Author: Josh Altic
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Citizen initiative activity and petition success rates from 2010 through 2018
As of July 1, 882 ballot initiatives and veto referendums were filed with state officials for circulation during the 2020 election cycle. Initiatives and referendums have been filed in 23 of the 26 states with a statewide process. Washington, Colorado, and Missouri had the highest numbers of filings at 229, 193, and 151, respectively. California…
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Voters in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, renew sheriff property tax levy Saturday
On Saturday, East Baton Rouge Parish voters approved a measure to renew an existing property tax levy to fund the East Baton Rouge Parish Law Enforcement District. Voters approved the measure 52.54% to 47.46%. The measure renewed the property tax at the rate of $373 per $100,000 of assessed property value until the end of…
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Conflict over unclaimed property revenue in Louisiana leads to constitutional amendment on November ballot
In November 2020, Louisiana voters will decide a constitutional amendment designed to resolve a conflict between Governor John Bel Edwards (D) and State Treasurer John Schroder (R) regarding the state’s unclaimed property revenue. If approved, the amendment would do the following: • Create the Unclaimed Property (UCP) Permanent Trust Fund, with the fund earmarked for…
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Proponents of Nebraska payday lending interest cap initiative submit signatures
On June 25, 2020, Nebraskans for Responsible Lending submitted over 120,000 signatures for its initiative that would limit all fees charged by payday lenders to an annual interest rate of 36%. Nebraska law currently allows delayed deposit services licensees to charge a fee of no more than 15% of the amount loaned and limits total…
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Missouri Medicaid Expansion Initiative certified for the ballot
On May 22, 2020, the Missouri Secretary of State issued a statement certifying the Missouri Medicaid Expansion Initiative for the ballot. This qualified the initiative for the November ballot unless the governor called for it to go on the August ballot by the May 26 deadline. On May 26, Governor Mike Parson (R) announced that…
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Local California voters approve three and defeat two tax measures on May 5
Voters in Blythe and four special districts within Contra Costa, Mendocino, Plumas, Riverside, and Sonoma counties voted on five different local tax measures on Tuesday. According to unofficial election night results, three were approved, and two were defeated. Voters in the city of Blythe approved an additional 1% sales tax, thereby increasing the total sales…
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Wisconsin voters approve Marsy’s Law crime victims constitutional amendment
On April 7, 2020, voters in Wisconsin approved Marsy’s Law—a type of constitutional amendment addressing the rights of crime victims. With 96% of precincts reporting, the measure was ahead by 75% to 25%. The Wisconsin State Legislature referred the constitutional amendment to the ballot on May 15, 2019. Voters in 12 other states have approved…
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Gov. DeSantis signs Florida initiative process restrictions into law
The Florida legislature approved a bill April 9 regarding the state’s ballot initiative process. Senate Bill 1794, which Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law the same day, included the following provisions: increases the signature requirement threshold to trigger a review of the initiative petition by the Florida Supreme Court—changing it from 10% to 25%…
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Chandler voters approve Proposition 426
Proposition 426 amended the city’s charter to say that primary, regular, and special elections may be held on election dates authorized by state law. Before the election, the city charter said the municipal primary election shall be held on the 10th Tuesday before the general election. According to election night results, 92% of voters were…
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Wayne County voters renew Art Institute Authority property tax
Wayne County voters renew Art Institute Authority property tax According to election night results, 76.7% of Wayne County, Michigan, voters were in favor of renewing a 0.2 mill property tax ($20 per $100,000 in assessed value) until 2031 to provide funding for the Wayne County Art Institute Authority. The tax will generate an estimated $8.5…