Welcome to the Wednesday, March 20, Brew.
By: Ethan Sorell
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- West Virginia will be the first state to decide on a constitutional amendment prohibiting assisted death, also known as assisted suicide
- Fifty members of Congress have announced they will not seek re-election in 2024 – more than at this point in previous presidential election year
- 104 candidates filed for congressional and statewide offices last week
West Virginia will be the first state to decide on a constitutional amendment prohibiting assisted death, also known as assisted suicide
On Nov. 5, West Virginia voters will decide on Amendment 1, which would prohibit people from participating in “the practice of medically assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of a person.” While several states have voted on ballot measures allowing assisted death, also known as assisted suicide or aid-in-dying, West Virginia is the first state where voters will decide to prohibit the procedure.
The amendment was introduced as House Joint Resolution 28 (HJR 28). The House approved it 88-9 on Feb. 15. The Senate approved the bill 28-4 on March 9. The House agreed to the Senate’s amendments that same day, and voted 88-10 to place the amendment on the ballot.
Danielle Pimentel, policy council at Americans United for Life, said, “This overwhelming passage is an encouraging step toward the constitutional protection of the elderly and disabled in West Virginia. We look forward to other states following the example of these courageous legislators.”
House Del. Joey Garcia (D-76) said that he felt the amendment was unnecessary. He said, “Just because you agree with a policy does not mean that it reaches to the standard to put on a constitutional ballot.”
Assisted death is currently legal in 10 states—California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, as well as Washington D.C. Voters approved assisted death ballot measures in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.
Washington was the first state to vote on assisted death when voters rejected Initiative 119 53.6% to 46.4%. Oregon was the first state to legalize the practice in 1994, when voters passed Measure 16 51.31% to 48.69%. The Oregon Legislature asked voters to repeal the initiative three years later with Measure 51, but voters rejected it 59.91% to 40.09%. Colorado voters approved Proposition 106 64.87% to 35.13% in 2016. This measure made assisted death legal for patients with a terminal illness who receive a prognosis of death within six months.
Voters in California, Michigan, Maine, and Massachusetts have rejected ballot measures to authorize the practice.
As of March 18, 79 statewide measures have been certified for the ballot in 30 states for elections this year. An average of 161 statewide measures have been on the ballot in even-numbered years from 2010-2022.
As of March 16, 2024, one statewide ballot measure was certified for the ballot in West Virginia for the election on November 5, 2024.
Fifty members of Congress have announced they will not seek re-election in 2024 – more than at this point in the previous presidential election year
As of March 12, 50 members of Congress—eight senators and 42 House members— have announced they will not seek re-election in 2024 – more than at this point in the previous presidential election year.
Since our last Daily Brew report on congressional incumbents not seeking re-election on Feb. 20, Kirsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) announced her retirement from the Senate, while Ken Buck (R-Colo.) announced he will be leaving office before the end of his term. Ballotpedia does not include incumbents leaving office early in our analysis of incumbents not running for re-election.
Of the eight U.S. Senate members not running for re-election, seven – U.S. Sens. Debit Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ben Cardin, (D-Md.), Top Carper (D-Del.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), and Sinema – announced their retirements from public office. U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.)-is running for governor of Indiana.
Of the 42 House members not seeking re-election:
- 12 – three Republicans and nine Democrats-are running for the U.S. Senate
- Two – one Democrat and one Republican – are running for state attorney general
- Two – one Democrat and one Republican – are running for governor
- One Democrat – Dean Phillips – ran for President of the United States
- 25 – 11 Democrats and 14 Republicans – are retiring from public office
As of March 12, 2022, 45 U.S. House members had announced they were not running for re-election. Thirty-four members had announced at this point in 2020, and 46 had announced at this point in 2018.
104 candidates filed for congressional and statewide offices last week
One hundred-four people declared their candidacies for congressional or statewide offices in the past week, nine fewer than last week. All of these candidates declared before their state’s filing deadline.
Forty-two of those candidates were Democratic, while 57 were Republican. Five declared candidacies for minor or third parties.
Thirty-five candidates are running for Congress and 69 are running for state legislatures.
Since the beginning of the year, Ballotpedia has identified 999 declared candidates for congressional and statewide offices. At this time in 2022, Ballotpedia had identified 1,350 declared candidates for 2022, 2023, and 2024 races.
An official candidate is someone who registers with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline or appears on candidate lists released by government election agencies. A declared candidate is someone who has not completed the steps to become an official candidate but who might have done one or more of the following:
- Appeared in candidate forums or debates
- Published a campaign website
- Published campaign social media pages
- Advertised online, on television, or through print
- Issued press releases
- Interviewed with media publications
For more on Ballotpedia’s definition of candidacy, click here.