Category: State

On April 7, 2020, voters in Wisconsin will vote on Marsy’s Law—a type of constitutional amendment addressing the rights of crime victims. The Wisconsin State Legislature referred the constitutional amendment to the ballot on May 15, 2019. Voters in 12 other states have approved Marsy’s Law measures. Marsy’s Law has never been defeated at the…

Candidates running in the Democratic and Republican primaries for Mississippi governor submitted campaign finance reports for the first quarter of 2019 (Jan. 1 through April 30).   Lieutenant Gov. Tate Reeves $1 million, the most of the Republican candidates, and reported $6.7 million in cash on hand. Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller…

The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state legislature’s December 2018 extraordinary session and resulting legislation, which would make changes to administrative processes in the state.   A group of individuals and organizations, led by the League of Women Voters, filed the lawsuit in January 2019…

Two recall efforts against Colorado state Rep. Rochelle Galindo (D) ended on May 12 after she resigned her seat amid allegations of sexual misconduct by a former staff member. The first recall was approved by the secretary of state on April 4. Recall supporters had until June 3 to collect 5,696 signatures to force a…

Four Democrats and four Republicans are competing for their party’s nominations in Kentucky’s May 21 gubernatorial primaries. The general election will take place on November 5. The position last changed partisan hands in 2015, when current governor Matt Bevin (R) defeated Jack Conway (D).   The Democrats running are Kentucky House Minority Leader Rocky Adkins,…

As of May 2019, the range for vehicle registration costs in the 45 states with a fixed cost (rather than variable) was between $8 and $225. The cost for a title in those states ranged from $3 to $100. Five states had variable costs based on either the MSRP or the age and weight of…

On November 6, 2018, elections were held for 6,073 state legislative seats across 87 of the nation’s 99 state legislative chambers. Five hundred and eight elections (8.3%) resulted in control of a seat changing to a new party. Of the 508 flips, 391 (77.0%) were Republican seats that flipped to Democrats and 93 (18.2%) were…

A special election for District 130 of the Connecticut House of Representatives was held on May 7. Unofficial results showed 23-year-old Antonio Felipe (D) winning with 47.2% of the vote. Felipe will be the youngest member in the state House. The second place finisher, Kate Rivera, earned 34.8% of the vote and was the first…

On May 3, 2019, a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled unanimously that Ohio’s congressional district plan constitutes an illegal partisan gerrymander. The court held that the plan, enacted in 2011 by a Republican legislature and governor, violates the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Democrats.…

Vermont Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Skoglund is retiring on September 1, 2019.   Selection of Vermont Supreme Court justices occurs through assisted appointment. The governor appoints a justice from a list of names provided by a nominating commission. The appointed justice must be confirmed by the Vermont State Senate. Once confirmed, justices serve six-year terms.…