On July 1, 2025, Vice President J.D. Vance cast his fifth tie-breaking vote in the U.S. Senate to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the budget reconciliation bill currently before Congress. Fifty Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 45 Democrats, two Independents who caucus with Democrats, and Republican Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine),…
The Arizona State Legislature approved House Concurrent Resolution 2055 (HCR 2055), placing a ballot measure about drug cartels before voters in the 2026 election. If approved, the ballot measure would define drug cartels as terrorist organizations and require the Arizona Department of Homeland Security to “do everything within its authority to address the threat posed…
On June 20, 2025, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed Senate Bill 952 (SB 952), which gives the governor the power to appoint an interim U.S. senator for the state if a vacancy occurs. The bill includes the following provisions: In 36 states, governors appoint individuals to fill vacancies temporarily until a special election. The…
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced on June 29, 2025, that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2026. On his retirement, Tillis said in a statement, “In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming…
Louisiana is the 18th state to pass a law prohibiting foreign spending in ballot measure campaigns and the eighth state to do so in 2025, a record for the most states enacting such laws in a single year. Louisiana House Bill 693 (HB 693) modified existing campaign finance rules, including establishing new rules for political…
Texas will head to the polls in November to decide on 17 ballot measures, including Proposition 12, which will be the eighth amendment related to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct (SCJC), which was established in the constitution in 1965. Proposition 12 would amend the Texas Constitution to change the composition of the SCJC by…
On June 25, 2025, both chambers of the Maine Legislature agreed by voice vote to recall LD 1666 from Gov. Janet Mills (D) desk and carry the bill over to the next special or regular legislative session. The bill would have expanded the state’s use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) to include general and special elections…