Category: State

  • Four out of five elections were uncontested in Illinois, Wisconsin on April 1

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    Illinois and Wisconsin held a combined 18,641 elections on April 1, primarily local elections to school boards, city councils, and other special districts. But, in both states, it was clear who the winners would be in a majority of those elections since more than four out of every five elections were uncontested. An uncontested election…

  • Kentucky Legislature overrides veto on Medicaid work requirements bill

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    On March 27th, the Kentucky Legislature voted to override Gov. Beshear’s (D) veto of House Bill 695, which requires the state to seek work requirements for able-bodied adult Medicaid recipients. Kentucky has a divided government with a Republican-controlled legislature and a Democratic governor. Kentucky is one of six states that require a simple majority vote…

  • Maryland voters to decide on changes to vacancy procedures for Judicial Disabilities Commission in 2026

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    The Maryland State Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment to the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot that would change how vacancies are filled on the Judicial Disabilities Commission. The amendment would allow the chair of the Commission on Judicial Disabilities to appoint former members to temporarily fill vacancies or allow the governor to appoint a…

  • Wisconsin voters approve measure to add voter photo ID to state constitution

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    On April 1, Wisconsin voters approved a constitutional amendment to add voter photo ID to the state constitution. As of April 2, the margin was 62.74% to 37.26%.  State law already requires photo ID to vote. By adding the requirement to the Wisconsin Constitution, Question 1 effectively raised the threshold to make changes to the…

  • State supreme court vacancy count for March 2025

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    In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from March 1, 2025, to March 30, 2025. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts. Announced retirements: During March 2025, one justice announced her retirement from her seat. Candidates nominated, appointed, and…

  • Two Pennsylvania legislative districts swing toward Democrats, continuing 2025 trend

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    In two Pennsylvania state legislative special elections on March 25, Democrats continued a trend of winning a larger share of the vote than compared to the 2024 presidential election in several districts. The party has improved in 12 of the 14 contested partisan special elections for state legislature nationwide this year.  Democrats won Pennsylvania State…

  • With new Utah legislation, a look back at four 1970s ballot measures on water fluoridation

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    Utah is the first state to enact a statewide prohibition on drinking water fluoridation. Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed the legislation, House Bill 81 (HB 81), on March 27, 2025. While Utah is the first state to enact a statewide ban, voters in four states—Utah, South Dakota, Oregon, and Washington—considered ballot measures related to water…

  • Oregon Senate passes bill to extend unemployment benefits to striking public workers

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    The Oregon Senate passed legislation on March 21, 2025, that would make Oregon the first state to offer unemployment insurance (UI) compensation to strikers in both the public and private sectors. If SB 916 is passed by the House and signed by Governor Tina Kotek (D), workers like teachers and nurses would become eligible for…

  • District judge blocks Iowa law requiring school districts to remove books depicting sex acts

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    What’s the story? On March 25, U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher blocked a portion of Iowa state law requiring school districts to remove all books from public school libraries that contain descriptions of sex acts, as defined by the law. Locher ruled that the law — Senate File (SF) 496 passed in 2023 — was…