Category: State
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Colorado Governor Polis (D) signs election omnibus legislation including amendment related to ranked-choice voting
Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) signed SB 210 into law on June 6, 2024. The omnibus elections bill makes changes to several areas of election law, including adding provisions to state law that would make it more difficult to adopt ranked-choice voting (RCV) in statewide elections. The bill lowers the age for voter preregistration from…
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Lowest number of Maine state legislative retirements since 2016
There are 186 state legislative seats up for election in Maine in 2024. Across those, 38 incumbents (22 Democrats and 16 Republicans) did not file to run for re-election. That is less than the average number of retirements in Maine from rom 2010-2022 (55.1) and is is the fewest number of retiring incumbents since 2016,…
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Forty-three candidates are running for Michigan’s 13 U.S. House districts—the fewest since 2016
This year’s filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in Michigan was April 23, 2024. Forty-three candidates are running for Michigan’s 13 U.S. House districts, including 23 Democrats and 20 Republicans. That’s an average of 3.3 candidates per district. Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings: Michigan and three other states—Kansas, Missouri, and…
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Five U.S. House incumbents are in contested primaries in Missouri this year—tying with 2018 and 2014 for the fewest this decade
This year’s filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in Missouri was March 26, 2024. Forty-three candidates are running for Missouri’s eight U.S. House districts, including 16 Democrats and 27 Republicans. That’s an average of 5.38 candidates per district. That’s lower than the 7.13 candidates per district in 2022 but more than the 5.00 in…
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Louisiana is fifth state to ban RCV in 2024, tenth overall
On May 28, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landy (R) signed SB 101 into law banning ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the state. Louisiana is the fifth state to ban RCV in 2024 and 10th to do so overall. All 10 states to ban RCV have done so with a Republican controlled legislature. The new law states: “A…
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54.98% of state legislators are Republican, 44.38% Democratic
At the end of May 2024, 54.98% of all state legislators in the United States are Republican while 44.38% are Democratic. There are 7,386 state legislative seats in the country. Republicans control 56 chambers, while Democrats hold 41. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. Democrats hold 847 state…
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Largest state pension fund announces punitive action against ExxonMobil
The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension fund in the country, announced on May 21 that it has chosen to take action against ExxonMobil at the company’s May 29 annual shareholder meeting. Because of a lawsuit filed by Exxon against two small shareholders – Arjuna Capital and Follow This – CalPERS…
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Arizona sees fewer contested state legislative primaries this year
Arizona has 29 contested state legislative primaries this year, down 24% from 2022. Of these, there are 12 for Democrats and 17 for Republicans. For Democrats, this is down from 15 in 2022, a 20% decrease. Contested Republican primaries are down 26% from 23 in 2022. Twenty-nine incumbents—14 Democrats and 15 Republicans— face primary challenges,…
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Number of contested state legislative primaries jumps in Montana, candidates vie for newly drawn districts
Montana has 60 contested state legislative primaries in 2024, a new high and an increase of 36% from the preceding cycle. This is also the first election for which the new state legislative maps, finalized in February 2023, take effect. Fifteen of the 60 contested primaries are for Democrats, up 15% from 2022. Forty-five primaries…
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Oklahoma becomes sixth state to put a constitutional amendment on Nov. 2024 ballot providing that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections
Oklahoma voters will join Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, and Wisconsin voters in deciding on ballot questions to add language to their respective state constitutions to provide that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections. All six ballot questions were placed on the Nov. 2024 ballot by Republican-controlled state legislatures. Similar measures were on the…