Category: State
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New Jersey, Texas schedule upcoming state legislative special elections
Two new state legislative special elections have been added to our list. The special elections are for the District 25 seat in the New Jersey State Senate and the District 25 seat in the New Jersey General Assembly on November 3, 2020. The primary is on June 2, and the filing deadline is on March…
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Georgia is second state to postpone presidential primaries amid coronavirus concerns
On March 14, Georgia postponed its presidential primary elections by eight weeks due to concerns regarding the coronavirus outbreak. The state rescheduled its presidential primaries from March 24 to coincide with the May 19 statewide primaries. The postponement also applies to any special elections in the state originally scheduled to take place on March 24.…
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South Carolina Supreme Court judicial selection
The five justices of the South Carolina supreme court are selected by the state legislature and serve 10-year terms. South Carolina and Virginia are the only two states to use some form of legislative selection when choosing supreme court justices. The South Carolina Judicial Merit Selection Commission screens and selects candidates for judgeships then submits…
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Indiana’s longest-serving House speaker steps down, Huston assumes leadership role
Indiana’s House of Representatives saw a change in leadership on March 9, 2020, when House speaker Brian Bosma (R) stepped down from his position. Having served in the role for 12 years total, Bosma is the longest-serving speaker in the history of Indiana’s legislature. Bosma served as speaker of the House twice, from 2004 to…
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Special elections being held in three Pennsylvania House districts
Special elections are being held on March 17 for District 8, District 18, and District 58 of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. All three seats were previously held by Republican incumbents. Candidates running for special elections in Pennsylvania are selected by their respective political parties. Phil Heasley (D) and Tim Bonner (R) are facing off…
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Seven candidates file to run for governor of Montana
The statewide filing deadline to run for elected office in Montana passed on March 9, 2020. Seven candidates filed to run for governor of the state. Steve Bullock (D), Montana’s current governor, was prohibited from running for re-election due to state term limits that restrict a governor to two four-year terms within a 16-year period.…
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Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) has appointed all seven justices on New York’s court of last resort
A court of last resort is the highest judicial body within a jurisdiction’s court system. It is a court with the highest appellate authority, meaning that its rulings are not subject to further review by another court. A court of last resort is often, but not always, referred to as a supreme court. New York…
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California Proposition 13 is the first statewide school bond rejected by voters since 1994
On March 3, Californians voted on one statewide ballot measure, Proposition 13, which would have issued $15 billion in general obligation bonds for preschool, K-12, and higher education facilities. The ballot measure would have also made changes to the formula used to distribute state bond funds to schools, the rules governing local bond measures, and…
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Six statewide filing deadlines pass in second week of March
Six states had major party filing deadlines from March 9 to March 13. These were: Montana on March 9; New Mexico and Oregon on March 10; and Idaho, Iowa, and Nevada on March 13. At the federal level, all six states have U.S. House seats up for election, and all but Nevada also have a…
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Filing deadlines approach in Maine, Colorado, and Utah
The filing deadlines to run for elected office in Maine, Colorado, and Utah are approaching. Maine’s filing deadline is March 16, Colorado’s is March 17, and Utah’s is March 19. In Maine, prospective candidates may file for the following offices: • U.S. Senate (1 seat) • U.S. House (2 seats) • State Senate (35 seats)…