Category: Ballot measures
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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…
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Wisconsin’s April 7th Marsy’s Law ballot measure challenged in court
On December 18, 2019, the Wisconsin Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization, filed litigation in the Dane County Circuit Court that challenges the Marsy’s Law Amendment, which is on the ballot for April 7, 2020. Marsy’s Law was designed as a type of constitutional bill of rights for crime victims. As of 2019, 13 states had…
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Massachusetts income tax rate decrease takes effect on January 1
In the general election of 2000, Massachusetts voters approved Question 4 with 59 percent of the vote. The initiative enacted a law that would lower the state’s personal income tax from 5.9% in 2000 to 5% by 2003. In 2002, the Massachusetts General Court passed House No. H.5250, which replaced the schedule adopted by Question…
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Ballotpedia’s annual minimum wage increase report: 24 states and D.C. will increase their minimum wages in 2020
Twenty-four states and Washington, D.C. will increase their minimum wages in 2020. The increases range from between $0.10 per hour in Florida to $1.50 per hour in New Mexico, Washington, and New York City for certain employees. In New York and Oregon, state laws provide for regional minimum wages. Eight minimum wages will increase due…
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NJ voters will decide a constitutional amendment to legalization marijuana at the 2020 general election
On December 16, the New Jersey State Legislature passed a resolution placing a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana on the ballot for November 3, 2020. New Jersey would be the 12th state and the first Mid-Atlantic state to legalize marijuana. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) campaigned on marijuana legalization in the 2017 gubernatorial election. When Murphy…
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Arkansas Supreme Court rules signatures must be counted for Optometry Referendum
A veto referendum effort in Arkansas is moving forward after a state supreme court ruling on Thursday ordered the secretary of state to count the signatures submitted by proponents. The referendum seeks to overturn Act 579 (House Bill 1251) which amended the definition of practice of optometry to allow optometrists to perform surgical procedures. Safe…
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Citizen voting requirement initiative certified to appear on Colorado’s 2020 ballot
On Dec. 12, the Colorado Secretary of State’s office reported that the Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative had qualified for the November 2020 ballot. This measure would amend the Colorado Constitution to state that only citizens of the United States are qualified electors in Colorado. The measure is sponsored by Colorado Citizen Voters and has…
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Oklahoma City voters approve sales tax measure Tuesday
Oklahoma City voters approved a 1% sales tax measure by 71.7% to 28.3 percent in a special election Tuesday. The tax revenue was earmarked to fund the city’s Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) 4 program of proposed city infrastructure and facility projects. The MAPS 4 tax will expire in eight years and is expected to raise…
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Oklahoma City voters to decide sales tax proposition Dec. 10
On Dec. 10, OKC voters will decide whether to approve a 1% sales tax proposition to fund the city’s MAPS 4 program of city infrastructure and facility projects. The tax was designed to go into effect in April 2020 when the city’s existing 1% transportation sales tax expires, thereby leaving the total sales tax rate…
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Top-Two Primaries measure is the third amendment to be certified for Florida’s 2020 ballot
A measure to establish a top-two open primary system in Florida was certified on Dec. 6 to appear on the 2020 ballot. All Voters Vote, Inc. submitted 769,545 valid signatures for the initiative. To qualify, 766,200 valid signatures were required. The measure would establish a top-two open primary system for primary elections for state legislators,…