Author: Ryan Byrne
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Want to be Missouri’s redistricting demographer? Here’s what you need to know.
Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway (D) is looking for candidates to fill the state’s position of nonpartisan demographer, which the voter-approved Amendment 1 added to the Missouri Constitution in 2018. The nonpartisan demographer is responsible for drawing state legislative redistricting maps. As of 2019, the position of nonpartisan demographer is unique amongst the states. Galloway…
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Voters in Ohio could decide whether nuclear, coal and solar plants should receive subsidies in 2020
On July 29, 2019, the campaign Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts filed a petition for a veto referendum against House Bill 6 (HB 6), which was designed to enact surcharges on customers of electric utilities to provide credits to FirstEnergy Solutions’ Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station and Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Ohio Valley Electric Corporation’s (OVEC) two…
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Bernie Sanders endorses 2020 California initiative to change how commercial and industrial properties are taxed
On July 25, 2019, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) spoke at the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) Leadership Conference in Los Angeles, California, where he endorsed a ballot initiative to change how the state levies taxes on commercial and industrial properties and allocate the revenue resulting from the change to local governments and school districts.…
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Maine could vote on a physician-initiated death referendum in November or June
In April 2018, when Maine had a divided government, the group Maine Death with Dignity launched a ballot initiative to legalize physician-assisted death in the state. Maine Death with Dignity collected around 72,000 signatures—about 9,000 more than required—for the ballot initiative but decided against submitting signatures after Gov. Janet Mills (D), elected the previous November,…
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Veto referendum to reinstate religious and philosophical vaccination exemptions approved for signature drive in Maine
In Maine, a veto referendum was launched to overturn Legislative Document 798 (2019). LD 798 eliminates religious and philosophical, but not medical, exemptions from vaccination requirements for students to attend schools and colleges and employees of healthcare facilities. The organization Mainers for Health and Parental Rights is leading the campaign sponsoring the veto referendum effort.…
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California to require background checks for ammunition purchases beginning July 1
Beginning on July 1, 2019, California will become the first state to require point-of-sale background checks to purchase firearm ammunition. Proposition 63, which voters approved in 2016, in conjunction with other legislation created the requirement and set the enactment date. Proposition 63 was a ballot initiative designed to ban large-capacity magazines, require background checks for…
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Voters in New Jersey will decide ballot measure to expand veterans’ property tax deduction to those living in retirement centers
At the election on November 5, 2019, voters in New Jersey will decide a constitutional amendment to expand the state’s veterans’ property tax deduction to eligible veterans living in continuing care retirement centers. In New Jersey, veterans who were honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active duty are eligible to receive a…
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Maine to vote on a ballot measure to allow persons with physical disabilities to sign initiative petitions using an alternative signature
In November, voters in Maine will decide a constitutional amendment to authorize legislation allowing persons with physical disabilities that prevent them from signing their own names to use an alternative signature to sign petitions for citizen-initiated ballot measures. It’s the first ballot measure certified for the election on November 5, 2019, in Maine. The…
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Voters in Pennsylvania to decide Marsy’s Law, a type of constitutional bill of rights for crime victims, in November 2019
Voters in Pennsylvania will decide Marsy’s Law, a type of constitutional bill of rights for crime victims, on November 5, 2019. The constitutional amendment was referred to the ballot on June 19, 2019, after a two-session legislative process. The ballot measure would provide crime victims with specific constitutional rights, including a right to be…
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Kentucky Supreme Court rules that the state’s Marsy’s Law (2018) constitutional amendment is invalid
On June 12, 2019, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the description presented to voters for Marsy’s Law, which was on the ballot in 2018, violated the state constitution. Legislators wrote the description, which said: “Are you in favor of providing constitutional rights to victims of crime, including the right to be treated fairly, with…