Author: Jackie Mitchell
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Idaho voters to decide whether to require state legislature to consist of 35 districts
The Idaho State Legislature passed House Joint Resolution 4 by a vote of 65-3 in the House and 31-4 in the Senate. The amendment would remove language in the state constitution that allows the legislature to have between 30 and 35 districts and, instead, require the state to have 35 state legislative districts. Currently, the…
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Proponents submit signatures for a Colorado initiative to ban abortion after 22 weeks gestation
Due Date Too Late, sponsors of Colorado Initiative 120, reported submitting more than 137,000 signatures on Wednesday to qualify the measure for the November ballot. To qualify, 124,632 valid signatures are required. The initiative would prohibit abortions after a fetus reaches 22 weeks gestational age. Colorado is one of seven states (and Washington, D.C.) that…
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Alabama House passes constitutional amendment to allow people accused of Class A felonies to be held without bail
The Alabama House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill 81 on Thursday. If passed by the Senate, the measure would appear on the 2020 ballot for voter approval or rejection. The amendment, referred to as Aniah’s Law, would allow people accused of Class A felonies to be held without bail “if no conditions of release…
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Alabama voters to decide whether to change education board from elected to appointed on March 3
Voters in Alabama will decide Amendment 1 on March 3. The constitutional amendment would rename the State Board of Education as the Alabama Commission on Elementary and Secondary Education. The amendment would change the board from being elected by voters to being appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Under the amendment, the…
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Utah initiative signature deadline passed on February 18
The deadline for submitting signatures for a direct initiative to qualify for the 2020 ballot in Utah passed on February 18, 2020. The deadline for indirect initiatives was November 15, 2019. Proponents of a carbon tax measure and a term limits measure had been circulating petitions. Neither group reached the signature requirement to qualify for…
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Deadline for Florida 2020 ballot initiatives passes on February 1, 2020, with four measures qualifying
The signature deadline for citizen initiatives in Florida targeting the 2020 ballot passed on February 1. Since state law gives local elections officials 30 days to verify signatures, petitioners needed to submit signatures on or before January 2, 2020, to guarantee that an initiative would qualify for the ballot in 2020. The signature requirement for…
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Florida voters to decide whether to require two elections for future constitutional amendments
Amendment 4 on the 2020 ballot will ask voters whether or not to require voter-approved constitutional amendments to be approved by voters at a second general election to become effective. Florida constitutional amendments currently require a 60% supermajority vote at one election to take effect. Under Amendment 4, the 60% supermajority requirement would apply to…
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Arkansas voters to decide whether or not to allow optometrists to perform certain eye surgeries
A veto referendum targeting Arkansas House Bill 1251 (Act 579) was certified for the ballot on January 31, 2020, following the resolution of a lawsuit concerning signature validity. Proponents submitted 64,028 valid signatures. To qualify for the ballot, 53,491 valid signatures were required. HB 1251 amended the definition of practice of optometry in state law…
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Utah referendum effort to repeal tax bill qualifies for the ballot; Utah Legislature votes to repeal it themselves
On January 28, 2020, a veto referendum targeting Utah Senate Bill 2001 qualified for the ballot. A veto referendum is a type of citizen-initiated ballot measure that asks voters whether to uphold or repeal a law passed by the state legislature. There are 23 states that have a process for veto referendums at the statewide…
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Utah legislature to repeal tax bill after signatures filed for veto referendum
Supporters of a veto referendum petition effort targeting the repeal of Utah Senate Bill 2001 reported submitting 152,000 signatures on January 21 to put the bill on the November ballot. SB 2001, titled Tax Restructuring Revisions, was designed to make changes to the state tax code including decreasing the individual and corporate income tax rates…