Author: Josh Altic
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Massachusetts voters approve wireless vehicle data access measure, reject ranked-choice voting
Massachusetts voters approved Question 1, the measure requiring wireless vehicle data access to owners and independent auto repair shops related to the state’s “right to repair law.” It was approved 75% to 25% according to unofficial election night results. Voters defeated Question 2 55% to 45% with 82 percent of precincts reporting. Question 2 would…
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Oregon voters approve campaign finance law, tobacco tax measures
Oregon voters approved Measure 107, which authorizes the state legislature and local governments to pass certain campaign finance laws, by a vote of 77% to 23%. Voters also approved Measure 108 by a vote of 66% to 34% Measure 108 increases taxes on tobacco products and inhalant delivery systems (such as e-cigarettes) to fund the…
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California voters reject rent control and dialysis company requirements
California voters rejected rent control and dialysis company requirements for the second time. California voters rejected Proposition 21 with 59% against and 41% in favor. It would have expanded the authority of local governments to enact rent control. According to unofficial election night results, Proposition 21 will fail by the same margin as Proposition 10…
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Oregon becomes the first state to legalize use of psilocybin mushrooms, decriminalize Schedule 1-IV drugs
Oregon became the first state to create a program for legal use of psilocybin mushrooms and to decriminalize all Schedule 1-IV drugs. Voters approved Measure 109 in a vote of 56% to 44%, according to unofficial election night results. It will permit licensed service providers to administer psilocybin-producing mushroom and fungi products to individuals 21…
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California voters approve Prop 22, define rideshare drivers as independent contractors
California voters approved Proposition 22 by a vote of 58% to 42%, according to unofficial election night results. The initiative defines app-based transportation (rideshare) and delivery drivers as independent contractors and adopted labor and wage policies specific to app-based drivers and companies. The initiative overrode Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), signed in September 2019. Proposition…
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Statewide ballot measures written at first-year graduate school reading level
2020 ballot measure readability analysis: ballot language is written at an average reading grade level of 17 (first-year graduate school), down from between 19 and 20 in 2018 The average statewide ballot measure in 2020 is written at a reading grade level of 17, similar to the reading level in first-year graduate school. The 2020…
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Finalized Nov. 3 ballot measures: election policy, marijuana, and tax trends; campaign finance records; unique measures on wolves, mushrooms, state flag design, and more
One hundred and fifteen statewide ballot measures will appear on November 3, 2020, ballots in 32 states, barring further court-ordered changes. Together with eight pre-November ballot measures, 123 statewide measures will go before voters in 2020. This is 29% less than the average of 173 statewide measures in even-numbered years from 2010 through 2018. Forty-three…
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D.C. voters to decide ballot initiative to stop criminal psilocybin mushrooms and other entheogenic plants and fungi in November
On August 5, the D.C. Board of Elections certified Initiative 81 for the November 3 ballot. The ballot initiative would declare that police shall treat the non-commercial cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of entheogenic plants and fungi as among the lowest law enforcement priorities. The ballot initiative would define entheogenic plants and fungi as species…
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Minneapolis voters will not see police department removal charter amendment in November after the charter commission votes to take more time for review
Minneapolis voters will not decide on a charter amendment in November to remove the city’s police department and replace it with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention. On August 5, the Minneapolis Charter Commission voted 10-5 to take an additional 90 days to evaluate the proposal. This effectively blocked the measure from the…
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37 states have Blaine Amendments blocking public funds from religious schools in their constitutions
On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 opinion that the application of Article X, Section 6, of Montana’s Constitution (Montana’s Blaine Amendment) violated the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution. The majority held that the application of the state’s Blaine Amendment was unconstitutional because it barred religious schools and parents who wished to send their…