Author: Jackie Mitchell

A majority of Pennsylvania voters voted in favor of a measure to add specific rights of crime victims, together known as a Marsy’s Law, to the Pennsylvania Constitution. The vote was 74% to 26%.   On October 30, 2019, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court enjoined Acting Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar from counting or certifying election…

New Jersey residents voted to extend the $250 property tax deduction that veterans receive to continuing care retirement centers on behalf of the veterans living there and require the retirement centers to pass the value of the deduction on to veterans in the form of credits or payments. The vote was 76% to 24%.  …

Kansas voters approved a constitutional amendment ending the state’s practice of adjusting the U.S. Census population regarding military personnel and students when redistricting the Kansas State Legislature. The vote was 60% to 40%.   Going into the election, the Kansas Constitution required the state legislature to apportion state legislative districts based on the most recent…

Jersey City voters approved Question 1, authorizing certain regulations and restrictions on short- term rental properties. The vote was 69% in favor to 31% against.   The approval of Jersey City Question 1 enacted certain restrictions and regulations on renting out short-term rental properties (such as Airbnb and VRBO), including the following: limitations on what…

Voters in Maine approved both questions on their ballots. Question 1 authorized $105 million in bonds for transportation infrastructure projects. Question 2 amended the state constitution to allow for persons with physical disabilities to use alternative signatures to sign initiative petitions. The vote for both measures was 76% in favor and 24% against.   As…

On Monday, proponents of two marijuana initiatives in South Dakota submitted a combined 80,000 signatures to the Secretary of State.   One measure would amend the constitution to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana and would require the state legislature to pass laws providing for the use of medical marijuana and the sale of hemp by…

Proponents of Oklahoma State Question 802—an initiative to expand Medicaid in Oklahoma–reported submitting 313,000 signatures on October 24, 2019, to qualify the measure for the 2020 ballot. Oklahomans Decide Healthcare needs a total of 177,958 valid signatures to qualify its measure for the ballot. The Secretary of State’s office is set to begin a physical…

One measure is currently certified to appear on the Florida 2020 ballot. Proponents of six measures have collected enough signatures (76,632) to trigger ballot language reviews. Proponents of the $15 Minimum Wage Initiative are about 5,000 signatures away from the 766,200 total required signatures, but also need to meet the state’s distribution requirement.   On…