Category: State

On August 6, Mississippi held its statewide primary. In the Republican primary for the District 50 seat in the state Senate, candidate Scott DeLano’s vote totals initially led his opponent’s, Dixie Newman. However, after the affidavit ballots were counted, Newman took the lead with one vote. This one-vote lead persisted after the results were certified…

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) appointed Bill Montgomery (R) to the Arizona Supreme Court on September 4, 2019. Montgomery replaces former Chief Justice Scott Bales, who retired on July 31, 2019. Montgomery was Ducey’s fifth appointment to the seven-member court.   Before being appointed to the state Supreme Court, Montgomery was Maricopa County Attorney. He…

On September 3, a North Carolina court struck down the state’s legislative district plan as an impermissible partisan gerrymander under the state constitution.   The plaintiffs, which included Common Cause and the Democratic Party of North Carolina, alleged that the state legislative district maps adopted and enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2017…

Teresa Chafin joined the Virginia Supreme Court this week to fill the vacancy created by Justice Elizabeth McClanahan’s retirement on September 1. In February 2019, the Virginia General Assembly unanimously approved Chafin to succeed McClanahan.   Chafin received her J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1987. Her previous judgeships included serving…

Forty-seven years ago, voters in California approved Proposition 4, a constitutional amendment declaring that presidential primary candidates who appear on the ballot are “those found by the Secretary of State to be recognized candidates throughout the nation or throughout California for the office of the President of the United States, and those whose names placed…

Supporters of the effort to recall Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) have until September 6 to submit 631,266 signatures in order to force the recall election. The recall effort was originally approved for circulation on July 8, and it is led by a group called Dismiss Polis.   According to the recall petition, the group…

A law limiting the ability of physicians to prescribe opioids in Texas took effect Sunday, making it the 36th state to limit opioid prescriptions.   House Bill 2174 prohibits physicians from prescribing more than a ten-day supply of opioids and from refilling opioid prescriptions. The law excludes prescriptions for chronic pain, cancer patients, hospice and…

The minimum age to purchase tobacco in Arkansas, Texas, and Vermont increased from 18 to 21 on Sunday. Those three states are among 13 to increase their tobacco age restriction to 21 since June 2015, when Hawaii became the first state to do so in the 21st century.   There are now 13 states where…

The special election in District 71 of the Georgia House of Representatives is scheduled for September 3. Jill Prouty (D), Nina Blackwelder (R), Marcy Sakrison (R), and Philip Singleton (R) are running in the general election. In the event that no candidate receives a majority of votes in the general election, a runoff has been…

On August 6, Mississippi held its statewide primary. In the Republican primary for the District 50 seat in the state Senate, candidate Scott DeLano’s vote totals initially led his opponent’s, Dixie Newman. After the affidavit ballots were counted, Newman took the lead with one vote. The totals were then certified and the primary was called…