Author: Victoria Antram
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Where could voters see marijuana on the ballot in 2022?
Ballotpedia is tracking 20 citizen-initiated measures in nine states related to marijuana that could appear before voters in 2022. As of 2022, recreational marijuana is legal in 18 states and Washington, D.C., and medical marijuana is legal in 36 states and D.C. In Ohio, sponsors of an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana submitted an additional…
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Austin initiative to decriminalize marijuana and prohibit no-knock warrants submitted over 20,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot
On Jan. 10, the Austin City Clerk announced that an initiative to decriminalize marijuana and prohibit no-knock warrants had qualified for the ballot. Proponents submitted over 20,000 valid signatures meeting the required number to appear on the local ballot. The clerk used a random sampling method of 25% of signatures submitted or 8,334 raw signatures…
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Ballotpedia’s analysis of California’s 2021 local ballot measures
California voters decided 46 local ballot measures on seven different election dates in 2021. Ballotpedia’s report breaks down the measures by the outcome, county, topic, and election date. Here are some highlights from Ballotpedia’s annual report on local ballot measures in California: Voters approved 35 measures and defeated 11 measures. With 46 measures, 2021 featured…
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Ohio campaign aiming to legalize marijuana submits signatures to send the proposed measure to the state legislature
On Dec. 20, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted 206,943 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office for a ballot initiative aiming to legalize marijuana in the state. The measure is an indirect initiated state statute meaning that the state legislature will have an opportunity to pass the law without it going…
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Judge rules against Missouri State Treasurer and allows the ballot language for Amendment 1 to stand
On Dec. 13, 2021, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled against a challenge brought by Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick (R) to the ballot language and summary of Missouri Amendment 1. The constitutional amendment would allow the state treasurer to invest state funds in highly rated municipal securities. It would also authorize the legislature…
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State signature deadline for Massachusetts 2022 initiatives was Wednesday
Three initiative campaigns submitted more than the required number of validated signatures (80,239) to the Massachusetts secretary of state on Dec. 1. This means that the initiatives will go to the Massachusetts General Court. If the general court does not enact the initiatives, a smaller second round of signatures will be required to put the…
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The city of Sacramento is in the final stages of redistricting after Measure B authorized a delay due to the pandemic
The Sacramento Independent Redistricting Commission is set to select its 2022 redistricting map on Dec. 8 with final adoption scheduled for Dec. 16. In November 2020, voters in Sacramento approved Measure B, which amended the city’s charter authorizing a one-time delay in the redistricting process. The amendment moved the deadline for map adoption to 130…
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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…