Author: Victoria Antram
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Voters in Maine to decide Question 2 to ban foreign government spending in elections
Maine voters will decide on a ballot initiative next month to ban foreign governments, or entities with at least 5% foreign government ownership or control, from spending money to influence ballot measures or candidate elections. If approved, Maine would join California, Colorado, Maryland, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington in prohibiting foreign nationals from…
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California Gov. Newsom signs pair of bills sending changes to the state’s Mental Health Services Act to voters in March 2024
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed Senate Bill 326 (SB 326) and Assembly Bill 531 (AB 531), which would make changes to the state’s Mental Health Services Act and issue $6.4 billion in bonds, on Oct. 12. Voters will decide on the legislation as Proposition 1 on March 5, 2024. In the press release, Gov. Newsom…
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Nebraska voters to decide on veto referendum to repeal tax credits for education scholarship accounts
The Nebraska Secretary of State announced that a veto referendum to repeal Legislative Bill 75—an act that established tax credits for taxpayers who contribute to education scholarships for students to attend private schools—qualified for the November 2024 ballot on Oct. 10. Support Our Schools, the committee behind the referendum, submitted over 117,000 signatures on Aug.…
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Gov. Newsom signs legislative compromise on fast food restaurant minimum wage and working conditions; campaign announces it will withdraw referendum
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed Assembly Bill 1228 (AB 1228) on Sept. 28. AB 1228 is a legislative compromise reached with proponents of a veto referendum on a different bill (Assembly Bill 257) that qualified for the 2024 ballot. AB 1228 will repeal AB 257, which was passed during the 2022 legislative session. AB…
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Initiative filed in Oregon to change Measure 110 to recriminalize drugs
Two versions of an initiative to recriminalize drugs in Oregon were filed with the secretary of state on Sept. 19 by the Coalition to Fix and Improve Ballot Measure 110, the campaign behind the initiative. In 2020, Oregon voters decriminalized personal non-commercial drug possession offenses with the approval of Measure 110. It received 58.5% of…
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Where have ranked-choice voting measures been on the ballot? 4 states and 45 localities since 1970
The ballot measure has played a role in shaping electoral systems in the U.S., including ranked-choice voting (RCV) for state and local elections. Since 1914, when voters in Los Angeles, California, rejected Amendment 8 to adopt a multi-winner ranked-choice voting system, there have been more than 150 ballot measures to adopt or repeal ranked-choice voting…
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Protect Kids California files three initiatives related to gender and schools, sports, and healthcare for the 2024 ballot
Protect Kids California filed three citizen-initiated ballot measures to enact laws related to gender in schools, sports, and healthcare. The first initiative would require schools to notify parents or guardians when a student requests to be treated as a gender identity that differs from the student’s listed sex in the student’s record. Notification would be…
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Nebraska campaign to repeal tax credits for private education scholarship accounts files signatures
Support Our Schools Nebraska filed more than 117,000 signatures on Aug. 30 for a veto referendum to repeal Legislative Bill 753, which authorized tax credits for taxpayers who contribute to education scholarships for students to attend private schools. In Nebraska, the number of signatures required for a veto referendum—without suspending the enactment of the targeted…
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Maine and Ohio see higher than average number of initiatives qualify for the 2023 ballot
In Maine and Ohio, more citizen-initiated ballot measures qualified in 2023 than the average for odd-numbered years between 2011 and 2021 for each respective state. Maine initiative sponsors filed six initiatives and qualified four of the measures for the Nov. 2023 ballot. For the last six odd-numbered years, an average of nearly seven initiatives were…
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Initiative sponsors filed a total of 52 measures targeting the Massachusetts 2024 ballot—the most over the last six election cycles
In Massachusetts, the initiative filing deadline for the 2024 ballot was Aug. 3. Initiative sponsors filed 52 measures (49 initiated state statutes and three initiated constitutional amendments) by the deadline—the most filed over the last six election cycles. The average number of initiatives filed between 2012 and 2022 was 29. An average of three initiatives…