Category: State
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A look back at government responses to the coronavirus pandemic, July 13-17, 2020
Although the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was confirmed on Jan. 21, 2020, it wasn’t until March when the novel coronavirus upended life for most Americans. Throughout the year, states issued stay-at-home orders, closed schools, restricted travel, issued mask mandates, and changed election dates. Here are the policy changes that happened July 13-17,…
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Justin Fecteau resigns from Maine House of Representatives
Justin Fecteau (R) resigned from the Maine House of Representatives on July 4 to accept a teaching job outside his legislative district. He represented District 86 from 2018 to 2021. Fecteau was first elected to the state House in 2018. He defeated Adam Turner (D) to win re-election in 2020, 57% to 43%. When there…
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Maine voters to decide $100 million transportation bond at November 2021 election
On July 6, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed legislation placing a $100-million bond issue on the ballot for November 2, 2021. The bond issue is the third ballot measure set to go before voters in November. It’s the only bond issue certified for the ballot so far. The ballot measure divides the bond revenue…
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Two Georgia House special runoffs set for July 13
The special general runoff elections for Georgia House of Representatives Districts 34 and 156 are scheduled for July 13, 2021. In District 34, Devan Seabaugh (R) is facing Priscilla Smith (D) in the runoff. In the June 15 general election, Seabaugh and Smith advanced from a field of five candidates and earned 47.1% and 24.6%…
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Redistricting review: Virginia House of Delegates candidate sues over 2021 elections using existing maps (and other news)
Virginia: On June 28, Paul Goldman, a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, filed suit against Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and the Virginia State Board of Elections (among other state officials), asking that a U.S. District Court declare the Nov. 3, 2021, elections for the House of Delegates invalid, limit the terms of delegates…
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Washington initiative signature deadline passes with no campaigns submitting signatures
The signature submission deadline for Initiatives to the People (ITP)—which is the name of direct ballot initiatives in Washington—passed on July 2, 2021. No campaigns submitted signatures. To qualify for the ballot, proponents would have needed to submit 324,516 valid signatures. A total of 136 ITPs were filed by five sponsors. The filed initiatives concerned…
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Alaska Supreme Court Justice Joel Bolger retires
Alaska Supreme Court Justice Joel Bolger retired on June 30. Former Gov. Sean Parnell (R) appointed Bolger to the state supreme court in 2013, and voters retained him in 2016 with 57% of the vote. When he retired, Bolger was the court’s chief justice, a position he had held since 2018. Bolger is the only…
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June 2021 breakdown of state legislative party membership: 54.33% Republicans, 44.87% Democrats
According to Ballotpedia’s June partisan count of the 7,383 state legislators across the United States, 54.33% of all state legislators are Republicans, and 44.87% 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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Two New Hampshire House of Representatives special elections set for Oct. 26
Elections officials have scheduled the special elections for the Cheshire 9 and Hillsborough 7 seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives for Oct. 26. The seats became vacant after Douglas Ley (D) died on June 10 and David Danielson (R) died on May 22. The primaries are on Sept. 7, and the filing deadlines…
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Louisiana Rep. Malinda White leaves Democratic Party
Louisiana state Rep. Malinda White switched from the Democratic Party to no party on July 1. According to the Advocate, White said, “this decision came after many years of consideration for the people I represent. It was not a snap decision but one I have struggled with for a while.” White was first elected to…