Category: State
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Recall petition targeting California Attorney General Xavier Becerra approved for circulation
A petition seeking the recall of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) was approved for circulation by the California Secretary of State on March 11, 2020. Supporters of the recall have until August 18 to collect 1,470,760 signatures to force a recall election. The recall petition alleges that Becerra mismanaged the state’s legal system, wasted…
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Wayne County voters renew Art Institute Authority property tax
Wayne County voters renew Art Institute Authority property tax According to election night results, 76.7% of Wayne County, Michigan, voters were in favor of renewing a 0.2 mill property tax ($20 per $100,000 in assessed value) until 2031 to provide funding for the Wayne County Art Institute Authority. The tax will generate an estimated $8.5…
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Georgia legislature refers constitutional amendment to 2020 ballot concerning dedication of tax and fee revenue
The Georgia Legislature voted on Monday to send House Joint Resolution 164 to the November 2020 ballot for voter consideration. The measure would authorize the Georgia Legislature to dedicate certain tax or fee revenue to the public purpose for which the taxes or fees were imposed. For example, the measure would allow revenues resulting from…
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Signatures verified for top-four ranked-choice voting ballot initiative in Alaska
Alaskans could vote on a first-of-its-kind electoral system in November. On March 9, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer announced that the campaign Alaskans for Better Elections collected 36,006 valid signatures for its ballot initiative. The campaign filed 41,068 signatures, of which at least 28,501 needed to be valid. Next, the Alaska State Legislature has the option…
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Nunes (R) and Arballo (D) advance to CA-22 general election
Incumbent Devin Nunes (R) and Phil Arballo (D) advanced to the Nov. 3 general election for California’s 22nd Congressional District, defeating three other candidates in the March 3 top-two primary. As of March 11, Nunes had received 56.9% of the vote to Arballo’s 24.8%. The only other candidate with more than 10% of the vote…
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Lewis Holley (D) advances to general election in race for North Carolina lieutenant governor
Yvonne Lewis Holley advanced from a field of six candidates in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor of North Carolina. In North Carolina, primary runoffs occur if no candidate wins more than 30% of the vote and the second-place finisher calls for a runoff. Second place finisher Terry Van Duyn announced March 10 she would…
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Garcia (R) and Smith (D) advance in two primaries for California’s 25th Congressional District
Mike Garcia (R) and Christy Smith (D) advanced from a special top-two primary election and from a regularly scheduled top-two primary election in California’s 25th Congressional District. Third place finisher Steve Knight (R) conceded the race on March 8 and said he would support Garcia. As of Knight’s concession, Smith led in the special primary…
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2020 state legislative races less competitive than 2018 so far
Based on filing data in nine states, 2020’s state legislative elections are so far less competitive than 2018’s elections in three categories: open seats, incumbents with primary challengers, and total primaries. Those nine states are Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia. Across those states in 2020, there are 1,167…
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Montana Governor Steve Bullock appoints new commissioner of labor and industry
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock named Brenda Nordlund as the new acting commissioner of labor and industry on March 5. Nordlund replaced interim Commissioner Tom Lopach, who took over when Galen Hollenbaugh retired on December 31, 2019. Since Nordlund was an employee of the department and retained her status as a classified employee, she assumed the…
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Missouri Democrats select new state Senate Minority Leader
Missouri State Senator Gina Walsh (D) stepped down as State Senate Minority Leader after serving in the role since 2017 on March 3. Freshman Sen. John Rizzo (D) takes her place as the Democratic leader in the state Senate. Walsh, who represents District 13, cannot run for re-election to the state Senate this year due…