Author: Victoria Antram
-
Californians for Financial Education submitted 900,000 signatures for an initiative that would require a personal finance course in high school
Californians for Financial Education announced on March 12 that the campaign had submitted nearly 900,000 signatures for an initiated state statute that would require a personal finance course as a requirement to graduate high school. The measure would require students graduating during the 2029-2030 academic year to complete a one-semester personal finance course. The measure…
-
New Mexico governor signs $290.6 million bond package, sending four questions to the November ballot
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed House Bill 308—a bond package totaling over $290.6 million—on March 6, sending four ballot questions to the November ballot. The bond questions would issue the following amounts: Bond issues require a simple majority vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session and the governor’s signature to appear on…
-
Wisconsin legislature votes to send two ballot questions related to the governor’s power to appropriate federal funds to the November ballot
The Wisconsin State Assembly took the final vote in a two-session process to send two constitutional amendments to the general election ballot for Nov. 5. Both relate to the governor’s power to appropriate federal funds given to the state. The first question will ask voters whether the legislature should be prohibited from delegating its power…
-
New Mexico State Legislature sends two more constitutional amendments to the November ballot
The New Mexico State Legislature voted to send two constitutional amendments to voters in November on Feb. 14. These two constitutional amendments join two others that were certified for the ballot during last year’s legislative session. The new constitutional amendments are Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1) and Senate Joint Resolution 16 (SJR 16). SJR…
-
California legislature considers constitutional amendment to eliminate dual question recalls for state officers
The California State Senate passed a constitutional amendment on Feb. 1 that would eliminate the successor election when a state officer is recalled, thereby leaving the office vacant until it is filled according to state law. For example, during the 2021 recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) voters were asked the following two questions: The…
-
Oregon Supreme Court upholds secretary of state’s interpretation of Measure 113 excluding 10 senators from seeking re-election after their walkout last May
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled that nine Republican state senators and one independent who participated in a legislative walkout in May 2023 could not seek re-election under Measure 113—a 2022 ballot initiative that makes legislators ineligible to be re-elected to a subsequent term if they accrue 10 or more unexcused absences. On May 3, 2023,…
-
Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas ballots have featured political party platform advisory questions in recent years
Ballotpedia has tracked nonbinding political party platform advisory questions in three states—Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas. Democratic and Republican parties have placed these questions on statewide ballots to gauge voters’ support for various policy proposals. All three states have open primaries, meaning that voters do not have to formally affiliate with a political party in…
-
Texas Republican Party places 13 nonbinding advisory questions on the March primary ballot
The Texas Republican Party has placed 13 nonbinding advisory questions on the March 5 primary ballot. The Texas Democratic Party does not plan on placing any questions on primary ballots this year. The last time they did was in 2020. An advisory question is a type of ballot measure in which citizens vote on a…
-
At least 21 states have adopted laws addressing the readability of ballot measure language
Ballotpedia identified 21 states that have enacted laws addressing how legislators, secretaries of state, or other election officials write the question or description of a ballot measure. New York and North Dakota were the most recent states to do so in 2023. The New York State Legislature passed a law requiring that state ballot measure…
-
California campaign withdraws veto referendum on fast-food employment law from 2024 ballot under new process
On Dec. 29, the Save Our Local Restaurants PAC withdrew a veto referendum from the Nov. 5, 2024, ballot that would have repealed California Assembly Bill 257 (AB 257). AB 257 was designed to establish a 10-member fast food council authorized to adopt a minimum wage for fast food restaurant employees not to exceed $22…