October 31 is the final regular day for voters in Maine to request absentee ballots or vote absentee in-person before the November 5 referendum election. (Voters remain eligible to request an absentee ballot after that date if they meet one of four special circumstances.) Any registered voter may cast an absentee ballot in the state before the deadline.
Maine voters will decide two statewide ballot measures. Question 1 would authorize $105 million in general obligation bonds for transportation infrastructure projects. Question 2 would amend the state constitution to allow persons with physical disabilities to use alternative signatures on petitions for citizen initiatives and veto referendums. Both measures were put on the ballot by the state legislature.
Kentucky voters will choose a new attorney general Nov. 5, with Daniel Cameron (R) and Gregory Stumbo (D) vying for the office.
Democrats have controlled the AG office in Kentucky since 1952. The state’s election history suggests this year’s contest will be competitive.
The AG position is open, as incumbent Andy Beshear is the Democratic nominee challenging incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin (R) in the gubernatorial race.
The 2015 attorney general race was decided by a margin of 0.2 percentage points—50.1% to 49.9%. Beshear defeated Whitney Westerfield (R) by 2,194 votes. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Kentucky with 62.5% of the vote. Trump endorsed Cameron on July 29, 2019.
The race has attracted at least $5.75 million in spending from satellite groups—$3.25 million from the Republican Attorneys General Association supporting Cameron, and $2.5 million from the Democratic Attorneys General Association supporting Stumbo.
The attorney general election is occurring alongside Kentucky’s gubernatorial and secretary of state elections, meaning either party could gain triplex control in 2019. Kentucky is one of nine states where the governor and the attorney general are not from the same party, creating divided triplex control among Kentucky’s executives.
According to the Texas Secretary of State’s office, an eligible voter may apply to vote by mail if his or her application is received by the early voting clerk by Oct. 25. To vote by mail in Texas, you must be at least 65 years old, disabled, out of the country, or in jail.
Texas is holding elections for the following offices, in addition to other elections beyond Ballotpedia’s coverage scope. Of the following races, Ballotpedia has designated the Houston mayoral election and Houston Independent School District elections as battleground races.
State legislative elections (special)
Texas House of Representatives District 28
Texas House of Representatives District 100
Texas House of Representatives District 148
Local elections within Ballotpedia’s coverage scope
Counties
Bexar County
Harris County
Cities
El Paso (special)
Houston (including mayor)
School boards
Aldine Independent School District
Alief Independent School District
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
Houston Independent School District
Klein Independent School District
Lake Worth Independent School District
Richardson Independent School District
Spring Independent School District
Incumbent Sylvester Turner and 11 challengers will compete in the general election for mayor of Houston, Texas. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two general election candidates will participate in a runoff election on December 14, 2019.
Four out of nine seats on the Houston Independent School District (HISD) school board are up for general election. The HISD school board faces the possibility of being replaced by a state-appointed board of managers. If appointed, the board of managers would assume the responsibilities of the elected board, while elected trustees would not have any power until they were reinstated.
Texas voters will also decide 10 constitutional amendments put on the ballot by the state legislature. Measures concern taxes, bonds, budgets, law enforcement animals, and municipal governance. Proposition 4 would prohibit the state from levying an income tax on individuals. Ballots will also feature a variety of local measures. Local measures in Irving, El Paso, Harris County, Arlington and Tarrant County, and Austin and Travis County fall within Ballotpedia’s coverage scope for 2019.
October 29 is the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot by mail in New Jersey. However, voters have until November 4 at 3 p.m. to apply in-person for a mail-in ballot at their county clerk’s office—known as in-person absentee voting—and submit the ballot in person. The deadline to return an absentee ballot is November 5 at 8 p.m.
New Jersey is holding the following elections, in addition to other elections beyond Ballotpedia’s coverage scope:
80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly
One special election for New Jersey State Senate District 1
County register and county board of chosen freeholders in Essex County
County executive, county sheriff, and county surrogate in Hudson County
School board elections in Jersey City Public Schools
New Jersey voters will also decide a legislatively referred constitutional amendment—Public Question 1—that would extend an existing $250 property tax deduction that veterans receive to continuing care retirement centers on behalf of the veterans living there and require the retirement centers to pass the value of the deduction on to veterans in the form of credits or payments.
Jersey City voters will also vote on Municipal Question 1, a veto referendum concerning short-term rental property regulations and permit requirements.
Kansas voters wishing to cast an absentee ballot in the Nov. 5 election must apply for an absentee ballot by Oct. 29.
The Kansas Secretary of State’s office says absentee ballots, also known as advance ballots, “must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received in the county election office no later than three days after the election. Advance ballots may be hand-delivered to the county election office or to any polling place within the county by close of polls.”
Kansas is holding elections for the following, in addition to other elections beyond Ballotpedia’s coverage scope:
19 school board seats in five school districts
Three of six seats on the Wichita City Council
Mayor of Wichita
One statewide ballot measure
The school districts holding elections are:
Circle USD 375
Goddard USD 265
Haysville USD 261
Maize USD 266
Wichita Public Schools
Three of the Wichita public school district’s seven board seats are up for election. In the other districts, four out of seven school board seats are up for election in each district.
Kansas is also voting on a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1605. The amendment would end the state’s practice of adjusting the U.S. Census population regarding military personnel and students when redistricting the Kansas State Legislature.
October 29 is the final day for voters to request absentee ballots in Kentucky for the general election on November 5. Absentee voting is only allowed under specific conditions in Kentucky. Click the link below to see if you qualify.
Kentucky is holding elections for the following, in addition to other elections beyond Ballotpedia’s coverage scope:
Governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, agriculture commissioner, auditor, and treasurer
Two seats in the state legislature
Kentucky House of Representatives District 18
Kentucky House of Representatives District 63
One seat on the state supreme court
One seat on the court of appeals
One circuit court judgeship in Fayette County
The gubernatorial election featuring Gov. Matt Bevin (R), state Attorney General Andy Beshear (D), and John Hicks (L), is a top battleground election in the country. It follows nearly four years of conflict between Bevin and Beshear that began when each was elected to his current position. The election will decide the state’s trifecta status until at least the 2020 state legislative elections. If Bevin wins, Republicans will maintain their trifecta control of the state, while a Beshear or Hicks victory would result in neither party having trifecta control.
Gregory Stumbo (D) and Daniel Cameron (R) are running for the attorney general position being vacated by Beshear. Democrats have held the office since 1952, but a combination of factors indicate this race should be competitive. In addition to it being an open seat, Beshear defeated his challenger in 2015, 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent. Donald Trump (R) won Kentucky with 62.5 percent of the vote in 2016, and he endorsed Cameron on July 29.
Pennsylvania voters wishing to cast an absentee ballot in the Nov. 5 election must apply for an absentee ballot by Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. Absentee voting is only allowed under specific conditions in Pennsylvania. Click the links at the end of this post to determine if you qualify.
Pennsylvania is holding the following elections, in addition to other elections beyond Ballotpedia’s coverage scope:
Four seats on the Pennsylvania Superior Court
Two retention elections
Two partisan elections for open seats
Two seats on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (retention)
County council, county controller, county executive, county district attorney, county treasurer, and magisterial district judges in Allegheny County
Mayor, city council, city commission, county sheriff, register of wills, trial court judges, and municipal judges in Philadelphia
City council and city controller in Pittsburgh
The following school district is also holding elections:
Pittsburgh Public Schools
Pennsylvania voters will also decide a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to add specific rights of crime victims, together known as Marsy’s Law, to the Pennsylvania Constitution. If approved, Pennsylvania would become the 13th state to approve a Marsy’s Law measure, although the measures were ruled invalid by courts in Montana and Kentucky. Voters will also see a variety of local measures, including one in Pittsburgh to establish a Parks Trust Fund with revenue from a property tax and two measures in Philadelphia concerning a bond issue and competitive bidding.
As of October 18, voters in Washington may cast ballots for the November 5, 2019, elections. Since Washington is a vote-by-mail state, ballots were mailed on Oct. 18 and Accessible Voting Units (AVUs) are available at voting centers. Voting will last through 8:00 p.m. local time on November 5.
Washington is holding elections for the following, in addition to other elections beyond Ballotpedia’s coverage scope:
Fifteen statewide ballot measures
Two state legislative seats
Washington State Senate District 40
Washington House of Representatives District 13-Position 2
Three seats on the Washington Court of Appeals
Four county commissioners in King County
Seven seats on the Seattle City Council
Four board seats for Seattle Public Schools
King County Proposition 1 related to property taxes
The fifteen statewide measures on the ballot in 2019 are more than any other single year since at least 1995. Initiative 976 would limit annual registration renewal fees to $30 for vehicles under 10,000 pounds and enact other restrictions on vehicle taxes and fees. Referendum 88 concerns affirmative action. Senate Joint Resolution 8200 would authorize the legislature to pass laws for government continuation during catastrophic incidents. The other 12 measures on the ballot are mandatory, non-binding advisory questions on bills passed in 2019 that increased tax revenue.
The city council elections in Seattle are occurring a year after the repeal of the 2018 head tax proposal, which would have required businesses grossing at least $20 million to pay $275 per employee in order to fund affordable housing programs for the homeless. The city council voted to pass the head tax 9-0 in May 2018 but then repealed it by a 7-2 vote in June 2018. Of the three incumbents running for re-election, Kshama Sawant in District 3 voted against repealing the tax, while District 1’s Lisa Herbold and District 5’s Debora Juarez voted to repeal the tax.
Early voting in Texas runs from Oct. 21 through Nov. 1. All registered voters may vote at any early voting location in the county in which they are registered.
Texas is holding elections for the following offices, in addition to other elections beyond Ballotpedia’s coverage scope. Of the following races, Ballotpedia has designated the Houston mayoral election and Houston Independent School District elections as battleground races.
State legislative elections (special)
Texas House of Representatives District 28
Texas House of Representatives District 100
Texas House of Representatives District 148
Local elections within Ballotpedia’s coverage scope
Counties
Bexar County
Harris County
Cities
El Paso (special)
Houston (including mayor)
School boards
Aldine Independent School District
Alief Independent School District
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District
Houston Independent School District
Klein Independent School District
Lake Worth Independent School District
Richardson Independent School District
Spring Independent School District
Incumbent Sylvester Turner and 11 challengers will compete in the general election for mayor of Houston, Texas. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two general election candidates will participate in a runoff election on December 14, 2019.
Four out of nine seats on the Houston Independent School District (HISD) school board are up for general election. The HISD school board faces the possibility of being replaced by a state-appointed board of managers. If appointed, the board of managers would assume the responsibilities of the elected board, while elected trustees would not have any power until they were reinstated.
Texas voters will also decide 10 constitutional amendments put on the ballot by the state legislature. Measures concern taxes, bonds, budgets, law enforcement animals, and municipal governance. Proposition 4 would prohibit the state from levying an income tax on individuals. Ballots will also feature a variety of local measures. Local measures in Irving, El Paso, Harris County, Arlington and Tarrant County, and Austin and Travis County fall within Ballotpedia’s coverage scope for 2019.
Heading into the Nov. 16 general election, Republicans are seven seats short of a 70-seat supermajority in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Louisiana has a two-round electoral system, sometimes referred to as a jungle primary or majority electoral system. All candidates, regardless of party affiliation, face off in the primary election. If a candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote in the primary election, he or she wins outright. If no candidate reaches that threshold, a general election is held between the top two vote-getters.
After the Oct. 12 primary election, 63 House seats are guaranteed to Republicans, 33 to Democrats, and one to an independent. Party control of eight House seats will be decided in the general election. Republicans need to win all seven of these general elections where they are on the ballot in order to win a veto-proof House majority. Democrats can prevent a Republican supermajority in the House by winning at least one of the races in which they are facing a Republican opponent.
Republicans secured a supermajority in the state Senate in the primary. With supermajorities in the House and Senate, Republicans would have the ability to both override a gubernatorial veto and vote to place a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on the ballot.
These are also the last elections before the state government redraws congressional and state legislative districts following the 2020 census. In Louisiana, both congressional and state legislative districts are drawn by the state legislature.
The Louisiana gubernatorial general election will also be held on Nov. 16. Incumbent Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) and businessman Eddie Rispone (R) advanced from the primary. If Edwards wins, the state will remain under divided government. If Rispone wins, Republicans will have a state government trifecta.
