Category: State
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Wyoming Rep. Edwards dies one day before the general election
Wyoming lawmaker Roy Edwards (R), who represented House District 53, passed away on Nov. 2, 2020—one day before the general election—of an unspecified illness. According to the Gillette News Record, Edwards was admitted to the hospital last week with the unspecified condition. He was 66-years-old. Edwards didn’t face any challengers in his re-election bid and…
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Massachusetts governor nominates Budd to be chief justice of state supreme court
On October 28, 2020, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) announced the nomination of Associate Justice Kimberly S. Budd as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s chief justice. If confirmed, Budd would replace Ralph D. Gants, who died on September 14, 2020. Budd would also be the first Black woman to serve as chief justice in the court’s…
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Ballotpedia study shows that 12 state APAs define what qualifies as a guidance document
A Ballotpedia survey of all 50 state constitutions and administrative procedure acts (APAs) revealed that 12 state APAs include provisions that define what qualifies as a guidance document and the other 38 states do not have provisions in their APAs or constitutions defining guidance as of September 2020. Guidance is a term used to describe…
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How can I check the status of my ballot?
As of October 30, voters have cast at least 53.7 million absentee/mail-in ballots according to the New York Times. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia offer online ballot tracking for all voters. Texas and New York provide online ballot tracking only for military and overseas voters. Four states have no online ballot tracking at…
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October 2020 breakdown of state legislative party membership: 46.80% Democrats, 52.07% Republicans
46.80% of all state legislators are Democrats and 52.07% are Republicans, according to Ballotpedia’s October partisan count of the 7,383 state legislators across the United States. Ballotpedia tallies the partisan balance of state legislatures at the end of every month. This refers to which political party holds the majority of seats in each chamber. Republicans…
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5,904 state legislative seats up for election on November 3
Forty-four states and five United States territories—American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S Virgin Islands—are holding state legislative general elections on November 3, 2020. There are 5,904 seats up for regular election, and 15 seats up for special election, meaning 5,919 state legislative seats are on the ballot on November 3.…
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196 state executive seats up on November 3
Ballotpedia is covering 196 state executive seats across 29 states, Washington, D.C., and the five U.S. territories on November 3. Our coverage includes 13 governors, 10 lieutenant governors, 10 attorneys general, seven secretaries of state, and 156 down-ballot seats. There are 118 incumbents on the ballot, leaving 78 seats guaranteed to go to newcomers. Governors…
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Hawaii governor appoints Eddins to state supreme court
Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) appointed Todd Eddins to the Hawaii Supreme Court on October 23, 2020. Pending confirmation from the Hawaii State Senate, Eddins will succeed Justice Richard W. Pollack, who retired on June 30, 2020, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 years. Eddins is Ige’s first nominee to the five-member supreme…
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Effort to recall Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers fails to collect enough signatures
The chief organizer behind an effort to recall Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) told supporters on Monday that the effort had failed to collect enough signatures to require a recall election. Chief organizer Misty Polewczynski wrote in a Facebook post about the failed recall effort on October 26, “It is with a heavy heart we…
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Illinois Supreme Court decides case allowing suspended police officers to seek backpay
On October 22, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court decided Goral v. Dart, a case on police officers’ right to due process to claim backpay. The case concerned a decision regarding the legitimacy of Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s Merit Board. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld an appellate court’s decision which determined that officers suspended without…