Category: State
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November Partisan Counts: 54.49% of state legislators are Republican, 43.97% Democratic
At the end of November 2022, 54.49% of all state legislators in the United States are Republican while 43.97% are Democratic. There are 7,383 state legislative seats in the country. Democrats hold 848 state Senate seats and 2,398 state House seats, gaining 10 seats since last month. Republicans hold 1,105 state Senate seats and 2,918…
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Voters in Louisiana will decide on three constitutional amendments on Dec. 10
Voters in Louisiana will decide on three constitutional amendments on Dec. 10. Amendment 1 would prohibit local governments from allowing noncitizens to vote. Currently, Article I, Section 10 of the Louisiana Constitution reads, “Every citizen of the state, upon reaching eighteen years of age, shall have the right to register and vote…” This amendment would…
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Warnock (D) defeats Walker (R) in the runoff election for U.S. Senate in Georgia
Incumbent Raphael Warnock (D) defeated Herschel Walker (R) in the runoff election for U.S. Senate in Georgia on December 6, 2022. Warnock and Walker were the top-two vote-getters in the November 8, 2022, general election, with Warnock winning 49.4% of the vote to Walker’s 48.5%. Libertarian Chase Oliver won 2.1% of the vote and did…
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Two citizen initiatives certified to the state legislature in Maine
On Nov. 30, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows confirmed that two citizen initiative campaigns—Protect Maine Elections and Our Power—submitted enough signatures for each initiative to be certified to the state legislature. Each initiative will have a chance of being approved by the state legislature or appearing on the Nov. 2023 ballot. In Maine, the…
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Campaign to repeal California fast food wage and labor regulation law submits more than 1 million signatures
On Dec. 5, Save Local Restaurants submitted more than 1 million signatures to the California secretary of state to place a veto referendum on the 2024 ballot that would repeal Assembly Bill 257 (AB 257). AB 257 would create a fast food council authorized to increase the minimum wage of workers in the fast-food industry…
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Connecticut announces plan to develop Native American studies curriculum for K-12 public schools
Governor Ned Lamont (D) and the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) announced a partnership with state tribal leaders on November 30, 2022, to develop a Native American studies model curriculum for K-12 students. The announcement follows legislation signed by the governor in June 2021. The bill established new subject matter requirements, including a requirement…
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Virginia education agency proposes new history standards in public schools
The Virginia Department of Education proposed new standards on November 11, 2022, that aim to provide guidance to the state’s public schools on the Glenn Youngkin administration’s (R) preferred approaches to teaching Virginia and U.S. history. Every seven years, the Virginia Department of Education is required to update its History and Social Science Standards of…
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Campaign for initiative to allow municipalities to create school districts submits signatures in Nevada
In Nevada, a campaign supporting an initiative that would allow municipalities to opt-out of county school districts filed about 220,000 signatures to counties for verification. The Community Schools Initiative PAC filed the initiative, and the signatures submitted will have to be verified by county clerks. The initiative needs 140,777 valid signatures to proceed to the…
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Closest and widest vote margins for state ballot measure elections in California
There were 23 state ballot measures decided by less than a percentage point in California between 1910 and 2022. The ballot measure with the closest vote margin percentage during that period was Proposition 74, which was defeated with a vote margin of 50.01% ‘No’ to 49.99% ‘Yes’ in 1988. The margin in absolute votes was…
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Georgia moves forward with plan to implement work requirements for Medicaid coverage
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) announced that the state will begin a work-for-Medicaid program, called Georgia Pathways, in July 2023. The program will require low-income individuals to complete 80 hours of work or volunteering in order to qualify for Medicaid coverage. The program was first proposed and approved during the Trump administration, along with several…