Category: State
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Voters decide state legislative primaries in Massachusetts
Massachusetts held its statewide primary on September 1, 2020. There were 200 state legislative seats on the ballot, 40 in the state Senate and 160 in the state House. Candidates competed to advance to the general election on November 3, 2020. As of September 3, several races were still too close to call. In the…
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79.6% of incumbents faced no primary challenges this year, highest rate since 2014
Ballotpedia’s annual state legislative competitiveness report shows that, this year, 79.6% of incumbents advanced to the general election without a primary challenge. This is a higher rate than in 2018 and 2016, which saw no contested primaries for 78.1% and 79.4% of incumbents, respectively. States where more incumbents face primary challenges have a more competitive…
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Decade-high 85% of state legislative incumbents seeking re-election this year
According to our 10th annual state legislative elections competitiveness research, a decade-high 85% of incumbents are seeking re-election this year. Comparatively, 80.4% of incumbents sought re-election in 2018 and 82.4% in 2016. A greater number of open seats—a race where the incumbent is not seeking re-election at the time of the primary—tends to increase competitiveness.…
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Mississippi commission selects final flag design containing a magnolia flower
At the election on November 3, 2020, Mississippi voters will be shown a colored picture of the new proposed state flag, named the In God We Trust Flag. Residents may vote either "yes" to adopt the new flag or "no" to oppose adopting the new state flag. If the new proposed flag is rejected by voters, the Commission to Redesign…
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Special Democratic primary for Georgia State Senate District 39 set for November 3
A new state legislative special election has been added to our list. The special election is for the District 39 seat in the Georgia State Senate. Only Democratic Party candidates may file because no Republican filed for the seat in the 2020 regular election. The incumbent, Nikema Williams (D), withdrew from the regular election after…
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One Utah Supreme Court justice seeks retention in November
Utah Supreme Court Justice John A. Pearce is standing for retention election on November 3, 2020. Pearce was appointed by former Utah Governor Gary Herbert (R). Herbert appointed four of the five justices currently sitting on the court. Gov. Michael Leavitt (R) appointed the other. The governor of Utah appoints the five justices of the…
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Fabiana Pierre-Louis confirmed to state Supreme Court by New Jersey Senate
On August 26, 2020, Justice Walter Timpone announced that he planned to retire early from the New Jersey Supreme Court if supreme court nominee Fabiana Pierre-Louis was confirmed by the Senate before September. On August 27, 2020, the New Jersey Senate voted 39-0 to approve Pierre-Louis. Pierre-Louis is Governor Phil Murphy’s (D) first nominee to…
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Ballotpedia study shows that no states provide for juries to participate in agency adjudication hearings
A Ballotpedia survey of all 50 state constitutions and administrative procedure acts (APAs) revealed that no state constitutions or APAs provide for juries to participate in agency adjudication hearings, as of August 2020. Thus, hearing officers or other agency officials preside over and decide the outcome of adjudications instead of people from the community. Adjudication…
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Special election primary runoff to be held in Alabama House district
A special election primary runoff is being held on September 1 for District 49 of the Alabama House of Representatives. Russell Bedsole and Mimi Penhale are running in the Republican primary runoff. The winner of the runoff will face Cheryl Patton (D) in the special general election on November 17, 2020. The seat became vacant…
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Oklahoma holds primary runoff: Eight state legislative seats on the ballot, three incumbents defeated
The statewide primary runoff for Oklahoma was held on August 27, 2020. Candidates competed to advance to the general election scheduled for November 3. A primary was held on June 30. In races where no candidate received a majority of the vote (50% plus one vote), the top two vote-getters advanced to the primary runoff.…