Welcome to the Tuesday, May 2, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. A preview of Kentucky’s May 16 statewide primaries
2. Election Day roundup: Massachusetts, Nebraska, Indiana and more
3. 33 candidates filed for federal and statewide offices last week

A preview of Kentucky’s May 16 statewide primaries

Kentucky’s gubernatorial election headlines its statewide races this year, and both major parties will choose their nominees in the upcoming primaries on May 16. 

The May 16 primary is largely for state executive offices. Kentucky is one of only three states—along with Louisiana and Mississippi—holding state executive elections this year. Unlike in New Jersey and Virginia, Kentucky is not holding state legislative elections (there is, however, a special election on May 16 to fill a vacancy in the state Senate, and we’ll take a look at what’s at stake there later in this story). 

In Kentucky, the candidate who wins a plurality of the vote in the primary advances to the general election. Kentucky is one of 39 states in which primary candidates advance by winning a plurality of the vote. Primaries with only one candidate are canceled. In those cases, candidates advance automatically to the general election. 

Let’s take a look at what’s on the ballot on May 16.

Governor

Kentucky is one of 11 states with divided government. Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, was first elected in 2019. Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the legislature.  

Beshear faces Peppy Martin and Geoff Young in the Democratic primary. Beshear was Kentucky’s Attorney General from 2016 to 2019. Martin was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1999. She lost to then-Gov. Paul Patton (D) 22.2% to 60.7%. Young ran unsuccessfully for governor as a Democrat in 2015, and was also a candidate in 2016 and 2018 for Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District. Martin lost in the primaries on both occasions. 

Twelve candidates have entered the Republican primary. Media analysis has generally focused on three candidates—Daniel Cameron, Ryan Quarles, and Kelly Craft. 

Cameron is the current state Attorney General. Previously, he served as legal counsel to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R). On June 16, 2022, former President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Cameron. 

Quarles is the state Commissioner of Agriculture and a former Kentucky House member. Four state senators and 22 state representatives have endorsed Quarles. 

Craft served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under Trump from 2019 to 2021. U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) endorsed Craft. 

The Cook Political Report, rates the general election Lean D: “After eking out a win in 2019 over unpopular Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, Gov. Andy Beshear starts out with the edge to win a second term. Given the state’s heavy red lean, Republicans still have an opportunity, but they must first get through their own crowded primary.”

Matt Blevin was the last Republican governor of Kentucky. He served from 2015 to 2019. 

The lieutenant governor is also up for election. As of 2020, gubernatorial and lieutenant governor candidates run as a ticket. Gubernatorial candidates have until Aug. 8 to designate a running mate.

Kentucky is one of six states in which a simple majority in both chambers of the legislature can override a gubernatorial veto. In 36 states, a two-thirds vote is required from both chambers.

Other state executive elections

Here are the other state executive elections up for election this year in Kentucky. Click a link to read more about the elections.

• Attorney General
• Secretary of State
• Treasurer
• Auditor of Public Accounts
• Commissioner of Agriculture

Special state legislative election

Kentucky is holding a special election on May 16 to fill a vacancy in state Senate District 8. Republican Ralph Alvarado, the previous officeholder, resigned on Jan. 6 to become commissioner of the Tennessee Health Department. Robert Sainte (D), Greg Elkins (R), and Richard Henderson (Independent) are running in the election.

Although this is an odd-numbered year, there are a few states holding statewide elections. Recent Brew editions have previewed upcoming elections in New Jersey and Virginia.

In the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Kentucky 62% to President Joe Biden’s 36%. 

Click below to read more about Kentucky’s upcoming elections. 

Keep reading 

Election Day roundup: Massachusetts, Nebraska, Indiana and more

It’s Tuesday, and that means it’s Election Day for some voters. Let’s look at a few of the elections we’re covering today. 

State legislative elections

In Massachusetts, voters will decide primaries for two vacancies in the state House of Representatives. General elections are scheduled for May 30. 

• Ninth Suffolk District: The district became vacant after Jon Santiago (D) resigned to accept a job in Gov. Maura Healey’s (D) administration. The district covers part of Boston. John Moran and Amparo Ortiz are running in the Democratic primary. Moran completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. No Republican primary was scheduled.
• Tenth Suffolk District: The seat became vacant after Edward Coppinger (D) resigned on Feb. 28 to accept a job with MassBio. Approximately 41,210 residents live in the district. The district includes part of Boston and Brookline. Bill MacGregor, Robert Orthman, and Celia Segel are running in the primary. No Republican primary was scheduled. 

As of this writing, 34 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2023. There were an average of 69 state legislative special elections between 2010 and 2022. So far this year, one district has changed party control. In the Jan. 10 special election for Virginia Senate District 7, Aaron Rouse (D) defeated Kevin Adams (R). The former incumbent, Jennifer Kiggans (R), resigned on Nov. 15, 2022 after being elected to represent the 2nd Congressional District. In 2021, six seats changed party control in special elections—three from Republican to Democrat and three from Democrat to Republican.  

Mayoral elections

We’re covering 40 mayoral elections in 2023. Voters in Lincoln, Neb., Fort Wayne, Ind., and Indianapolis, Ind., will vote in mayoral elections on May 2. 

The elections in Indiana are primaries. General elections are scheduled for Nov. 7. Both Fort Wayne and Indianapolis have Democratic mayors.  

We covered Lincoln’s general mayoral election in detail in the April 26 edition of the Brew. Incumbent Leirion Gaylor Baird and Suzanne Geist are running in the nonpartisan election. They were the top-two vote-getters in the April 4 primary. Baird is a Democrat. Geist was a Republican state legislator until her resignation in 2023. 

School board elections

Three seats on the Lincoln Public Schools school board in Nebraska are up for nonpartisan election on May 2. Primaries were held April 4. 

• In District 2, Emily Pollen is running against Piyush Srivastav. Read Pollen’s responses to our Candidate Connection survey here. 
• In District 4, incumbent Annie Mumgaard is running against Alaina Brouillette. Read Brouillette’s responses to our Candidate Connection survey here.
• In District 6, incumbent Bob Rauner is running against Richard Aldag IV. Rauner and Aldag completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. We previewed their survey responses in the March 29 edition of Hall Pass, our weekly newsletter on education and school boards.  

Click below to stay up to date on all our election coverage.

Keep reading 

33 candidates filed for federal and statewide offices last week

Last week, 33 candidates filed to run for congressional and state offices—including for elections in 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026. Two weeks ago, we tracked 40 candidates who declared for congressional and state offices.

This year, we’ve tracked 575 declared candidates for federal and statewide offices.

Here’s a breakdown of the candidates who declared last week:

Of the partisan nature of the declared candidates….

• 18 are Democrats.
• 14 are Republicans. 
• One is a minor-party candidate.

Of the offices tracked…

• 27 filed for Congress
• Three filed for state legislatures
• Two filed for governorships
• One filed for a lower state executive office.

Between March 27 and April 17, we tracked an average of 30.5 candidates who filed for federal or state elections.

We cover elections for tens of thousands of offices across the country, and part of that work includes keeping tabs on the candidates who file to run for those offices. We’ll periodically bring you updates on how many candidates are signing up to run for state and federal offices. We process both official and declared candidates.

Click here to read more about our definition of candidacy. Click the link below to see a list of all declared candidates for federal elections in 2024. 

Keep reading 

Welcome to the Monday, May 1, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. San Antonio voters to decide measure on abortion, marijuana, policing
2. New York adopts new state Assembly lines
3. Number of enacted election-related bills on par with 2022

Goodbye, April showers, time for some May flowers! 

San Antonio voters to decide measure on abortion, marijuana, policing

Voters in San Antonio will decide on a charter amendment regarding abortion, marijuana, and police actions on May 6.

If approved, Proposition A would:

• Prohibit local police from enforcing criminal abortion laws;
• Decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana;
• Ban the use of no-knock warrants and chokeholds; 
• Direct local police to issue citations instead of arrests for certain other misdemeanors; and,
• Establish a city justice director appointed by the mayor and city council.

Before we dive into the measure, I asked our Ballots Managing Editor, Ryan Byrne, about this amendment. Byrne said, “We’ve heard about cities decriminalizing marijuana in states where it’s illegal, but this is the first measure that attempts to decriminalize abortion at the local level.”

In 2022, residents in six Texas cities—Austin, Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen, and San Marcos—voted in favor of decriminalizing marijuana possession. The Austin measure also banned law enforcement’s use of no-knock warrants.

Ground Game Texas, an organization supporting Proposition A, says the San Antonio measure is the first time any voters in Texas will decide on a measure regarding abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision last summer.

The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek wrote, “For more than a year, progressive organizers in Texas have been waging a concerted — and largely successful — effort to convince voters to reform policing laws in their cities, pushing the envelope of what state law could allow.”

Svitek continued, “But now they are facing their biggest test yet in San Antonio,” where Proposition A “could spark the biggest showdown yet with the Republican-dominated state government.”

Texas state law prohibits all abortions except those needed to save the life of or prevent serious risk to the mother. Texas also prohibits both medicinal and recreational marijuana. 

The San Antonio Police Department has prohibited the use of chokeholds and no-knock warrants since 2014 and 2020, respectively, except for cases where responding officers determine an imminent threat to life. These are departmental policies rather than codified laws.

In addition to Ground Game Texas, supporters of Proposition A include the Bexar County Democratic Party, the San Antonio AFL-CIO, and Act4SA, which said Proposition A “reduces burden on officers, prevents unnecessary arrests for nonviolent low level crimes … [and] pushes police accountability.”

Opponents of Proposition A include the Bexar County Republican Party, the Texas Alliance For Life, and the San Antonio Police Officers Association. 

Arguments against the proposition have focused primarily on the increased issuance of citations rather than the abortion or marijuana aspects. Danny Diaz, the city’s police union president, said, “We won’t be able to arrest and do our job … They’re talking about … rehabilitating criminals … but the businesses are the ones that are going to suffer.”

If approved, Proposition A will likely face legal challenges. The Texas Alliance For Life filed a lawsuit alleging the measure illegally addresses multiple subjects. The Texas Supreme Court ruled against the group in March, saying the measure could remain on the ballot but that voters retain legal avenues to challenge the measure after the election.

Keep reading 

New York adopts new state Assembly district lines

Did you think redistricting was done? Think again!

On April 24, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed legislation enacting new State Assembly boundaries for use starting in the 2024 elections.

And the redistricting fun isn’t over yet! Texas is actively working on new state legislative maps ahead of the 2024 election. And North Carolina will also redraw the legislative and congressional maps it used in 2022 following a recent state supreme court decision.

South Carolina has an active lawsuit regarding their congressional maps. And Ohio will need to redraw both its congressional and state legislative maps ahead of the 2026 elections due to provisions in its state constitution. Learn more here.

In New York, the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) voted 9-1 on April 20 to advance the new Assembly map to the legislature for final approval. The Assembly voted 132-13 in favor, and the Senate voted 59-1 in favor of the new districts.

The new maps replace a previous set invalidated by a 2022 court decision in Nichols v. Hochul. The lawsuit alleged the state failed to follow constitutional procedures during its initial drafting process. 

Due to the timing of the lawsuit, the state used the initial maps in 2022, under which Democrats won in 102 districts and Republicans won in 48.

The magnitude of this change may be limited. Gothamist’s Giulia Heyward and Jon Campbell wrote that the new maps are roughly identical to the invalidated lines approved in 2022.

New York State of Politics’ Kate Lisa wrote that the court ruled “the Assembly maps were invalid because the Legislature drew its own lines after the state Independent Redistricting Commission failed to propose a second set of maps.”

In January 2022, the IRC voted 5-5 to submit two sets of maps to the legislature. Legislators voted against both proposals, after which they produced their own lines. 

Courts previously invalidated the state’s congressional and senate maps, but in both cases, new lines were in place in time for the 2022 elections.

Keep reading 

Number of enacted election-related bills on par with 2022

As of April 27, legislators across the country have enacted 86 election-related bills this year, up from 83 such bills at this point in 2022.

Of this year’s 86 enacted bills, Republicans sponsored 47, or 55%, up from 49% of the total enacted at this point last year. Democrats sponsored 19%, up from 18% in 2022. Bills with bipartisan sponsorship remain at 19% of the total enacted, the same as last year. Those with unclear partisan sponsorship are down to 8% from 13% in 2022.

The 2023 totals include five new bills enacted over the past week, all in Maryland, which has a Democratic trifecta. Here are a few of those bills:

• House Bill 410 requires local elections boards to hold public meetings before voting to change polling place locations, adds things like fraud, threat, and bribery to the list of ways you cannot influence voters’ decisions, and changes certain procedures relating to election custodians.

• House Bill 379 directs local elections boards to begin processing and counting absentee ballots eight days before the first day of early voting. It also requires that boards notify a voter within three days if an absentee ballot is missing a signature and give them the chance to fix it.

• Senate Bill 863 changes the requirements for the State Administrator of Elections to be removed and that the Administrator serve until a successor is appointed.

In addition to these five newly-enacted bills, 38 other bills have moved further along in the legislative process over the past week: 18 passed both chambers and are awaiting final approval, and 20 passed one chamber, moving on to the next.

You can view a full list of enacted bills this year here. To stay up-to-date with the latest news in election-related legislation, subscribe to The Ballot Bulletin, our weekly newsletter—dropping every Friday afternoon—that delivers the latest updates on election policy. Every week, we track legislative activity, big-picture trends, recent news, and in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker.

Keep reading 

Welcome to the Friday, April 28, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Utah among top states enacting election legislation for second consecutive year
2. President Joe Biden (D) announces re-election bid  
3. #FridayTrivia: How many mayoral elections are we covering this year? 

Utah among top states enacting election legislation for second consecutive year

For the second year in a row, Utah is among the top three states that have enacted election-related legislation. 

Utah lawmakers enacted 12 of the 29 election-related bills (41.4%) introduced in 2023, and nine of 18 bills in 2022 (50%). Republicans were the sole sponsors of all but two of these bills. Utah is a Republican trifecta, and the only state to hold a trifecta status unchanged between 1992 and 2023. 

No other state was in the top three in both years. In 2022, Colorado (50%) and Connecticut (50%), both Democratic trifectas, rounded out the top three. 

The other two states enacting the most election-related legislation so far this year are Arkansas (45%) and South Dakota (42.1%), both of which are also Republican trifecta states. The most common topic of enacted bills in these states is counting and canvassing procedures (6 bills), followed by audits (5 bills). 

Overall in 2023, 3.4% of election-related legislation has been enacted into law. In 2022, that figure was 10.5%. 

The most common topics of enacted legislation in Utah from both years were:

• Ballot access for candidates (5 bills)
• Counting and canvassing procedures (4 bills)
• Audits, ballot measures (initiative and referendum), voter ID for absentee/mail-in ballots, signature matching, vacancy procedures, enforcement against non-officials, absentee/mail-in voter assistance, cybersecurity, and physical security (3 bills each)

Here’s a closer look at some of those bills: 

• Senate Bill 0170 (SB 0170), enacted in 2022, is an example of a bill about ballot access. It establishes a new filing period for candidates of a qualified political party to be elected at the next general election. 
• House Bill 0037 (HB 0037), enacted in 2023, established a new signature matching requirement for absentee ballots. The change requires poll workers to verify that a signature is “reasonably consistent with the individual’s signature in the voter registration records” or verifiable by other means before determining that a mailed ballot shall be canvassed. This bill also requires election officers to establish ways disabled voters can cast ballots if they can’t vote by mail. 
• House Bill 0264 (HB 0264), enacted in 2022, is an example of counting and canvassing procedures. HB 0264 describes the process of voting and of determining winners in an alternate voting methods race depending on the voting method selected by a municipality participating in the state’s Municipal Alternate Voting Methods Pilot Project. The legislature established The Municipal Alternate Voting Methods Pilot Project through HB35 in 2018 that allows municipalities to adopt ranked-choice voting for local elections. 

Utah’s 2023 legislative session ended on March 3. The most commonly enacted bill topics were signature matching, and absentee/mail-in voter assistance (3 bills each). In 2022 it was ballot access for candidates (4 bills). 

You can use our Election Administration Legislation Tracker to keep up to date on election administration in your state and across the country.

As of this writing, states have enacted 81 election-related bills this year. Click the link to learn more about those new laws.

Keep reading

President Joe Biden (D) announces re-election bid 

On April 25, exactly four years after he announced his 2020 presidential campaign, President Joe Biden (D) announced his campaign for re-election in 2024. Biden’s entry brings the tally of noteworthy presidential candidates to three Democrats, five Republicans, and one Republican with an exploratory committee.

Below is a summary of each candidate’s campaign activity from April 21 to April 28:

• Democratic candidates
  • In addition to announcing his campaign, Biden announced his campaign leadership. Senior White House Advisor Julie Chavez Rodriguez will serve as campaign manager. Quentin Fulks, who worked on Sen. Raphael Warnock’s (D-Ga.) 2022 re-election campaign, will be deputy campaign manager. Co-chairs for the campaign include Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D), Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.).
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (D) issued a statement responding to Biden’s re-election campaign announcement.
  • Marianne Williamson (D) held an event in New York City on April 22 and campaigned in Michigan on April 24. She also issued a statement responding to Biden’s re-election campaign on April 25.
    
• Republican candidates
  • Nikki Haley (R) delivered a policy speech outlining her position on abortion. From April 26 to April 28, she campaigned in New Hampshire.
  • Asa Hutchinson (R) held a campaign launch event on April 26 in Bentonville, Ark. He also spoke at an event hosted by the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition on April 22.
  • Vivek Ramaswamy (R) spoke at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition event on April 22 and continued campaigning in the state through April 24. He also issued a statement on Biden’s re-election campaign on April 24 and began a four-day campaign tour in South Carolina.
  • Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), still exploring a possible presidential campaign, also spoke at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition event on April 22 and issued a statement responding to Biden’s re-election campaign on April 25.
  • Donald Trump (R) held a campaign event in New Hampshire on April 27. He campaigned in Florida on April 21 and released an ad criticizing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) on April 24. Trump also issued a statement on Biden’s re-election campaign on April 24.
  • Ballotpedia did not identify any campaign activity from former Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton (R).

At this point in the 2020 cycle, 23 noteworthy candidates were running for president. Twenty-one were seeking the Democratic nomination, and two—Trump and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld—were seeking the Republican nomination.

What was going on at this time in 2020’s cycle….

• Notable stories at the time in 2020’s cycle included Biden’s presidential campaign announcement on April 25, 2019, Rep. Seth Moulton’s (D-Mass.) campaign announcement on April 22, and three Democratic presidential candidates announcing they supported impeaching then-President Trump.

What was going on at this time in 2016’s cycle….

• In the 2016 election, four noteworthy candidates had announced their campaigns as of April 28, 2015. There was one Democrat, the eventual 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton (D), and three Republicans, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). At this point in the 2016 cycle, noteworthy stories included profiles of Republican donors and reporting on former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s (R) preparations for a presidential run.

Click the link below to learn more about 2024 presidential candidates and news.

Keep reading 

#FridayTrivia: How many states require that a simple majority of voters approve constitutional amendments? 

In the April 27 Brew, we brought you coverage of Ohio’s Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR 2), which would raise the threshold for voters to approve amendments to the state constitution from a simple majority (50.1%) to 60%. 

The Ohio Senate passed SJR 2 on April 19, and it will go before voters in August if the House votes similarly. 

Currently, 49 states require voter approval of constitutional amendments (Delaware is the only state that does not). Of those 49 states, how many require a simple majority? 

1. 38
2. 13
3. 45
4. 32 

Welcome to the Thursday, April 27, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Ohio Senate passes measure that would require 60% of the vote to approve constitutional amendments
2. Dr. Shauna Reilly unpacks ballot measures in the latest episode of On the Ballot, our weekly podcast
3. Tell us about your district’s school reading program

Ohio Senate passes measure to require 60% vote requirement to approve constitutional amendments

On April 19, the Ohio Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR 2), an amendment that would raise the threshold for voters to approve amendments to the Ohio Constitution. The vote was 26-7 along partisan lines. If the House passes the bill, it could go to voters in August 2023.

Currently in Ohio, a simple majority (50.01%) of votes is needed to approve a constitutional amendment. SJR 2 would require a 60% majority of voters to approve an amendment. Illinois and Florida require a 60% supermajority to approve constitutional amendments.

SJR 2 calls for a special election on Aug. 8, 2023. However, in January, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed House Bill 458, a mostly Republican-backed bill that eliminated August special elections. A separate bill, Senate Bill 92 (SB 92), would amend the law to allow August elections in certain circumstances. The Senate passed that bill 25-8 on April 19, and it is currently before the House. On April 24, DeWine said he would sign the bill, once again allowing August special elections.

Sen. Rob McColley (R), speaking in support of SJR 2, said, “The constitution is not meant to be a policy document. The constitution is meant to inform us as to how the government is supposed to be run and to enshrine rights for all Ohioans.”

Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, an organization that has opposed raising the threshold for passing constitutional amendments, said, “citizen-led ballot measures aren’t overused. We haven’t had one on the ballot since 2018. It’s unnecessary to make the process more complicated and it’s disrespectful of voters.”

The process of putting SJR 2 on the ballot is playing out against the drop of the Ohio Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative. This proposed amendment says that, “Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion.” Supporters have begun collecting signatures to place the initiative on the November 2023 ballot. 

Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, an organization backing the abortion initiative, called SJR 2 “a direct attack on our attempt to secure abortion access for all Ohioans.” 

Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, said he supports SJR 2 because “We need to prevent out-of-state interest groups, whether they be liberal interest groups or conservative interest groups, from coming into Ohio.”

Click here to learn more about abortion regulations in each state. 

Of the 49 states that require voter approval of constitutional amendments, 38 states require a simple majority vote, while 11 states require a supermajority vote or other criteria that must be met for ratification. Delaware does not require voter approval for constitutional amendments. 

Click here to read more about supermajority requirements for constitutional amendments. Click the link below to learn more about Ohio’s 60% vote requirement measure. 

Keep reading 

Dr. Shauna Reilly unpacks ballot measures in the latest episode of On the Ballot, our weekly podcast

Speaking of ballot measures…

In this week’s episode of On the Ballot, our weekly podcast, host Victoria Rose interviews Dr. Shauna Reilly, an author and political science professor at Northern Kentucky University. Dr. Reilly teaches courses on American politics and political behavior, and her research focuses on direct democracy and the accessibility of election materials to voters.

Victoria and Dr. Reilly take a deep dive into the topic of ballot measures, a matter that’s dear to us here at Ballotpedia. Dr. Reilly discusses her research on the effect that ballot readability and topic have on voter participation. They also talk about recent trends and themes emerging in the ballot measure world, including changes in the laws governing ballot measures and topics voters will continue to see at the polls.

As a member of Ballotpedia’s Ballots Team, Victoria is no stranger to the subject, making this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in learning more about how ballot measures work!

New episodes of On the Ballot come out Thursday afternoons, so if you’re reading this on the morning of April 27, you’ve still got time to subscribe to On the Ballot on your favorite podcast app before this week’s episode comes out!

Click below to listen to older episodes and find links to where you can subscribe.

Listen here

Tell us about your district’s school reading program

Hall Pass is Ballotpedia’s weekly newsletter that keeps you informed about the conversations driving school board politics and education policy. New editions reach your inbox Wednesday afternoons.

We periodically ask our readers informal questions about recent topics of interest. Some of the questions we’ve asked in the past include, “Should districts adopt a four-day school week?” and “What are your thoughts on the current and the proposed budget for your school district?”

In this week’s edition (which came out yesterday!), we asked our readers a brief question: Do you think your district is using the best possible reading program? 

If you’d like to respond to our question above, click here—you can do it anonymously, if you prefer—and we may share your response with fellow subscribers in an upcoming edition of Hall Pass. We know school districts face diverse issues and challenges, which is why we want to hear what’s happening in yours. 

Here’s a sample of what else you will find in this week’s newsletter:

• On the issues: We took a look at a recent conversation on educational expectations and whether schools can improve student outcomes at all. Are students inherently destined for success or failure regardless of their educational resources? Can any reforms change academic outcomes? We compare articles by Freddie DeBoer and Auguste Meyrat.
• Recent election results: Three seats on the Newark Public Schools school board in New Jersey were up for general election on April 25. Allison James-Frison and incumbents Hasani Council and Josephine Garcia won election. James-Frison won 22.1% of the vote, while Council and Garcia won 23.8% and 23.2%, respectively.
• Upcoming elections: Lincoln Public Schools, Nebraska’s second-largest district by enrollment, is holding general elections on May 2. Four days later, on May 6, we’re covering general elections in 58 Texas school districts, including five with more than 75,000 students.
• Candidate Connection survey responses: We took a look at recent responses from two school board candidates: Danny Cage, who is running in the general election for Multnomah Education Service District Board of Directors, Position 6, At-Large, in Oregon, and Jeff Myers, who is running in the general election for Beaverton School District school board Zone 6 in Oregon. Both elections are on May 16. 

Click below to subscribe! And if you’re a school board candidate or incumbent, click here to take our Candidate Connection Survey. 

Keep reading

Welcome to the Wednesday, April 26, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Iowans to vote on gubernatorial succession amendment in 2024
2. Voters in Lincoln, Neb., to select a mayor in May 2 general election
3. Democratic Party committees lead Republican Party committees in fundraising for the 2024 election cycle

Iowans to vote on gubernatorial succession amendment in 2024

As is true in 44 other states, Iowa’s lieutenant governor is first in line to replace the governor in the event of a vacancy. But who fills the vacant lieutenant governor office?

That’s a question Iowa voters will decide in 2024 when the Iowa Gubernatorial Succession Amendment appears on the ballot. Currently, if Iowa’s governor leaves office, the lieutenant governor assumes the duties and powers of the governor but does not have the authority to appoint a new lieutenant governor. If voters approve the measure, the new governor—the former lieutenant governor—would have the power to appoint a new lieutenant governor. 

The succession issues came into sharp focus in 2017, when then-Gov. Terry Branstad (R) resigned to become President Donald Trump’s (R) ambassador to China. Kim Reynolds, who had been elected lieutenant governor in 2010, became governor, and Reynolds selected Adam Gregg (R) as her replacement.  

However, before Reynolds was sworn in, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller (D) issued a legal opinion stating Reynolds lacked the authority to appoint her own lieutenant governor. In the end, Gregg served as lieutenant governor and drew the normal salary but remained outside the line of succession until he was elected to a full term in 2018. If the governor’s office had become vacant before Gregg won election, the president of the Iowa Senate would have become governor. 

We looked at the gubernatorial line of succession in all 50 states in the March 31 Brew. 

Here’s who comes first in the gubernatorial line of succession across the country:

• In the 45 states with a lieutenant governor, that individual is the first in the line of succession. That includes West Virginia and Tennessee, where the state Senate presidents serve as lieutenant governor ex officio.
• In Maine and New Hampshire, the president of the state senate is first in line to succeed the governor. 
• In Arizona, Oregon, and Wyoming, the secretary of state is first in line to succeed the governor.

Voters in Indiana will also decide a constitutional amendment related to the gubernatorial line of succession in 2024. Under the proposal, the superintendent of public instruction would be removed from the line of succession since the position was abolished in 2021 and replaced by the secretary of education, a position the governor appoints.

The Iowa Legislature referred the amendment to the ballot on April 19, when the Iowa Senate voted 50-0 to approve House Joint Resolution 3 (HJR 3). The Iowa House approved HJR 3 81-81 on Feb. 1. In Iowa and 12 other states, legislatively referred constitutional amendments go before voters if they pass both chambers of the legislature in two consecutive legislative sessions. The amendment passed the House and Senate in February and March of 2022, respectively. 

Keep reading

Voters in Lincoln, Neb., to select a mayor in May 2 general election

We’re covering 40 mayoral races this year, and the next general election on our calendar is May 2, in Lincoln, Neb. (we’re also covering mayoral primaries in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Indianapolis, Ind., as well as Columbus, Ohio, on the same day).

Let’s take a look at Lincoln—Nebraska’s state capitol. With a population of around 293,000, it’s the fifth largest state capitol holding mayoral elections this year.

Incumbent Leirion Gaylor Baird and Suzanne Geist are running in the nonpartisan election. They were the top-two vote-getters in the April 4 primary. 

While mayoral elections in Lincoln are officially nonpartisan, candidates for office are often affiliated with one of the two major political parties. Gaylor Baird is affiliated with the Democratic Party, and Geist is affiliated with the Republican Party. The last Republican mayor of Lincoln, Mike Johanns, left office in 1998.

Gaylor Baird was first elected mayor in 2019. A former member of Lincoln’s City Council, Gaylor Baird has focused on public safety, economic development, and infrastructure.

Geist, a business owner, represented District 25 in the Nebraska Senate from 2017 until April 6, 2023, when she resigned. Geist said she would support law enforcement, promote economic growth, and invest in local infrastructure. 

Gaylor Baird has criticized Geist for her voting record while serving in the state senate, including on abortion, transgender issues, and concealed firearms. Baird said: “Her voting record at the state Capitol makes it clear that her priorities are not our shared priorities. … They hurt Lincoln and they hurt Nebraska.”

Geist has criticized Gaylor Baird’s record on public safety. Geist tweeted, “It’s important to understand that law enforcement supports me, not @MayorLeirion for a reason. I’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement in the legislature because it was the right thing to do. Leirion stood by when there were riots in ‘20 instead of with the police.”

The Lincoln Fire Fighters Association, EMILY’s List and the Sierra Club endorsed Gaylor Baird. The Lincoln Police Union, Gov. Jim Pillen (R), and U.S. Sens. Pete Ricketts (R) and Deb Fischer (R) endorsed Geist.

Lancaster County, where Lincoln is located, voted for President Joe Biden (D) 52.7% to Trump’s 44.9% in 2020. 

As of April 2023, the partisan breakdown of the mayors of the 100 largest U.S. cities was 62 Democrats, 26 Republicans, three independents, and seven nonpartisans. Two mayors’ partisan affiliations were unknown. Based on 2020 population estimates, 76.1% of the population of the top 100 cities lived in cities with Democratic mayors, and 16.2% lived in cities with Republican mayors at the start of 2022.

Lincoln is also holding elections for seats in the city council and the Lincoln Airport Authority on May 2, 2023.

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Democratic Party committees lead Republican Party committees in fundraising for the 2024 election cycle

The three committees associated with the Democratic Party have raised a cumulative $81 million for the 2024 election cycle, while those associated with the Republican Party have raised $66 million. Those figures are through March 31, 2023, the most recent required reporting deadline.

The three Democratic committees are the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). The three Republican committees are the Republican National Committee (RNC), National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).

So far in the 2024 election cycle, the DNC, DSCC, and DCCC each lead their Republican counterparts in cumulative receipts and disbursements. See the table below for exact figures.

The Democratic committees’ cumulative receipts this past March ($81 million) outpace their receipts at this point in the 2020 election cycle ($67 million), but are lower than their receipts at this point in the 2022 election cycle ($105 million).

On the Republican side, the three committees raised $66 million as of last month, which is lower than their March 2019 fundraising total ($90 million) and their March 2021 fundraising total ($101 million).

Learn more about party committee fundraising at the link below. 

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