Category: State
-
Virginia House of Delegates District 90 special election scheduled for Jan. 5, 2021
A new state legislative special election has been added to our list. The special election is for the District 90 seat in the Virginia House of Delegates on January 5, 2021. There is no primary, and the filing deadline is on December 7.
-
Ballotpedia publishes special study on state supreme court partisanship
Ballotpedia recently published a study on state supreme courts entitled “Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship”. Among the findings, the study showed that there has been an increase in partisanship on the state courts over the past ten years and that there is a correlation between the partisanship of justices selected for state supreme courts and the…
-
Chief justice confirmed to Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
On November 18, 2020, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Kimberly Budd was confirmed as the chief justice of the court. Budd was nominated to the position by Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on October 28, 2020. She succeeded former Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, who passed away on September 14, 2020. Budd may serve as the…
-
Democrats gain veto-proof majority in New York State Senate
Democrats gained a veto-proof majority in the New York State Senate after enough remaining races were called over the weekend to bring them to a two-thirds majority in the chamber. Democrats already held a veto-proof majority in the state Assembly. In New York, two-thirds of members in both chambers must vote to override a veto,…
-
Special primary runoff election to be held in Georgia State Senate district
The District 39 seat in the Georgia State Senate is up for election in a special Democratic primary runoff on December 1. The primary election took place on November 3, and the top two vote recipients—Sonya Halpern and Linda Pritchett—advanced to the runoff. The special election became necessary after incumbent Nikema Williams (D) withdrew from…
-
Hawaii senate confirms Eddins to state supreme court
On November 19, 2020, the Hawaii State Senate confirmed Todd Eddins to succeed Justice Richard W. Pollack on the Hawaii Supreme Court. Gov. David Ige (D) appointed Eddins to the court on October 23, 2020. Eddins is Ige’s first nominee to the five-member supreme court. The seat became vacant when Pollack retired on June 30,…
-
Colorado governor appoints Maria Berkenkotter to state supreme court
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) appointed Maria Berkenkotter to the Colorado Supreme Court on November 20, 2020. Berkenkotter will succeed Chief Justice Nathan Coats, who is retiring in January 2021 when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 72. Berkenkotter is Polis’s first nominee to the seven-member supreme court. Under Colorado law, state supreme court…
-
Ballotpedia study: population distribution mirrors state supreme court partisanship
Ballotpedia recently published a new study on state supreme courts entitled “Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship”. Among the findings, the study revealed trends in the distribution of the population across the country that closely tracked with the breakdown of partisan control over state supreme courts. The correlation between population distribution and court partisanship was closest among…
-
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Keith Blackwell retires
On Nov. 18, Georgia Supreme Court Justice Keith Blackwell retired, citing family obligations and a desire to return to private practice. Gov. Nathan Deal (R) appointed Blackwell to the court in June 2012 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of George H. Carley. Before serving on the supreme court, Blackwell served on the…
-
37 states modified absentee/mail-in voting procedures in Nov. 3 elections
The November 3, 2020, general elections included races for president, 35 U.S. Senate seats, 435 U.S. House of Representatives seats, 120 statewide ballot measures, 165 state executive offices, state legislative seats in 86 chambers, and thousands of local offices and ballot measures. All told, 37 states modified their absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the general election.…