Category: State
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The 2020 election gave West Virginia Republican lawmakers the votes needed to place an amendment prohibiting the state judiciary from interfering with impeachments on the 2022 ballot
On April 9, the West Virginia State Legislature voted to refer a constitutional amendment to the 2022 ballot that would say that no state court has jurisdiction to intercede, intervene in, or interfere with impeachment proceedings of the West Virginia House of Delegates or the state Senate. Currently, the state constitution does not state a…
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Newsom recall meets signature requirement; signees can remove names until June 8
The California Secretary of State announced that 1,626,042 signatures were valid in the recall campaign against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Voters have until June 8 to request the removal of their signature from the petition. The request must be sent in writing to a county election official. If enough valid signatures remain following the June…
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Montana voters will decide on a constitutional amendment to require a search warrant to access electronic data in 2022
On April 22, the Montana State Legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the 2022 ballot that would require a search warrant to access electronic data or electronic communications. The amendment would also state that electronic data and electronic communications would be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before…
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Arkansas State Legislature refers two constitutional amendments to 2022 ballot
The Arkansas State Legislature gave final approval to two constitutional amendments on April 22, 2021, sending them to the November 2022 ballot. One of the amendments would require 60% supermajority voter approval to ratify constitutional amendments (legislatively referred and citizen-initiated) and citizen-initiated state statutes. Constitutional amendments require approval by voters in a statewide election to…
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Alabama State Legislature refers third 2022 constitutional amendment to prevent voting policy changes six months before general elections
The Alabama State Legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the 2022 ballot that would require that any legislation changing the conduct of a general election must be implemented at least six months before the next affected general election. The amendment was introduced as House Bill 388 by State Representative Jim Carns (R). On April 6,…
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The Florida Supreme Court blocks marijuana legalization initiative from 2022 ballot
On April 22, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that a marijuana legalization initiative backed by Make It Legal Florida could not appear on the 2022 ballot. The court wrote, “A constitutional amendment cannot unequivocally ‘permit’ or authorize conduct that is criminalized under federal law. And a ballot summary suggesting otherwise is affirmatively misleading.”…
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Highlights from April’s edition of Ballotpedia’s State Ballot Measure Monthly newsletter
Nineteen statewide measures were certified for the 2022 ballot from March 16 through April 22 in 11 states. This brought the total number of 2022 statewide measures certified so far up to 28 in 16 states. An average of 22 measures were certified for even-year ballots by this point from 2011 through 2019. No new…
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Montana legislature sends law to require medical care for infants born alive after an attempted abortion to 2022 ballot
The Montana State Legislature put a measure on the November 2022 ballot that would require medical care to be provided to infants born alive after an attempted abortion by classifying them as a “legal person” with “the right to appropriate and reasonable medical care and treatment.” The healthcare provider that violates this requirement by not…
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A look back at government responses to the coronavirus pandemic, April 27-May 1, 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 March and April, states issued stay-at-home orders, closed schools, restricted travel, and changed election dates. Many of those policies remain in place today. Here are the…
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Louisiana voters to decide special elections for appeals, BESE, state leg races
Louisiana is holding special general elections on April 24. The general elections became necessary after no candidates received a majority of the votes in the primary election on March 20. Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than…