The second round of 13,374 signatures needed to qualify for the Massachusetts ballot in November was due July 1. Proponents of the Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative submitted over 25,000 unverified signatures, and proponents of the “Right to Repair” Initiative submitted over 26,000 unverified signatures. The Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative, sponsored by Voter Choice Massachusetts, would enact ranked-choice…
On June 30, 2020, the Oregon Secretary of State completed the signature verification process for the Oregon Drug Decriminalization and Addiction Treatment Initiative and officially certified the initiated state statute for the ballot. Yes on IP 44 is sponsoring the initiative and submitted 156,009 raw signatures. The state verified that 116,622 signatures or 74.75% of…
On June 23, 2020, United States District Court Judge Lynn Winmill ruled that Idaho officials must do one of two things: (a) allow Reclaim Idaho, sponsors of the Idaho Income Tax Increases for Education Funding Initiative, to gather signatures electronically, or (b) place the ballot initiative on the November ballot themselves. Judge Winmill concluded that…
On June 17, Voter Choice Massachusetts, which is sponsoring the Massachusetts Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative, announced that it had submitted 25,000 signatures to city and town clerks. For this second round, 13,374 valid signatures are required to qualify for the November ballot. The initiative would enact ranked-choice voting for elections in Massachusetts, excluding presidential electors, county…
On June 12, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (D) signed Senate Bill 130 (SB 130) that will ask the voters in each of Louisiana’s 64 parishes whether or not to authorize sports betting within the parish. If a majority of voters in a parish support authorizing sports betting, sports betting would be allowed in the…
Reclaim Idaho, sponsors of the Idaho Income Tax Increases for Education Funding Initiative, filed a lawsuit against Governor Brad Little (R) and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney (R) seeking a preliminary injunction to grant the campaign 48 more days to gather signatures and temporary permission to use electronic signatures. The campaign announced on March 18…
In 4-1 decision, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the ballot summary of the Ban on Semiautomatic Rifles and Shotguns Initiative was misleading. Ban Assault Weapons NOW is sponsoring the measure targeting the 2022 ballot. The measure would ban possession of semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, with certain exceptions involving registration requirements. The measure would define…
On May 22, the Yes on IP 34 campaign, which is sponsoring the Oregon Psilocybin Program Initiative, submitted 135,000 signatures, and the Yes on IP 44 campaign, which is sponsoring the Drug Decriminalization and Addiction Treatment Initiative, submitted 147,000 signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State. Citizen initiative sponsors in Oregon need to collect 112,020…
On May 19, U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus ordered Ohio to accept electronic signatures from the campaigns sponsoring the Minimum Wage Increase Initiative and the Voting Requirements Initiative. The judge also extended the signature deadline from July 1 to July 31. The judge’s order only applies to the ballot measure campaigns that sued the…
On Wednesday, the Missouri House approved Senate Joint Resolution 38 that would amend Article III of the Missouri Constitution to change or repeal certain provisions of Missouri Amendment 1 passed in 2018. The House approved the amendment in a vote of 98-56. The Senate approved the amendment in a vote of 22-9 on February 10.…