Category: State
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Iowa State Senate District 41 special election set for Jan. 26, 2021
Election officials have scheduled a special election for the District 41 seat in the Iowa State Senate for Jan. 26, 2021. The seat became vacant when Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) resigned effective Jan. 2 after being seated in the U.S. House of Representatives. There is no primary, and the Democratic and Republican parties will select their nominees at…
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No initiative campaigns submitted signatures by Dec. 25 deadline in Ohio
No initiative campaigns submitted signatures in Ohio on the Dec. 25 deadline. In Ohio, initiated statutes are indirect, requiring 132,887 signatures in 2021 to go before the Ohio State Legislature. If enough signatures are submitted, the legislature has the option to approve an initiative without a vote of electors. If the state legislature does not…
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Texas House of Representatives District 68 special election set for Jan. 23, 2021
Election officials have scheduled a special election for the District 68 seat in the Texas House of Representatives for Jan. 23, 2021. The office became vacant after State Rep. Drew Springer won a special election to the District 30 seat in the Texas State Senate on Dec. 19. There is no primary, and the filing…
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California Supreme Court rules that 2016 ballot measure made certain sex offenders eligible for early parole
On December 28, 2020, the California Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that Proposition 57’s provision to increase parole opportunities for those convicted of nonviolent offenses applies to sex offenders. California Proposition 57 was approved at the election on November 8, 2016, receiving 64.5% of the vote. Proposition 57 required the California Department of Corrections…
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25 states and D.C. will have increased minimum wages in 2021
In 2021, the minimum wage will increase in 25 states and Washington, D.C. The size of the increases range from $0.08 per hour (a 0.8% increase) in Minnesota to $2.25 per hour (a 31.03% increase) in Virginia, and the effective dates for the increases range from October 2020 to August 2021. Increases in 18 states…
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Longtime Maryland state Senator Miller resigns
Maryland State Senator Thomas Miller Jr. (D) resigned on Dec. 23 due to health reasons. He had announced in Jan. 2019 that he had been diagnosed with cancer. Miller had represented District 27 since 1975. He served as Senate president for 33 years—from 1987 to 2020—the longest anyone has served as Maryland Senate president, according…
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Voters in two Virginia House districts to decide special elections on Jan. 5
Special elections are being held on January 5 for District 2 and District 90 of the Virginia House of Delegates. In District 2, Candi King (D) and Heather Mitchell (R) are running to replace Jennifer Foy (D), who resigned in December 2020 to focus on her 2021 campaign for governor. Foy had represented the district…
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Democrats gain veto-proof legislative majorities in two states, leaving them with eight to Republicans’ 16
Democrats gained veto-proof state legislative majorities in Delaware and New York in the Nov. 3 elections. This increases the number of state legislatures with a veto-proof majority in both chambers from 22 to 24: 16 held by Republicans and eight held by Democrats. Democrats had a veto-proof majority in both states’ lower legislative chambers heading…
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California State Senate special election filing deadline is Jan. 7, 2021
Candidates interested in running in the special election for California State Senate District 30 have until January 7, 2021, to file. The primary is scheduled for March 2, and the general election is set for May 4. The special election was called after Holly Mitchell (D) left office when she was elected to represent District…