Author: Jackie Mitchell
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Voters in Seattle approve Initiative 135, creating the Social Housing Developer
On Feb. 14, voters in Seattle, Washington, approved Initiative 135, a citizen-initiated measure to create the Seattle Social Housing Developer, a public development organization that will own, develop, and maintain what the initiative describes as social housing. As of Feb. 21, election results showed the initiative received 57.1% of the vote. According to Initiative 135,…
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Utah voters to decide on constitutional amendment concerning elections for county sheriffs in 2024
In 2024, Utah voters will decide on a constitutional amendment that would establish in the state constitution that every county in Utah must elect a sheriff to serve for four-year terms. Utah state law already mandates the election of county sheriffs, which means that this constitutional amendment would not alter the current procedures for selecting…
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Tampa voters to decide on four charter amendments at March 7 election
Elections for Tampa’s mayor and six of the seven city council members, as well as four charter amendments referred to the ballot by the city council, will be held on March 7. The charter amendments would: *provide that the mayor’s nominations for department heads and other city employees must be approved by four of the…
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$20 million raised for Florida marijuana legalization initiative targeting 2024 ballot
In Florida, a campaign supporting a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana, Smart and Safe Florida, has raised $20 million. Funding is from Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a marijuana business that operates in several states, including Florida. The campaign is collecting signatures to place the initiative on the ballot for Nov. 5, 2024. The initiative would legalize…
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Oklahoma will vote on marijuana legalization in March. Ohio could follow in November
Voters in Oklahoma will decide on State Question 820, an initiative to legalize marijuana, on March 7, 2023. Voters in Ohio could decide on an initiative to legalize marijuana in Nov. 2023. Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws, which is leading the campaign in support of State Question 820, wanted the citizen-initiated measure on the ballot…
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Seattle to decide on Social Housing Developer initiative on Feb. 14
On Feb. 14, Seattle voters will decide on Initiative 135, an initiative to create the Seattle Social Housing Developer, a public development authority to own, develop, and maintain what the initiative describes as social housing. According to Initiative 135, this housing would provide publicly financed apartments that are “removed from market forces and speculation” and…
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South Carolina Supreme Court rules 3-2 that the state’s abortion ban is unconstitutional
On Jan. 5, 2023, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled 3-2 that the state’s six-week abortion ban, known as the South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, was unconstitutional. Signed in February 2021, the law banned abortion once cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks. The bill was blocked from taking effect…
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No signatures submitted for Washington Initiatives to the Legislature by Dec. 30 deadline
The deadline to submit signatures for Initiatives to the Legislature in Washington (ITL) was Dec. 30, 2022. Initiatives to the Legislature is the name of indirect ballot initiatives in Washington. The Washington Secretary of State’s office confirmed to Ballotpedia on January 3 that signatures were not submitted for any of the 179 filed initiatives. If…
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Ballotpedia’s analysis of 2022 local ballot measures in top 100 largest cities and state capitals
There were 382 local ballot measures in 39 different states on the ballot for voters in the top 100 largest cities in the U.S. and state capitals. Of the measures, 348 (91.10%) were approved, and 34 (8.90%) were defeated. Of the 382 local ballot measures within the top 100 cities and state capitals in 2022,…
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Ballotpedia’s year-end analysis of statewide ballot measures
Ballotpedia published its year-end analysis of the 140 statewide ballot measures voters decided in 2022. The year-end analysis provides: a breakdown of approval rates by measure type a breakdown of measures by topic historical comparisons of the numbers and types of measures data on citizen initiative activity compared to recent election cycles a summary of…