Category: State
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John Blake resigns from Pennsylvania state Senate
Pennsylvania state Sen. John Blake (D) resigned on March 8 to take a position on U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright’s (D) staff. Cartwright represents Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District in Congress. Blake represented District 22 in the state Senate, which includes Lackawanna County and parts of Luzerne and Monroe Counties. “It has been a very difficult and…
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Hickman (D) defeats Guerrette (R) in special election for Maine state Senate District 14
A special general election was held for Maine state Senate District 14 on March 9, 2021. Craig Hickman (D) defeated William Guerrette (R) by a margin of 63% to 37%, according to unofficial election night results. No special primary election was held, and the filing deadline passed on Jan. 8, 2021. The special election was…
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One year ago, California became the first state to issue a stay-at-home order
One year ago, as the novel coronavirus spread across the country, California became the first state to order residents to stay home unless engaged in essential activities. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) issued the order on March 19, 2020. Over the following three weeks, 42 governors would follow suit. South Carolina was the last state to…
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Candidates backed by Democratic Socialists of America sweep Nevada Democratic Party leadership elections; professional party staff subsequently resign
On March 6, 2021, the Democratic Party of Nevada conducted elections for its five leadership positions. Candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America won all five posts: Judith Whitmer as chairwoman, Jacob Allen as first vice chairman, Zaffar Iqbal as second vice chairman, Ahmad Ade as secretary, and Howard Beckerman as treasurer. Shortly thereafter,…
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Michigan/Ohio Judicial Selection Method yields most visible partisanship
The Michigan-Ohio method of judicial selection manifests the most signs of partisanship out of any of the eight methods used across state supreme courts, according to Ballotpedia’s recently-published study on state supreme courts. There are three broad categories of state supreme court selection: Assisted Appointment, Direct Appointment, and Election. Within these three broad categories, there…
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Alabama House of Representatives District 78 special election set for Sept. 7, 2021
Election officials have scheduled a special election for the District 78 seat in the Alabama House of Representatives on Sept. 7, 2021. The seat became vacant after Kirk Hatcher (D) was elected to the Alabama State Senate on March 2. The primary is on May 25. If no candidate wins a majority of the primary…
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Newsom recall signature deadline next week
The organizers of an effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) have until March 17 to turn in signatures in an attempt to get the recall on the ballot. To trigger a recall election, organizers must turn in 1,495,709 signatures, which is equal to 12% of the total votes cast in the 2018 gubernatorial…
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Utah to vote in 2022 on increasing the limit on appropriations the state legislature can make in an emergency session
The Utah State Legislature adjourned its 2021 session on March 5, 2021, after approving a constitutional amendment that would increase the limit on appropriations the state legislature can make in an emergency session. It would increase the limit on appropriations from 1% to 5% of the total amount appropriated by the Legislature for the immediately…
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Direct Legislative Appointment method produces the lowest average partisanship confidence score for state supreme court justices according to the Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship study.
Direct legislative appointment yields the lowest average partisan confidence score for state supreme court justices of any method, according to the Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship study. The Michigan-Ohio method produced the highest average partisan confidence score of 11 for all justices, while the direct legislative appointment method produced an average partisan confidence score of 5…
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Dan McKee (D) sworn in as governor of Rhode Island
Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Dan McKee (D) was sworn in as the state’s new governor after former Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) resigned on March 2. Raimondo, who was first elected in 2014, resigned after being confirmed as secretary of commerce in the Biden administration. McKee was first elected as lieutenant governor in 2014, before he…