Category: Federal
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Portman becomes fourth senator to announce he won’t seek re-election in 2022
On Jan. 25, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) announced that he would not seek another six-year term in the Senate when his term expires in 2022. In his statement announcing his decision, Portman said, “I am really looking forward to being home in Ohio full time, seeing family and friends more, and getting back to the…
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U.S. Census Bureau says it will deliver apportionment data by April 30, redistricting data after July 31
On January 27, 2021, Kathleen Styles, an official at the U.S. Census Bureau, announced at a National Conference of State Legislatures event that the bureau would release its final apportionment report by April 30, 2021. Styles also said the bureau hoped to release detailed redistricting data after July 31, 2021. Census results are used to…
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Seventy-seven third party candidates received more votes than the margin of victory in their races on Nov. 3
In 2020, there were 77 third party or independent candidates who received more votes than the margin of victory in their election. These included eight running for Congress, 23 running for a statewide state-level office, 43 running for a non-statewide state-level office, and three running for a local office within Ballotpedia’s coverage scope. The eight…
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Analyzing demographics of the Pivot Counties with highest, lowest turnout in 2020
Two-hundred and six Pivot Counties voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. In the 2020 presidential election, 181 Retained Pivot Counties voted for Trump again, and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties voted for Joe Biden (D). Demographically, Retained Pivot Counties tended to be less populous, with an average…
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Three-hundred and forty-four elected officials at the state and federal levels sought another office in 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia tracked 344 officials in Congress and state legislatures who ran for a different office than the one to which they were elected. Of those 344 officials, 162 (47%) won election to a new position. Fourteen members of the U.S. House and eight members of the U.S. Senate sought election to a different office. Four…
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Biden revokes Trump executive orders on regulatory practice
President Joe Biden (D) on Jan. 20, 2021, signed an executive order revoking six executive orders on agency regulatory practice issued by former President Donald Trump (R). E.O. 13992 revoked the following Trump administration executive orders: Executive Order 13771 (Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs): Established regulatory budgets for federal agencies and required agencies to eliminate two…
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Federal Register weekly update: One week, two administrations
The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity. From Jan. 18 through Jan. 22, the Federal Register grew by 1,950 pages for a year-to-date total of 6,824 pages. The Biden administration…
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SCOTUS issues opinion, adds no new cases to merits docket
On January 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued one opinion in a case argued during its October 2020-2021 term, the twelfth opinion to date for the term. In the case Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer and White Sales Inc., the court issued a per curiam opinion—a ruling given collectively by…
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SCOTUS announces oral arguments to be heard via teleconference for February sitting
On January 22, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would conduct oral arguments via teleconference during its February sitting, following the same format that was used during its October, November, December, and January sittings. The court also announced that the oral arguments will be provided to the public via live audio stream. The…
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Ballotpedia’s 2020 Candidate Connection report: 16.4% of candidates completed surveys this election cycle
For the third year in a row, Ballotpedia invited candidates to take part in our Candidate Connection initiative. The survey was open to the 29,002 federal, state, and local candidates that Ballotpedia covered in 2020. Ballotpedia received submissions from 4,745 candidates—or 16.4%—who were running for seats across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.…