Category: State
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Supreme Court of Georgia holds oral argument via video conferencing
On April 20, 2020, The Supreme Court of Georgia held oral arguments via video conferencing. It is the first time in the court’s 175 year history that arguments were held virtually. Ballotpedia is tracking how state courts are responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Other recent updates include: Colorado – The Colorado Supreme Court extended its suspension…
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Herbert appoints Birkeland to Utah House
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) appointed Kera Birkeland (R) to the Utah House of Representatives on April 16. Kirkland will represent District 53, filling the vacancy created by Logan Wilde’s (R) resignation to assume the role of commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Birkeland serves as the vice chair of the Utah…
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Washington senator McCoy announces resignation
Washington senator John McCoy (D) announced his retirement and resignation effective April 17, 2020. McCoy is a 17-year Washington legislature veteran and one of the state’s longest-serving Native American legislators. McCoy’s letter of resignation to the Washington Senate stated, “When I first came to the Legislature in 2003 as a member of the House of…
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Judge Segal appointed chief judge of Minnesota Court of Appeals
Gov. Tim Walz (D) appointed judge Susan Segal as chief judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals on April 13. Segal will serve the remainder of Edward J. Cleary’s term as chief of the court, which ends on October 31, 2022. Cleary announced his retirement effective April 30 in the fall of 2019. Segal becomes…
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Illinois Supreme Court rules fantasy sports a game of skill, not chance
In April 2016, Illinois residents Colin Dew-Becker and Andrew Wu competed in a fantasy sports contest hosted by the website FanDuel. They each paid a total of $109: a $100 wager and a $9 fee to the company. Wu defeated Dew-Becker, and three days later Dew-Becker invoked an 1819 law called The Loss Recovery Act…
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Filing deadline approaches for state and judicial races in Michigan and Florida
The major party filing deadline to run for elected office in Michigan is on April 21, 2020, and the filing deadline to run for certain local judicial offices in Florida is on April 24. In Michigan, prospective candidates may file for the following state offices: • State Board of Education (2 seats) • University of…
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Candidate filing period closes for Georgia State Senate special election
On April 13, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that a special election for District 4 of the Georgia State Senate will take place on June 9. A runoff, if necessary, will be held on August 11. Candidates wishing to run in the election had until April 15 to file for election. Scott Bohlke…
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Kentucky State Senate District 26 special election
A new state legislative special election has been added to our list. The special election is for the District 26 seat in the Kentucky State Senate on June 23, 2020. There is no primary, and the candidates will be nominated by local political party executive committees.
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Florida Representative Jacobs dies
Florida state representative Kristin Jacobs (D) died on April 11, 2020. She was first elected to represent District 96 in the Florida House of Representatives in 2014, and won re-election in 2016 and 2018. Jacobs underwent cancer treatment during the 2020 legislative session. Her death was unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to joining the…
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Tully appointed to Windham-3 District in Vermont House of Representatives
Gov. Phil Scott (D) appointed Kelley Tully to the Windham-3 District seat in the Vermont House of Representatives last week. Tully assumed office on April 11. The seat was vacated when Matt Trieber, who had served in the legislature for nine years, resigned in February to focus on his job as a youth counselor. Tully…