Year: 2025

  • State supreme court vacancy count for March 2025

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    In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from March 1, 2025, to March 30, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts. Announced retirements: During March 2025, one justice announced her retirement from her seat. Candidates nominated, appointed, and…

  • Two Pennsylvania legislative districts swing toward Democrats, continuing 2025 trend

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    In two Pennsylvania state legislative special elections on March 25, Democrats continued a trend of winning a larger share of the vote than compared to the 2024 presidential election in several districts. The party has improved in 12 of the 14 contested partisan special elections for state legislature nationwide this year.  Democrats won Pennsylvania State…

  • SEC ends defense of climate reporting rules

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    In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: In Washington, D.C. SEC ends defense of climate reporting rules What’s the story? The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced last week that it voted to end its defense of the Biden-era corporate emissions reporting rules. Why does it matter? The decision indicates the majority of current…

  • Trump hasn’t appointed any judges in his second term yet—here’s when past presidents have made their first nominations

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    Welcome to the Tuesday, April 1, Brew.  By: Lara Bonatesta Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Trump has yet to appoint any judges in his second term. Here’s when past presidents have made their first nominations According to the Federal Judicial Center, as of March 31, President Donald Trump (R)…

  • Louisiana voters reject all four constitutional amendments at the March 29 election

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    Louisiana voters rejected four measures on Saturday, March 29. The amendments were rejected with an average of 35% of voters in favor and 65% opposed. A two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber was required to put the amendments on the ballot. All four of the amendments were passed with all Republican legislators in favor, while…

  • President Donald Trump (R) ends March with 47% approval, 51% disapproval

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    At the end of March, approval polling averages showed President Donald Trump (R) at 47% approval. Fifty-one percent of voters disapproved of his performance. The lowest approval rating he’s received during his presidency is 47%, last seen on March 31, 2025. The highest approval rating Trump has received is 54%, last seen on Jan. 22,…

  • Robe & Gavel: SCOTUS concludes its March 2025 sitting

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    Welcome to the March 31 edition of Robe & Gavel, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S. “Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the…

  • A look at past court decisions in the context of President Donald Trump’s firing of two Democratic Federal Trade Commissioners

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    Welcome to the Monday, March 31, Brew.  By: Briana Ryan Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: A look at past court decisions in the context of President Donald Trump’s firing of two Democratic Federal Trade Commissioners On March 18, President Donald Trump (R) fired Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioners Alvaro…

  • With new Utah legislation, a look back at four 1970s ballot measures on water fluoridation

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    Utah is the first state to enact a statewide prohibition on drinking water fluoridation. Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed the legislation, House Bill 81 (HB 81), on March 27, 2025. While Utah is the first state to enact a statewide ban, voters in four states—Utah, South Dakota, Oregon, and Washington—considered ballot measures related to water…

  • Oregon Senate passes bill to extend unemployment benefits to striking public workers

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    The Oregon Senate passed legislation on March 21, 2025, that would make Oregon the first state to offer unemployment insurance (UI) compensation to strikers in both the public and private sectors. If SB 916 is passed by the House and signed by Governor Tina Kotek (D), workers like teachers and nurses would become eligible for…