Author: Jackie Mitchell
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No signatures submitted for Washington Initiatives to the Legislature by Jan 3 deadline
The deadline to submit signatures for Initiatives to the Legislature in Washington (ITL) was January 3, 2020. 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 104 filed initiatives. If…
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Gray wolf reintroduction measure is the fourth measure to be certified for the 2020 ballot in Colorado
The office of the Colorado Secretary of State announced on January 6 that the Gray Wolf Reintroduction Initiative had qualified for the ballot. Proponents submitted 215,370 signatures on December 10, 2019. The office found through a random sample that 65% (around 139,333 signatures) were valid. To qualify for the ballot, 124,632 valid signatures were required.…
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South Dakota to vote on two marijuana initiatives in November
On January 6, the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office announced that an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana had qualified for the ballot. South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws reported submitting more than 50,000 signatures in November, of which 36,707 were deemed valid. To qualify, 16,961 signatures were required. The measure would amend the state…
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Signatures for Florida 2020 initiatives must be certified by February 1st
February 1 is the deadline for initiative petition signatures to be certified by the Florida Secretary of State to qualify initiated constitutional amendments for the 2020 ballot. 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…
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South Dakota to vote on medical marijuana in 2020
On December 19, the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office announced that New Approach South Dakota’s initiative to establish a medical marijuana program had qualified for the ballot. The group reported submitting more than 30,000 signatures in November, of which 25,524 were deemed valid. To qualify, 16,961 signatures were required. The measure would establish a…
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Two referendums filed this week challenging tax bill passed by Utah Legislature in special session
Two different referendum petitions were filed this week targeting the repeal of Utah Senate Bill 2001, which was passed by the Utah Legislature in a special session on December 12, 2019. The bill, sponsored by Republican Senator Lyle Hillyard of District 25, passed in the Senate by a vote of 20-7 with two senators absent…
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Second recount for $569 million Midland Independent School District bond happening this week
On November 5, 2019, Midland Independent School District voters in Midland County, Texas, voted on a $569 million bond to build new facilities and improve existing schools. According to the first count of votes, the measure had failed by 25 votes, triggering a manual recount of paper ballots, which flipped the results to show the…
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Arkansas Supreme Court rules signatures must be counted for Optometry Referendum
A veto referendum effort in Arkansas is moving forward after a state supreme court ruling on Thursday ordered the secretary of state to count the signatures submitted by proponents. The referendum seeks to overturn Act 579 (House Bill 1251) which amended the definition of practice of optometry to allow optometrists to perform surgical procedures. Safe…
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Citizen voting requirement initiative certified to appear on Colorado’s 2020 ballot
On Dec. 12, the Colorado Secretary of State’s office reported that the Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative had qualified for the November 2020 ballot. This measure would amend the Colorado Constitution to state that only citizens of the United States are qualified electors in Colorado. The measure is sponsored by Colorado Citizen Voters and has…
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Top-Two Primaries measure is the third amendment to be certified for Florida’s 2020 ballot
A measure to establish a top-two open primary system in Florida was certified on Dec. 6 to appear on the 2020 ballot. All Voters Vote, Inc. submitted 769,545 valid signatures for the initiative. To qualify, 766,200 valid signatures were required. The measure would establish a top-two open primary system for primary elections for state legislators,…