Year: 2025
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Bexar County, Texas, voters approve two ballot measures to increase tax revenue for stadiums
Voters in Bexar County, Texas, approved two ballot measures on Nov. 4 — Proposition A and Proposition B — related to raising certain taxes and allocating revenue from the taxes towards the development of local arenas. Both measures increased the county's hotel occupancy tax rate from 1.75% to 2% and established that revenue from both…
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Wisconsin becomes the 21st state to adopt a K-12 cellphone ban in 2025
On Oct. 31, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed Assembly Bill 2 requiring school boards to adopt policies to prohibit cellphone use during instructional time. The Wisconsin Assembly passed the bill 53-45 on Feb. 19 with mostly Republican support. Fifty-three Republicans voted in favor. One Republican and 44 Democrats voted against it. On Oct. 14,…
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Only nine state supreme court justices have lost retention elections since 1990
In 38 states, a state supreme court justice has to run for re-election to their seat. Of those states, 20 use retention elections, where voters vote for or against a specific justice, as opposed to voting for multiple candidates. Ballotpedia has analyzed the results of retention elections going back to 1990. Historically, justices have won…
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Bryan Calvo to be third mayor of Hialeah, Florida in less than a year
Bryan Calvo defeated Jesús Tundidor, incumbent Jackie Garcia-Roves, and two other candidates in the primary election for mayor of Hialeah, Florida, on Nov. 4. A general election was scheduled for Dec. 9, but was canceled after Calvo received a majority of the vote, winning the election outright. At the age of 27, Calvo was the…
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State legislative session updates (next year's schedule)
As of Nov. 17, 38 state legislatures are scheduled to begin their 2026 legislative sessions in January, five are scheduled for February, one for March, and two are scheduled for April, according to the latest data from the 2026 MultiState Insider Resource. State governments across the country hold legislative sessions where elected representatives meet to…
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Democratic socialist Katie Wilson elected mayor of Seattle as progressives win downballot races
With nearly 280,000 ballots counted as of Nov. 13, Katie Wilson has been declared the winner of the election for mayor of Seattle, defeating incumbent Bruce Harrell 50.2%-49.5%. Seattle has roughly 505,000 registered voters. Although Seattle’s mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan, both candidates were Democrats. This race was one of several 2025 mayoral contests that…
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Republican AGs warn companies about European ESG compliance
A coalition of 16 Republican state attorneys general sent letters in October 2025 to corporate leaders at Microsoft, Google, and Meta alleging that compliance with the European Union’s sustainability directives could violate U.S. law. The officials cited the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), saying the measures would effectively…
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Utah the sixth state with a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections
Utah became the sixth state to adopt a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 census. On Nov. 10, 2025, a district court judge rejected a redrawn map submitted by the legislature that would have maintained four Republican-leaning districts in favor of a proposal from the plaintiffs in the case that shifts one district toward…