Author: Janie Valentine

  • ICYMI: Top stories of the week

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    Each week, we bring you a collection of the most viewed stories from The Daily Brew, condensed. Here are the top stories from the week of July 17-21. State legislative party switches in 2023 occurring at twice the 30-year average Last week, Georgia Rep. Mesha Mainor announced she had changed her party affiliation from Democrat…

  • The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration, July 21, 2023

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    Michigan accounted for seven of the eight election-related bills signed into law this week.  Welcome to The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration. Every Friday, we deliver the latest updates on election policy around the country, including legislative activity, nationwide trends, and recent news. In each issue, you’ll find updates on legislative activity…

  • ICYMI: Top stories of the week

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    Each week, we bring you a collection of the most viewed stories from The Daily Brew, condensed. Here are the top stories from the week of July 10-14. A primer on primaries The laws governing primary elections vary from state to state and can even vary within states by locality and political party. That’s become…

  • ICYMI: Top stories of the week

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    Each week, we bring you a collection of the most viewed stories from The Daily Brew, condensed. Here are the top stories from the week of June 26-June 30. More U.S. House races now have major-party competition Over the past decade, the percentage of U.S. House of Representatives elections with only a Democrat or a…

  • Ballotpedia’s exclusive new report on election legislation activity

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    Welcome to the Thursday, June 29, Brew.  Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: New report: State of Election Administration Legislation 2023 Trends in election legislation Specific election policy areas New report: State of Election Administration Legislation 2023 State legislators introduce thousands of bills each year affecting the way Americans vote…

  • Public-sector union legislation and litigation five years after Janus

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    Note: Today’s newsletter is the final edition of Union Station. We are so grateful for your readership over the past five years. Want in-depth reporting about federal courts, election policy, school board politics, and more? Check out and subscribe to Ballotpedia’s other newsletters here. This month will mark the five-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme…

  • DeSantis signs Florida SB 256, unions file lawsuits

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    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed Senate Bill 256 on May 9. In part, the bill says that except for unions representing law enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers, and firefighters — which are exempted from the bill’s provisions — “[A]n employee organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent may not have its dues and uniform…

  • Union Station: 2023 sees highest number of public-sector union bills introduced in state legislatures since 2018

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    Note: The final edition of Union Station will arrive on June 9. We are so grateful for your readership over the past five years. Want in-depth reporting about federal courts, election policy, school board politics, and more? Check out and subscribe to Ballotpedia’s other newsletters here. In today’s Union Station:  2023 sees the highest number…

  • Tracking mayoral partisanship in 2023

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    Forty mayoral elections are taking place in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population and the 50 state capitals in 2023. Ballotpedia has tracked the partisan affiliation of the mayors of the 100 largest U.S. cities since 2016, and we’ve tracked the partisan affiliation of state capital mayors since 2021. Of the 40 cities with…

  • U.S. district judge strikes two Indiana laws affecting teachers union members

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    On March 30, Senior U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker struck down two Indiana laws passed in 2021 and 2022 that allowed teachers to resign from their union at any time and required annual authorization of union dues deductions.  Barker wrote: “Here, SEA 251 and SEA 297 single out a specific group—union-supporting teachers—to subject to additional procedural requirements in order…