Author: Victoria Antram
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Wisconsin will vote on Marsy’s Law amendment and other local measures on April 7
Wisconsin will be the fourteenth state to vote on a Marsy’s Law amendment on April 7. The amendment would add 14 additional rights to the existing list of crime victims’ rights in section 9m of Article I of the state Constitution. The additional enumerated rights include a right to privacy; a right to the protection…
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New Mexico voters will decide bond package at November ballot that would fund senior citizen facilities, public libraries, and education
A bond package containing three separate bond issues was signed by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) and certified for the ballot on March 11, 2020. The bond package was introduced on January 29, 2020, as Senate Bill 207. To put a bond question before voters, a simple majority is required in both the…
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Maryland Legislature refers constitutional amendment to 2020 ballot concerning the legislature’s power over the state budget
Maryland Legislative Authority over State Budget Amendment would authorize the Maryland General Assembly to increase, decrease, or add items to the state budget as long as such changes do not make the budget exceed the total proposed budget submitted by the governor. The amendment is the first measure certified to appear on the statewide ballot…
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A preview of local charter amendments, school bonds, and taxes that were scheduled for the March 17 ballot in Ohio
Voters in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, and Hamilton County were scheduled to decide eight local ballot measures on March 17, 2020. On March 16, 2020, Ohio Governor Mark DeWine announced that polls would be closed on March 17, 2020, by the order of the state department of health due to the coronavirus. In-person voting was postponed…
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Maine Question 1 Vaccine Referendum defeated
Maine voters defeat Question 1, the Religious and Philosophical Vaccination Exemptions Referendum, on Tuesday with 72.5 percent of voters against it. Maine Question 1 would have repealed Legislative Document 798 (LD 798), which was designed to eliminate religious and philosophical exemptions from vaccination requirements for students to attend schools and colleges and for employees of…
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Alabama Amendment 1 defeated
Alabama voters defeated Amendment 1, the Appointed Education Board Amendment, which would have renamed the Board and changed it from an elected body to an appointed body. According to election night results, 75 percent of voters opposed the amendment, and 25 percent voted in favor of it. The measure would have amended the Alabama Constitution…
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Notable local measures on the ballot in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego on Tuesday
California voters will be deciding 289 local ballot measures and one statewide measure on March 3. Here is a preview of four notable measures in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego: Los Angeles County, Measure R, Civilian Police Oversight Commission and Jail Plan Initiative was put on the ballot through a successful initiative petition…
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New Mexico voters to decide whether to allow changes to the election dates of non-statewide offices
New Mexico Elections and Terms of Non-Statewide Officeholders Amendment (HJR8) was certified for the November 3 ballot on February 20. The measure would amend section 3 of Article XX of the New Mexico Constitution, which relates to the date elected officials assume office. The amendment would allow the state legislature to pass laws adjusting the…
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Missouri Senate approves amendment that would make changes to Missouri Amendment 1 passed in 2018
On Monday, the Missouri Senate approved Senate Joint Resolution 38 (SJR 38) that would amend Article III of the Missouri Constitution to change certain provisions of Missouri Amendment 1 passed in 2018. SJR 38 was approved in a vote of 22-9. The amendment would enact the following changes: • eliminate the nonpartisan state demographer and…
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Petitioners of opposing forest initiatives in Oregon sign agreement to work together on regulation
On Monday, petitioners of opposing ballot initiatives designed to change forest regulations in Oregon announced that they had signed an agreement to work together via the legislature rather than the initiative process. Twenty-six groups signed the cooperative memorandum. One side of the debate included groups like Oregon Wild, the Audubon Society of Portland, and the…