Category: State
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Incoming New Mexico Superintendent of Insurance assumed office January 1st
Russell Toal, the newly appointed New Mexico Superintendent of Insurance, took office on January 1, 2020. Toal was appointed to fill the nonpartisan position following John Franchini’s retirement in December 2019. The insurance nominating committee appointed Toal unanimously from among eight candidates for the position. The committee chairwoman and former lieutenant governor of New Mexico,…
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Virginia becomes Democratic trifecta as legislators are sworn in
Legislators elected in Virginia’s 2019 elections were sworn into office on Wednesday, January 8. As a result, Democrats now have control of both chambers of the legislature and, alongside Gov. Ralph Northam (D), a Democratic state government trifecta. A state government trifecta is a term to describe when one political party controls both chambers of…
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What are the responsibilities of secretaries of state?
Secretary of state is an elected statewide executive office in 35 states, a governor-appointed position in nine states, and a legislature-appointed position in three states. Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah do not have secretaries of state. In 38 states, secretaries derive their power from original articles in their states’ constitutions. In 19 they derive their authority…
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Signatures for Florida 2020 initiatives must be certified by February 1st
February 1 is the deadline for initiative petition signatures to be certified by the Florida Secretary of State to qualify initiated constitutional amendments for the 2020 ballot. Since state law gives local elections officials 30 days to verify signatures, petitioners needed to submit signatures on or before January 2, 2020, to guarantee that an initiative…
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December 2019 breakdown of state legislative party membership: 52.1% Republicans, 46.6% Democrats
December’s partisan count of the 7,383 state legislators across the United States shows 52.1% of all state legislators are Republicans and 46.6% are Democrats, which is consistent with November. Ballotpedia tallies the partisan balance of state legislatures at the end of every month. This refers to which political party holds the majority of seats in…
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The signature deadline for Ohio indirect initiated state statutes was Friday
No initiative campaigns submitted signatures in Ohio on Friday’s deadline. In Ohio, initiated statutes begin as indirect initiatives, requiring 132,887 signatures in 2020 to go before the Ohio State Legislature. If enough signatures are submitted, the legislature has the option to approve an initiative without a vote of electors. If the state legislature does not…
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Signatures filed for indirect initiative to ban abortion procedure in Michigan
On December 23, 2019, the campaign Michigan Values Life filed 379,418 signatures for a ballot initiative to ban an abortion procedure. The ballot initiative defines the procedure as dismemberment abortion, which is also known as dilation and evacuation abortion. The ballot initiative would define dismemberment abortion as an abortion which uses an instrument, device,…
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Two states expanded felon voting rights in December
Kentucky and New Jersey both expanded voting rights for convicted felons this past month. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) issued an executive order on December 12 which allows individuals convicted of certain felonies to regain the right to vote upon completion of sentence, including prison time, probation, and parole. Rights are restored at that time…
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Since 1776, 217 state governors have resigned their office
Since 1776, 217 state governors have resigned before completing their terms. Before serving as president, Andrew Johnson (D) resigned twice as governor of Tennessee (once in 1857 and once in 1865), so there have been 218 gubernatorial resignations. Of the 218 resignations, more than three-quarters (166) happened because the governor was elected or appointed to…
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South Dakota to vote on medical marijuana in 2020
On December 19, the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office announced that New Approach South Dakota’s initiative to establish a medical marijuana program had qualified for the ballot. The group reported submitting more than 30,000 signatures in November, of which 25,524 were deemed valid. To qualify, 16,961 signatures were required. The measure would establish a…