Category: State
-
Virginia governor announces reduction in initial unemployment claims backlog
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) announced Feb. 21 that the Virginia Employment Commission had reduced the backlog of pending unpaid unemployment insurance claims (that were awaiting a determination of eligibility) from about 25,000 to roughly 16,000 since Jan. 15. The change represented a backlog reduction of about 36%. Youngkin also announced the commission processed about…
-
Massachusetts announces end of facial recognition requirement for unemployment insurance
The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance announced Feb. 23 that it would suspend the use of facial recognition technology through ID.me as a way for unemployment insurance claimants to verify their identities. The department cited decreased claim volumes as the basis for the decision. The change still allows claimants to verify their identities virtually through…
-
Michigan governor signs bill retroactively waiving able and available to work requirements for pandemic unemployment aid
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed a bill on Feb. 28 allowing part-time workers who applied for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to keep their benefits. The law may also allow certain workers who were initially denied pandemic unemployment benefits due to part-time work or inability to work to claim retroactive benefits through appeal to the…
-
One incumbent defeated in Texas’ state legislative primaries, continuing a decade-long decrease
Texas held the first statewide primary of the 2022 election cycle for federal and state offices on March 1. Heading into the primaries, it was guaranteed that at least one of the 151 state legislative incumbents seeking re-election would lose. Rep. Claudia Ordaz Perez (D), who currently represents House District 76, was drawn into House…
-
Two candidates running in Ohio Secretary of State Republican primary election
Incumbent Frank LaRose and John Adams are running in the Republican Party primary for Ohio Secretary of State on May 3, 2022. LaRose is a U.S. Army veteran and worked as a business manager and project lead for a consulting firm. He represented Ohio State Senate District 27 from 2011 to 2018, and was elected…
-
Wisconsin enacts new Congressional districts
Wisconsin enacted new congressional districts on March 3, 2022, when the Wisconsin Supreme Court approved a proposal submitted by Gov. Tony Evers (D). Wisconsin was apportioned eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. This map will take effect for Wisconsin’s 2022…
-
Ramirez and Vallejo advance to runoff in Texas’ 15th Congressional District primary
Ruben Ramirez and Michelle Vallejo were the top two finishers in the Democratic Party primary election for Texas’ 15th Congressional District on March 1, 2022. Ramirez received 28.3% of the vote, followed by Vallejo with 20.1%. Because no candidate won 50% of the vote, Ramirez and Vallejo advanced to a runoff election on May 24.…
-
Over half of Nebraska’s state Senate districts up for election will be won by newcomers this year
The filing deadline for candidates running for state and federal office in 2022 in Nebraska was Feb. 15, 2022. In the state’s unicameral legislature, elections will take place in 24 of the 49 Senate districts, over half of which will be represented by newcomers to the legislature next year. There are 13 open districts where…
-
West Virginia Legislature sends amendment giving itself authority over state board of education rules and policies to Nov. 8 ballot
The West Virginia House of Delegates approved a constitutional amendment on March 3 giving the legislature the power to approve, amend, or repeal rules put forward by the State Board of Education. It was the final vote required to certify the measure for the Nov. 8 ballot. The State Board of Education is a nine-member…