Category: State
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Republicans outraise Democrats by 171% in Arizona Senate races
Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political entities may contribute to campaigns. While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign.…
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Thirteen gubernatorial battleground elections to take place in 2022
Thirty-six states will hold elections for governor in 2022. Of those, Ballotpedia has identified 13 as general election battlegrounds: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. These battleground races were selected using the following criteria: the results of the 2020 presidential election in each state, whether the…
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St. Louis voters to decide Proposition R, a redistricting and election law initiative, at April 5 special election
Voters in St. Louis, Missouri, will decide a ballot initiative, Proposition R, at a special election on April 5, 2022. The citizen-initiated charter amendment addresses three policies – the city’s redistricting process, the laws governing conflicts of interest, and legislative changes to voting methods. It would also change the name of the Board of Aldermen…
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Wisconsin enacts new state legislative districts
Wisconsin enacted new state legislative districts on March 3, 2022, when the Wisconsin Supreme Court approved legislative proposals submitted by Gov. Tony Evers (D). The maps will take effect for Wisconsin’s 2022 state legislative elections. Evers vetoed legislative district proposals from Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) on Nov.…
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February 2022 breakdown of state legislative party membership: 54.40% Republicans, 44.29% Democrats
According to Ballotpedia’s February partisan count of the 7,383 state legislators across the United States, 54.40% of all state legislators are Republicans and 44.29% are Democrats. Ballotpedia tallies the partisan balance of state legislatures at the end of every month. This refers to which political party holds the majority of seats in each chamber. Republicans…
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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…
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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…
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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…