Year: 2025

  • 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…

  • ICYMI: Top stories of the week

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    President Donald Trump issues most executive orders in the first 100 days since 1933 Through March 25, President Donald Trump (R) issued 103 executive orders in his second presidential term. This is the most executive orders a president has issued during the first 100 days of an administration since at least 1933. Franklin Delano Roosevelt…

  • The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration, March 28, 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 846 bills state legislatures acted on in the past week. Weekly highlights The big takeaways from the…

  • District judge blocks Iowa law requiring school districts to remove books depicting sex acts

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    What’s the story? On March 25, U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher blocked a portion of Iowa state law requiring school districts to remove all books from public school libraries that contain descriptions of sex acts, as defined by the law. Locher ruled that the law — Senate File (SF) 496 passed in 2023 — was…

  • Trump issues election policy executive order and a look at similar state laws

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    Welcome to the Friday, March 28, 2025, Brew.  By: Lara Bonatesta Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Trump issues election policy executive order and a look at similar state laws On March 25, President Donald Trump (R) issued the 101st executive order of his second term titled, “Preserving and Protecting…

  • Kansas voters will decide on citizenship voting requirement amendment in 2026—similar measures were approved in eight states in 2024

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    Kansas voters will decide on a constitutional amendment on Nov. 3, 2026, to state that “No person shall be deemed a qualified elector unless such person: (1) Is a citizen of the United States…” Similar measures were approved in eight states in 2024, and South Dakota voters will also be deciding on such an amendment…

  • Idaho will be first state to vote on English as official language ballot measure since 2010

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    The Idaho State Legislature voted on March 25, 2025, to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would make English the official language of the state. Voters will decide on the proposal at the general election on Nov. 3, 2026. Idaho will be the 12th state to vote on such a ballot measure. Currently, English…

  • Four candidates are running for two seats on the Wrightstown School Board in Wisconsin

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    Four candidates are running in the general election for two seats on the seven-member Wrightstown Community School District Board of Education in Wisconsin on April 1, 2025. Incumbents Melinda Lemke and Jeff Nelson and challengers Amber Cox and Jonathan Curtis are running. Lemke and Curtis are running a joint campaign for the two seats up…