Category: State
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State supreme court vacancy count for April 2024
In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and swearings-in of justices from April 1 to April 30, 2024. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts. Announced retirements: Ann Walsh Bradley announced on April 11, 2024, that she would retire from the Wisconsin Supreme Court…
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California committee advances bill proposing unemployment benefits for striking workers (2024)
The California Senate Labor, Public Unemployment and Retirement Committee advanced Senate Bill 1116 on Apr. 24, which proposes allowing workers to claim unemployment insurance benefits after striking for two weeks. The bill now heads to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for further consideration. California lawmakers passed similar legislation in 2023, but Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)…
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Three states — Idaho, Illinois, and Pennsylvania — have fewest number of state legislative incumbents retiring since 2010
So far, in 2024, Ballotpedia has processed candidate filing information for congressional offices in 23 states. We also have data for 27 state legislative chambers across 14 states. We’ve looked at 2,614 total races so far — about 44% of the ~6,000 races we anticipate covering in 2024. Looking at retirements across the state legislatures,…
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Oklahoma voters to decide constitutional amendment to allow for public infrastructure districts within municipalities
The Oklahoma State Legislature passed a constitutional amendment to create a process for establishing public infrastructure districts within municipalities. Voters will decide on the amendment on Nov. 5, 2025. Public infrastructure districts would be governed by a Board of Trustees, which would have the authority to levy a special assessment of up to 10 mills…
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Nebraska bill removing voting rights restoration waiting period for people convicted of a felony passes without governor’s signature
On April 17, 2024, Nebraska’s LB 20 became law without the signature of Gov. Jim Pillen (R). The bill changes the timeline for restoring voting rights to people convicted of a felony by removing a two-year waiting period after the completion of a sentence before rights are restored. Under the new law, voting rights are…
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Primary competition remains steady in Oklahoma’s legislative races for third straight election cycle
There are 125 seats up for election this year in Oklahoma’s legislature—24 in the Senate and 101 in the House. There are 51 total contested primaries in 2024 (six Democratic and 45 Republican). This is in line with the numbers from the past two cycles (49 in 2022 and 52 in 2020). Incumbents facing primary challengers follow a…
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Incumbent Summer Lee won the Democratic primary election for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District against Bhavini Patel
Incumbent Summer Lee (D) won the Democratic primary election for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District on April 23, 2024. Lee received 60.6% of the vote. Bhavini Patel (D) finished in second with 39.4%. Lee was first elected to the U.S. House in 2022 and previously served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Lee said she was…
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Two candidates are running in the Republican primary election for Governor of North Dakota on June 11
Two candidates are running in the Republican primary election for Governor of North Dakota on June 11, 2024: Kelly Armstrong (R) and Tammy Miller (R). Armstrong and Miller announced their candidacies after Incumbent Gov. Doug Burgum (R) said he would not seek re-election on Jan 22. Armstrong and Miller both say they support reducing taxes,…
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Recent votes on county measures in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Illinois to join other states or form new ones; next vote scheduled for May 21 in Crook County, Oregon
Voters in Crook County, Oregon, will be voting on a measure on May 21 that asks whether they support negotiations to incorporate the county into the state of Idaho. Since 2013, voters in California, Colorado, and Oregon have decided on measures regarding counties joining other states or forming new states. Voters in one Illinois county…
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Thirty-six South Dakota state legislative seats are open this year—the most since 2016
There are 105 seats up for election this year in South Dakota’s legislature—35 in the Senate and 70 in the House. Thirty-six incumbents (three Democrats and 33 Republicans) are not running for re-election. This is the highest retirement rate since 2016, when 42 incumbents (10 Democrats and 32 Republicans) retired. The average number of retirements each year…