Category: State
-
State supreme court vacancy count for May 2024
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and swearings in of justices from May 1, 2024, to May 31, 2024. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts. Announced retirements: On May 21, 2024, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (D) announced that Chief Justice Richard Robinson…
-
Jeff Crank and Dave Williams are running in the Republican primary for Colorado’s 5th Congressional District
Jeff Crank (R) and Dave Williams (R) are running in the Republican primary for Colorado’s 5th Congressional District on June 25, 2024. The district is open because incumbent U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R) is not running for re-election. Former President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Williams, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R) endorsed Crank.…
-
Louisiana state legislature refers two constitutional amendments to Dec. 7 ballot related to state legislative processes
The Louisiana State Legislature referred two constitutional amendments to the ballot that voters will decide on Dec. 7. Rep. Tony Bacala (R-59) sponsored both amendments, House Bill 48 and House Bill 49, in the State House. House Bill 48, passed unanimously by the legislature, would add a 48-hour waiting period before a concurrence vote on…
-
Kansas enacts state-level REINS Act
The Kansas State Senate voted 27-12 on April 29, 2024, to override Governor Laura Kelly’s (D) veto of House Bill 2648—a bill to require legislative approval of administrative rules with implementation and compliance costs of $1,000,000 or more over a five-year period. The bill is a REINS-style state law, which is a legislative proposal modeled…
-
Rhode Island House of Representatives advances bills to amend LEOBOR
The Rhode Island House of Representatives on May 9, 2024, voted 58-14 with bipartisan support to pass two bills aimed at amending the state’s Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights (LEOBOR). LEOBORs are a set of legal provisions that establish the due process rights of police officers during internal misconduct investigations. LEOBORs are enacted as…
-
With Mississippi’s new law, more states have banned ranked-choice voting in 2024 than any other year
On May 13, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R) signed SB 2144 into law, banning ranked-choice voting (RCV). With the new law, more states have now banned RCV in 2024 than in any other year. Mississippi joined Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Alabama, who all adopted legislation banning RCV this year, and became the ninth state overall to prohibit the electoral system. SB 2144 bans RCV “in…
-
Eight candidates are running in the Republican primary for Missouri Secretary of State on August 6, 2024
Eight candidates are running in the Republican primary for Missouri Secretary of State on August 6, 2024. Four lead in media attention and fundraising: Valentina Gomez (R), Denny Hoskins (R), Dean Plocher (R), and Shane Schoeller (R). Republican incumbent Jay Ashcroft is running for Governor of Missouri. Each candidate has said that trust in elections…
-
Three Republican controlled legislatures ban ranked-choice voting in one month
Three states—Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Alabama—banned ranked-choice voting (RCV) in less than a month. All three have Republican-controlled legislatures, and Alabama and Oklahoma have Republican trifectas. RCV was not in use in any of the states at the time. The three new bans bring the total number of states banning RCV to eight. All eight had a Republican-controlled…
-
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) signs legislation making significant changes to state election laws
States have adopted 50 new election laws since the beginning of May. Nearly half of these bills come from Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has signed 24 election-related bills, including several that have garnered national attention for how they change the state’s voting laws. One of these bills was SB 189, an omnibus election bill that changed several areas of…
-
Changes to Idaho unemployment insurance work search requirements take effect in July (2024)
The Idaho Department of Labor issued a press release on May 15 instructing Idaho unemployment insurance claimants to complete and report five work search-related activities per week starting July 7 to receive benefits. Current law requires claimants to report two work search activities per week. The work search activity changes will comply with requirements outlined…