A special election was held on Sept. 14 for District 29 of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Greg Vital (R) defeated DeAngelo Jelks (D) in the general election. Vital and Jelks earned 80% and 19.8% of the vote, respectively. Once sworn in, Vital will serve until November 2022. The seat became vacant after the death…
Paolo DeMaria retired as Ohio’s superintendent of public instruction on Sept. 24. DeMaria was first appointed to the position in May 2016 by the Ohio State Board of Education. DeMaria announced on July 1 that he intended to retire, saying in a statement, “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the State…
Here’s a summary of the week’s noteworthy redistricting news out of Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin: Nebraska: On Sept. 17, the Nebraska legislature rejected Sen. Lou Ann Linehan’s (R) proposed congressional redistricting map (LB1). The legislature voted 29-17 in support of advancing the map, which was four votes short of the 33 needed to…
Four states— Alaska, Arkansas, Texas, and Washington— released proposed redistricting maps between Sept. 15 and 22. Alaska: The Alaska Redistricting Board adopted six proposed state legislative maps at its Sept. 20 meeting: two prepared by the board and four proposed by third-party organizations. The board originally released its two proposals on Sept. 9 but replaced…
Two state legislators switched their political party affiliation the week of Sept. 13. New Hampshire state Rep. William Marsh switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, and Minnesota state Rep. John Thompson became an independent after members of the Minnesota House Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) caucus voted to expel him. William Marsh—who represents Carroll County…
The voter registration deadline for the November 2, 2021 election in Texas is Oct. 4. Prospective voters can request a postage-paid voter registration form online or complete the form online and return it to the county voter registrar. Applications are also available at a variety of locations including the county voter registrar’s office, the secretary…
Two new state legislative special elections have been added to our list. The special elections are for the District 30 seat in the New York State Senate and the District 86 seat in the New York State Assembly on Nov. 2, 2021. There is no primary, and the filing deadline is on Sept. 27. Additional…
On Sept.17, 2021, a three-judge panel of the Wake County Superior Court ruled 2-1 that North Carolina’s voter ID law violates the state constitution. As a result, the court blocked enforcement of the law. The court found that “the evidence at trial [is] sufficient to show that the enactment of [the voter ID law] was…
The city of Concord, N.H., is holding nonpartisan general elections for mayor and ward councilors on Nov. 2. The filing deadline for candidates paying a fee in this election was Sept. 13. The filing deadline for candidates filing by petition in this election was Sept. 17. In the mayoral race, incumbent Jim Bouley will face…
A special election has been called to fill the vacant Iowa House of Representatives seat in District 29. The seat became vacant on Sept. 10 when former state Rep. Wesley Breckenridge (D) resigned to take a job with the Iowa Law Enforcement Agency. The special election is scheduled for Oct. 12. The candidate filing deadline…