Category: Ballot measures
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Missouri voters will decide on Medicaid expansion August 4
Missouri voters will vote on Amendment 2, the Medicaid Expansion Initiative, on August 4. Amendment 2 would expand Medicaid eligibility in Missouri to adults that are between the ages of 19 and 65 whose incomes are at or below 138% of the federal poverty level. The amendment would also prohibit any additional restrictions or requirements…
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Oil and gas ballot measures won’t appear on 2020 ballot in Colorado; signatures for other initiatives due on August 3
On Friday, July 24, 2020, Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) announced that he would oppose ballot measures related to oil and gas in 2020 and 2022 on both sides to allow Senate Bill 181 of 2019 to take full effect. SB 181 was designed to make changes to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission,…
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Montana county clerks verify that New Approach Montana has enough signatures to qualify marijuana measures for the ballot
On July 17, New Approach Montana reported that county clerks had accepted 52,315 signatures from the 80,000 raw signatures submitted for its constitutional amendment initiative (CI-118) and 35,458 signatures from the 52,000 signatures submitted for its initiated state statute (I-190). A total of 50,936 signatures and 25,468 signatures, respectively, were required to qualify for the…
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Rhode Island voters will decide whether to remove “Providence Plantations” from the official state name in November
On November 3, Rhode Island voters will decide a constitutional amendment that would change the state’s official name from “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” to “Rhode Island.” On July 16, the Rhode Island House of Representatives passed the amendment. It was approved by the state Senate on June 18. The amendment would also…
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Illinois Gov. Pritzker has contributed $56.5 million to campaign behind graduate income tax ballot measure
Through June 30, 2020, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) contributed $56.5 million to the campaign Vote Yes For Fairness. The campaign is backing a ballot measure to repeal the state’s constitutional requirement that the state personal income tax be a flat rate. It would, instead, allow the state to enact legislation for a graduated income…
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Fate of four initiatives in Arkansas uncertain due to state law requiring signature gatherers to certify that they passed background checks
A veto referendum concerning eye surgeries, which was certified on January 31 to appear on the November ballot, is awaiting a final determination from the Arkansas Supreme Court about whether it will remain on the ballot. Arkansans for Healthy Eyes (opponents of the veto referendum effort) filed a lawsuit on February 28, 2020, alleging…
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Fort Worth voters renew sales tax for the Crime Control and Prevention District
According to unofficial election night results, Fort Worth voters approved a 0.5% sales tax renewal for the Crime Control and Prevention District with 64% of the vote on July 14. The measure also continued the existence of the district. The district and the tax were set to expire on September 30, 2020, but will now…
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Maine voters approve bond measures for transportation and high-speed internet infrastructure
Based on unofficial election night results, 75.5% of voters approved Maine Question 1, the High-Speed Internet Infrastructure Bond Issue, and 77.5% of voters approved Maine Question 2, the Transportation Infrastructure Bond Issue. Maine Question 1 authorized $15 million in general obligation bonds for the ConnectME Authority to provide funding for high-speed internet infrastructure in unserved…
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Massachusetts voters will decide on ranked-choice voting initiative in November
Voter Choice for Massachusetts, the campaign sponsoring the ranked-choice voting initiative, announced on Twitter on July 10 that Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin had certified the initiative for the November ballot. The secretary of state confirmed that 17,512 of the 25,000 signatures submitted for the second deadline were valid. A total of 13,374 valid…
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Massachusetts to decide “Right to Repair” initiative
Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin reported that 17,596 of the 26,000 signatures submitted for an initiative referred to as Right to Repair were valid, certifying the initiative for the November ballot. The initiative would require manufacturers that sell vehicles with telematics systems in Massachusetts to equip them with a standardized open data platform beginning…