Author: Douglas Kronaizl

  • Four out of five elections were uncontested in Illinois, Wisconsin on April 1

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    Illinois and Wisconsin held a combined 18,641 elections on April 1, primarily local elections to school boards, city councils, and other special districts. But, in both states, it was clear who the winners would be in a majority of those elections since more than four out of every five elections were uncontested. An uncontested election…

  • Mapping errors in two Georgia school board races result in redo elections on Nov. 5

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    On Nov. 5, 2024, voters in Georgia’s Ben Hill and Tift County School Districts will return to the polls and weigh in on two redo elections.  In Ben Hill County, the redo features District 6 incumbent Kenneth Palmer and Austin Futch. This is a nonpartisan special general election, with the winner filling out the remainder…

  • State education officials issued the most school board endorsements in 2023

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    In July and August 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and his opponent in that year’s gubernatorial election, Charlie Crist (D), both endorsed school board slates of candidates.  NBC News’ Tyler Kincade wrote, “It was unusual to see a sitting governor wade into what are official nonpartisan races that historically have been overlooked by big…

  • A final look ahead at Ohio’s upcoming recreational marijuana initiative vote

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    Welcome to the Wednesday, November 1, Brew.  By: Douglas Kronaizl Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Ohio voters to decide recreational marijuana legalization initiative next week Ohio could become the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana if voters approve an initiative on Nov. 7. We last checked in on this…

  • Education tax credit veto referendum on 2024 ballot in Nebraska

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    Welcome to the Wednesday, October 18, Brew.  By: Douglas Kronaizl Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Nebraska voters to decide veto referendum on new education tax credit program next year On Oct. 10, Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) announced that a veto referendum to repeal an education tax…

  • The policies and politics behind the science of reading

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    Welcome to the Wednesday, October 11, Brew.  By: Douglas Kronaizl Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Help us improve Ballotpedia and our newsletters: take this short survey to share your views with us. Hall Pass digs into the policy debates over the science of reading Recent post-pandemic test score declines…

  • What school board candidates said in Ballotpedia’s candidate survey

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    Welcome to the Wednesday, October 4, Brew.  By: Douglas Kronaizl Thank you for being one of 3 million lifetime subscribers to Ballotpedia newsletters. We’re glad to have you among our growing readership. Did you know we offer 10 other newsletters on a variety of topics? Click here to browse our offerings. Here’s what’s in store…

  • Dallas mayor is third big-city mayor to switch parties since 2016

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    Welcome to the Wednesday, September 27, Brew.  Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Dallas becomes largest city with a Republican mayor after party switch On Sept. 22, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, a former Democratic state legislator, announced he was switching his party affiliation to become a Republican.  The switch makes…

  • How many votes does it take to pass a ballot measure? Californians will weigh in next year

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    Welcome to the Wednesday, September 20, Brew.  Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: California legislators send two constitutional amendments on vote thresholds to November 2024 ballot On Sept. 14, the California Legislature passed two constitutional amendments that would change vote thresholds required to pass certain ballot measures. Both amendments will…

  • California veto referendums will look different next year

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    Welcome to the Wednesday, September 13, Brew.  Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: California veto referendums will look different next year A final look at tomorrow’s mayoral runoff in Nashville Decline in Vanguard, BlackRock support for ESG shareholder proposals California’s veto referendums will look different next year On Sept. 8,…