Category: State
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Texas Gov. Abbott appoints state supreme court justice
Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) appointed Evan Young to the Texas State Supreme court on Nov. 1, 2021. Young assumed office on Nov. 9. Young’s appointment fills the vacancy created by Eva Guzman, who resigned from the court in June 2021 to run for Texas attorney general. Under Texas law, the governor appoints a replacement…
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Iowa State Senate special election called
A new state legislative special election has been added to our list. The special election is for the District 1 seat in the Iowa State Senate on Dec. 14, 2021. There is no primary, and the filing deadline is on Nov. 19.
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Congressional redistricting authority passes to Virginia Supreme Court, legislators nominate special masters
The Virginia Supreme Court will now have the authority to draft new congressional maps in the state after the Virginia Redistricting Commission did not meet the Nov. 8, 2021, deadline to submit a plan for U.S. House districts. Under the constitutional amendment that established the commission, party leaders of the House of Delegates and Senate…
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Mississippi Senate District 32 special election advances to runoff
The special general runoff election for Mississippi State Senate District 32 is on Nov. 23. Rod Hickman and Minh Duong are competing in the runoff, after finishing in first and second place, respectively, at the general election on Nov. 2. Hickman and Duong defeated seven other candidates in the general election, earning 25.8% and 22.5%…
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Democrats and Republicans deciding on candidates for Connecticut House 116 vacancy
A special election has been called for the Connecticut House of Representatives District 116 for Dec. 14. Prospective candidates will be nominated by their respective parties. Michael DiMassa (D) resigned from the state House on Oct. 25 following his arrest on Oct. 18. DiMassa first assumed office in 2016 after defeating incumbent Louis Esposito in…
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Redistricting committees appointed, adjourned, and change in Ohio, New Mexico, and Utah
Here’s a summary of recent redistricting committee updates from Ohio, New Mexico, and Utah. In Ohio, the state legislature announced members of the Joint Committee on Redistricting, which will be holding two hearings on congressional redistricting proposals before the Nov. 30 deadline for map enactment. The committee’s members are Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R), Sen. Rob…
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Redistricting timeline update: Georgia begins special session, New Hampshire and Ohio redistricting efforts delayed
Here’s a summary of recent redistricting updates from Georgia, New Hampshire, and Ohio. Georgia: The Georgia State Legislature convened for a special session focused on redistricting on Nov. 3, 2021. Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan (R) said he expected the legislature to agree on and pass state legislative maps quicker than congressional maps. “[State legislative…
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Nine state legislative seats changed party hands on Nov. 2
On Nov. 2, 2021, control of at least nine state legislative seats flipped from one political party to another. Eight of those seats flipped from Democratic to Republican control and the other flipped from Republican to Democratic control. There are 14 outstanding races still to be called, so these numbers could still change. The nine…
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Iowa, Massachusetts enact new district maps
Iowa enacted new congressional and state legislative maps, and Massachusetts enacted new state legislative maps, on Nov. 4. Nationwide, legislative redistricting has been completed for 444 of 1,972 state Senate seats (22.5%) and 1,243 of 5,411 state House seats (23.0%). In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed new congressional and state legislative maps into law…
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Independence Institute submits signatures for Colorado initiative targeting the 2022 ballot to lower the state income tax rate
On Oct. 29, 2021, the Independence Institute of Colorado reported submitting over 216,000 signatures for an initiative targeting the 2022 ballot to decrease the state's income tax rate from 4.55% to 4.40%. The Independence Institute describes itself as a free-market think tank with a mission to "empower individuals and to educate citizens, legislators and opinion makers…