Year: 2025

  • Colorado voters to decide ballot initiative increasing penalties for the sale and possession of fentanyl

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    Voters in Colorado are set to decide on an initiated state statute that would establish higher felony classifications and mandatory penalties for the manufacturing, dispensing, sale, and possession of fentanyl and certain synthetic opioids. The measure, referred to as Initiative 85, would also require court-ordered treatment for certain low-level fentanyl possession felony offenses, as well…

  • President Trump EO scrutinizes proxy advisors

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    In this week’s edition of Economy and Society: Programming note: Economy & Society is off the next two weeks. We’ll be back on Jan. 7, 2026.  In Washington, D.C., and around the world President Trump expands oversight of proxy advisors What’s the story? Last week, President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order increasing federal…

  • Minimum wage set to increase in 22 states and D.C., raising the nationwide average to $11.51 an hour

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    Welcome to the Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, Brew.  By: Lara Bonatesta Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Minimum wage set to increase in 22 states and D.C., raising the nationwide average to $11.51 an hour In 2026, the minimum wage will increase in 22 states and Washington, D.C. The increases…

  • A year-end look at the state of election administration legislation

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    Welcome to the Tuesday, Dec. 16, Brew. By: Briana Ryan Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: A year-end look at the state of election administration legislation As 2025 comes to a close, we’re diving into the election-related legislative activity that happened this year and exploring some of the data in…

  • California voters decided on 42 local ballot measures in 2025, the lowest total for an odd-numbered year in at least a decade

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    In 2025, voters in California decided on 42 ballot measures across eight elections and 17 counties. The total number of local ballot measures in California in 2025 was the lowest in at least a decade, with three fewer measures than in 2023, even as the number of local ballot measures in the nation’s largest cities…

  • Fifty members of Congress have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026—the most at this point since 2018

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    Fifty members of Congress—42 representatives and eight senators—have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026. That’s the most retirement announcements at this point in an election cycle since 2018. Since our Nov. 11 update, five representatives have announced that they will not seek re-election to the U.S. House in 2026. Here are the five…

  • Campaign submits signatures for veto referendum to repeal Oregon gas tax increase and other parts of transportation funding bill

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    No Tax Oregon, the committee sponsoring a veto referendum against an increase to the state’s gas tax, filed nearly 200,000 signatures on Dec. 12 to repeal parts of a transportation funding bill passed during the legislature’s special session in September. The transportation funding bill, House Bill 3991, passed along party lines in September, carried by…

  • Referendum to repeal Missouri’s new congressional map submits signatures for 2026 ballot

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    Welcome to the Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, Brew.  By: Lara Bonatesta Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Referendum to repeal Missouri’s new congressional map submits signatures for 2026 ballot  On Dec. 9, the campaign People Not Politicians reported filing more than 300,000 signatures for a veto referendum against Missouri’s House…

  • Indiana Senate votes against new all-Republican congressional map

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    On Dec. 11, 2025, the Indiana Senate voted 31-19 against a new congressional map that would have shifted the state’s two Democratic U.S. House districts toward Republicans ahead of the 2026 elections. Twenty-one Republicans joined the chamber’s 10 Democrats in voting against the bill.  The vote against redistricting came despite pressure from the White House…

  • The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia's Weekly Digest on Election Administration, December 12, 2025

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    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 28 bills state legislatures acted on in the past week. Weekly highlights The big takeaways from the…