the United States are Republican while 44.25% are Democratic. There are 7,386 state legislative seats in the country. Republicans control 56 chambers, while Democrats hold 41. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) are organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. Democrats hold 844 state…

  • Robe & Gavel: Federal Judicial Vacancy Count released for September 2024

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    Welcome to the Sept. 9 edition of Robe & Gavel, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S. We hope you’ve been enjoying your summer, dear reader. Fall is almost upon us, and next month, the SCOTUS 2024-2025 term officially begins. Are you excited? Good.…

  • A record-low number of contested state legislative primaries to take place in Rhode Island on Sept. 10

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    Welcome to the Monday, Sept. 9, Brew.  By: Briana Ryan Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: A record-low number of contested state legislative primaries to take place in Rhode Island on Sept. 10 The final statewide primary day of the season is tomorrow, Sept. 10. Rhode Island is holding congressional…

  • Nebraska voters will decide referendum on private education scholarship program bill in Nov.

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    Voters in Nebraska will decide on a veto referendum regarding a private education scholarship program on Nov. 5, 2024. On Sept. 5, 2024, Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) announced that the referendum had qualified for the ballot. The veto referendum campaign, Support Our Schools, submitted 86,603 signatures on July 17. At least 61,308 signatures…

  • ICYMI: Top stories of the week

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    The final batch of primaries kicked off Sept. 3 in Massachusetts On Sept. 3, Massachusetts voters chose nominees for one U.S. Senate seat and nine U.S. House districts. Democrats occupy both U.S. Senate seats and represent all nine U.S. House districts. Eight seats on the Governor’s Council and all 200 seats of the Massachusetts General…

  • The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration, September 5, 2024

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    All 22 bills with activity over the previous week were in states with Democratic trifectas. Welcome to The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration. Every Friday, we deliver the latest updates on election policy around the country, including nationwide trends and recent legislative activity.  In this week’s Ballot Bulletin, we cover 22 bills…

  • New Ballotpedia report: State legislators enact close to a quarter million bills since 2011

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    Welcome to the Friday, Sept. 6, Brew.  By: Mercedes Yanora  Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: State legislators enacted close to a quarter million pieces of legislation since 2011  State legislators have enacted nearly a quarter million bills across all 50 states since 2011. In a new joint report with…

  • Advance Colorado withdraws two property tax initiatives from Nov. ballot following legislative compromise

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    Advance Colorado withdrew Initiative 50 and Initiative 108, two property tax measures, from the Nov. 2024 ballot on Sept. 4, 2024. Initiative 50 would have limited property tax revenue growth to 4% annually, requiring statewide voter approval for any revenue retention above the cap. Initiative 108 would have lowered property tax valuation assessment rates for…