Author: Kristen Smith
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Voters approve of 71% of the 99 statewide constitutional amendments on the ballot in 2022
From 2006 through 2022, a total of 1,139 constitutional amendments were proposed and put before voters. Of this total, voters approved 819 proposed changes to state constitutions. Every state but Delaware requires voters to ratify proposed state constitutional amendments. There are four ways that proposed constitutional amendments can be proposed and put on the ballot…
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Three new members to join the Dane County Board of Supervisors
A special general election was held on June 4 in Wisconsin to fill three seats on the Dane County Board of Supervisors. Elizabeth Doyle (District 1), Kristen Audet (District 17), and Ann DeGarmo (District 33) were elected to the board. Doyle won her race unopposed, while the other two each faced a challenger. Three…
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Federal Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells retires
Federal Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells retired at the expiration of her term on June 3, 2019. Wells was originally appointed to the position on June 4, 2003. She earned both her undergraduate degree and Juris Doctor degree from the University of Utah, graduating from the university’s S.J. Quinney College of Law in 1977. She became…
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Three Select Board members retained in Maine recall
An election took place on May 9, 2019, in Ogunquit, Maine, in an attempt to recall three members of the town’s Select Board. Board Chairman Charles Waite, Selectwoman Madeline Mooney, and Selectman Bob Winn all retained their seats. They were retained with 51.75%, 51.61%, and 55.53% of the vote, respectively. Recall organizers began the…
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State minimum wage levels vary from $5 to $14 per hour
Voters approved two statewide ballot measures in 2018 pertaining to minimum wages. Arkansas Issue 5 was approved, incrementally raising the minimum wage in Arkansas from $8.50 to $11 per hour by 2021. Missouri Proposition B was also approved, increasing the state’s minimum wage each year from $7.85 up to $12 per hour in 2023. …
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SCOTUS hears arguments on vulgar trademarks and the First Amendment
On April 15, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Iancu v. Brunetti. Erik Brunetti tried registering a trademark for his clothing brand but was denied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which said that the trademark violated the Lanham Act. The act states that a trademark can be refused when it…
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43 states prohibit abortion at specific stages of pregnancy
A total of 43 states prohibit abortions beginning at specific stages of pregnancy. This includes 17 states that prohibit abortions beginning at the stage of fetal viability and 15 states that prohibit abortions beginning at 20 weeks post-fertilization. Seven states do not prohibit abortions in any form. Two abortion-related ballot measures passed in 2018:…
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Incumbents seek re-election in 75% of Oregon school board races
School board candidates in Oregon had to file by March 21 to appear on the 2019 ballot. Ballotpedia is covering elections in eight Oregon school districts in 2019. A total of 28 seats will be up for election in these eight districts. This represents just over half of the 54 total school board seats in…
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Three-vote margin decides runoff candidates in Atlanta special election
A special election for the District 3 seat on the Atlanta City Council in Georgia took place on March 19, 2019. Nine candidates appeared on the ballot. Results were certified on March 22, showing Byron Amos and Antonio Brown as the top two vote recipients. Third-place finisher Greg Clay finished three votes behind Brown,…
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Candidate filing deadline passes for Denver’s 2019 municipal elections
Candidates for Denver mayor and city council had to file by Thursday, March 14, in order to make the ballot for the general election on May 7, 2019. In races where no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a runoff election will be held on June 4, 2019. Denver’s current mayor, Michael Hancock,…