Author: Ryan Byrne
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Signatures filed for North Slope oil tax initiative in Alaska
The campaign Vote Yes for Alaska’s Fair Share filed signatures for a ballot initiative to increases taxes on North Slope oil production fields. The taxes would apply to North Slope fields that have a lifetime output of at least 400 million barrels of oil and had a daily output of at least 40,000 barrels during…
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NJ voters to decide on expanding property tax deduction to peacetime veterans
On January 13, 2020, the New Jersey State Legislature passed a resolution placing a constitutional amendment related to veterans’ tax payments on the ballot for November 3, 2020. Both chambers of the New Jersey State Legislature passed ACR 253 in unanimous votes, excluding abstaining and absent members. The ballot measure would expand the state’s $250…
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Signatures filed for Alaska initiative that would enact ranked-choice voting, top-four primaries, and campaign finance changes
Signatures filed for Alaska initiative that would enact ranked-choice voting, top-four primaries, and campaign finance changes The campaign Alaskans for Better Elections filed 41,068 signatures on Thursday for a three-pronged ballot initiative to change the state’s election laws. At least 28,501 (69.4 percent) of the signatures submitted need to be valid for the ballot initiative…
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Signatures filed for indirect initiative to ban abortion procedure in Michigan
On December 23, 2019, the campaign Michigan Values Life filed 379,418 signatures for a ballot initiative to ban an abortion procedure. The ballot initiative defines the procedure as dismemberment abortion, which is also known as dilation and evacuation abortion. The ballot initiative would define dismemberment abortion as an abortion which uses an instrument, device,…
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Wisconsin’s April 7th Marsy’s Law ballot measure challenged in court
On December 18, 2019, the Wisconsin Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization, filed litigation in the Dane County Circuit Court that challenges the Marsy’s Law Amendment, which is on the ballot for April 7, 2020. Marsy’s Law was designed as a type of constitutional bill of rights for crime victims. As of 2019, 13 states had…
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NJ voters will decide a constitutional amendment to legalization marijuana at the 2020 general election
On December 16, the New Jersey State Legislature passed a resolution placing a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana on the ballot for November 3, 2020. New Jersey would be the 12th state and the first Mid-Atlantic state to legalize marijuana. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) campaigned on marijuana legalization in the 2017 gubernatorial election. When Murphy…
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Signatures filed for ballot initiative to expand local governments’ rent control powers in California
Californians could vote on a ballot initiative to expand the power of local governments to enact rent control in 2020. The campaign behind the ballot initiative filed around 1 million signatures on December 5, 2019. At least 623,212 signatures need to be valid for the measure to appear on the ballot. Counties will first conduct…
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Judge blocks Washington Initiative 976 from taking effect on Dec. 5
At the election on November 5, Washington Initiative 976 was approved, receiving 53 percent of the vote. Initiative 976 was designed to limit annual license fees for vehicles to $30, repeal Sound Transit’s authorization to impose motor vehicle excise taxes, and reduce other vehicle taxes and fees. Tim Eyman proposed Initiative 976, which was his…
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Eight former Michigan state legislators sue to overturn 1992 term limits ballot initiative
On November 20, eight former state legislators filed a legal complaint in the U.S. District Court for Western Michigan to invalidate provisions of a ballot initiative that enacted term limits on legislators. The ballot initiative, titled Proposal B, was approved on November 3, 1992, with 58.7 percent of the vote. Proposal B was designed to…
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Coalition of 18 tribes files ballot initiative to legalize sports betting in California
On November 14, four tribal chairmen filed a ballot initiative to legalize sports betting at American Indian gaming casinos and licensed racetracks in California. The ballot initiative has the support of 18 tribal governments. The announcement comes nine days after voters in Colorado passed Proposition DD, which authorized sports betting in the state. California…