Category: State
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Six candidates file to run in Oklahoma State Senate special election
Candidates interested in running in a special election for a seat in the Oklahoma State Senate had until December 9, 2020, to file. The primary is scheduled for February 9, 2021, and the special election will be held on April 6. In the District 22 special election, Dylan Billings and Molly Ooten are running in…
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New Hampshire House Speaker Dick Hinch dies
Newly-sworn in New Hampshire House Speaker Dick Hinch (R) died on Dec 9, at the age of 71. According to the Boston Globe, Hinch unexpectedly passed away from COVID-19. Hinch won re-election to the New Hampshire House of Representatives to represent Hillsborough 21 on Nov. 3. Republicans gained control of the state House, and Hinch…
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Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice to retire in June 2021
Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Joel Bolger is retiring on June 30, 2021. Bolger’s replacement will be Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s (R) second nominee to the five-member supreme court. Bolger joined the Alaska Supreme Court in 2013. He was appointed by Gov. Sean Parnell (R) to succeed Justice Walter Carpeneti. He became chief justice of the…
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Georgia governor appoints LaGrua to state supreme court
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) appointed Shawn LaGrua to the Georgia Supreme Court on December 1, 2020. LaGrua succeeded Justice Keith Blackwell, who retired on November 18, 2020. LaGrua is Kemp’s second nominee to the nine-member supreme court. Under Georgia law, state supreme court justices are selected through nonpartisan elections. Justices serve six-year terms. Vacancies…
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Pennsylvania voters could decide as many as eight constitutional amendments in 2021 or 2022
In Pennsylvania, the average number of statewide ballot measures for a single year is less than 1. In 2021 or 2022, Pennsylvanians could vote on upwards of eight ballot measures that address electoral and voting policies, legal language and actions, and the governor’s emergency powers. For an amendment to appear on a statewide ballot the…
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Wyoming becomes 38th state with an active mask requirement
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) issued an order, effective December 9, requiring face coverings in all businesses open to the public, on public transportation, at medical facilities (like hospitals, doctors offices, and veterinary clinics), and in non-federal government buildings. The order is scheduled to expire on Jan. 8. Thirty-eight states have active statewide orders requiring…
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2020 state supreme court election results
Thirty-five states held state supreme court elections in 2020. In total, 78 of the nation’s 344 state supreme court seats were up for election. At 23%, this was the greatest number of seats up for election in recent years. Of these seats, at the start of 2020: 59 were held by nonpartisan justices 12 were…
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Retention elections and judicial partisanship
State supreme court justices facing retention elections won re-election more often than their counterparts in states using other systems of judicial selection, according to Ballotpedia’s recently-published study on state supreme courts. Between 2008 and 2019, 155 justices have faced retention elections. Incumbent justices won 152 (98%) of these elections. Since 2008, there have been 196…
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Robert Carter fills vacancy on Illinois Supreme Court
Robert L. Carter became a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court on December 8, 2020. Carter was nominated to the court on November 10 to replace former Justice Thomas Kilbride, who lost the seat after failing to meet the 60% vote threshold required by Illinois law for judges to remain on the bench. Kilbride received…
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Ward resigns from Alabama state Senate
Alabama State Sen. Cam Ward (R) resigned Dec. 7 to become the director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. Ward was appointed to his new position by Gov. Kay Ivey (R) on Nov. 17. “It’s got to be the hardest job in state government,” Ward said in a phone interview. “They have a…