Author: Victoria Antram
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Campaign behind initiative in Mass. to classify app-based drivers as independent contractors submits 260,000 signatures to county administrators
On Nov. 16, the Massachusetts Coalition for Independent Work announced that they had submitted a total of 260,000 signatures to local clerks in their bid to place a ballot initiative on the 2022 ballot that was modeled after 2020’s California Proposition 22. The total number of signatures is split between two different versions of the…
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Ballotpedia tracked 12 police-related local ballot measures in 2021
Ballotpedia covered 12 local ballot measures concerning police policy in 2021. Six of those were decided on Nov. 2. According to unofficial election results, voters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, defeated an initiative that would have replaced the police department with a department of public safety in the city charter. The margin was 56.2% to 43.8%. Supporters…
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Texas voters approve all eight constitutional amendments
All eight constitutional amendments in Texas were approved on Tuesday. With 100% of precincts reporting, Proposition 1 was approved with 83.82% of the vote. The amendment authorizes professional sports team charitable foundations to conduct raffles at rodeo venues and includes professional association-sanctioned rodeos in the definition of a professional sports team. Proposition 2 was approved…
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Tucson voters approve increasing the local minimum wage to $15 by 2025
On Nov. 2, Tucson voters approved Proposition 206, an initiative designed to incrementally increase the local minimum wage to $15 by 2025, and tie it to inflation thereafter. According to unofficial election results, 65% of voters approved Proposition 206. Currently, the minimum wage is $12.15. The minimum wage will increase by the following increments: $13…
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Campaigns supporting and opposing Austin Proposition A report an additional $2 million in contributions
On Nov. 2, voters in Austin, Texas will decide on Proposition A, an initiative designed to enact changes to police staffing, training, and demographic representation. The initiative would establish minimum police staffing and require there to be at least two police officers for every 1,000 residents of Austin; add an additional 40 hours of police…
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Texas voters to decide on an increase to the homestead exemption from school district property taxes in May 2022
On Oct. 18, the Texas State Legislature voted to refer to the ballot a constitutional amendment that would increase the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $25,000 to $40,000. Voters will decide the measure on the May 2022 ballot. It would take effect for the 2022 tax year. The Legislative Budget Board estimated…
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Arizona voters to decide local minimum wage increase, bond issues, school budget override, and charter amendments in November
Ballotpedia is covering 11 local ballot measures in Chandler, Gilbert, Scottsdale, and Tucson on November 2, 2021. In Chandler, voters will decide five bond issues totaling $272,685,000: Question 1: Authorizes $72,985,000 in bonds to construct, improve, and acquire city parks and recreational facilities Question 2: Authorizes $25,160,000 in bonds to construct, renovate, and equip city…
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The voter registration deadline for Texas statewide election is Oct. 4
The voter registration deadline for the November 2, 2021 election in Texas is Oct. 4. Prospective voters can request a postage-paid voter registration form online or complete the form online and return it to the county voter registrar. Applications are also available at a variety of locations including the county voter registrar’s office, the secretary…
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2021 statewide ballot measures written at second-year graduate school reading level
The ballot language for the 39 ballot measures appearing on nine statewide ballots in 2021 is written at an average reading grade level of 18 (second-year graduate school), up from 15 in 2019. Ballotpedia’s annual readability analysis of ballot titles and summaries of ballot measures was conducted using two formulas, the Flesch Reading Ease (FRE)…
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Texas Supreme Court orders city council to use Save Austin Now’s ballot language for police measure
Austin voters will decide a ballot measure related to police staffing, training requirements, and demographic representation in hiring on November 2, 2021. The Texas Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the city council had to use the caption drafted by the measure’s sponsor, Save Austin Now, rather than the language approved by the city council…