Category: State

On November 21, 2019, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that SB 27, which requires presidential candidates to file copies of their income tax returns with the California secretary of state in order to qualify for placement on the primary ballot, violates Article II, Section 5(c) of the state constitution.   Article II, Section 5(c)…

Washington voters approved Initiative 976 earlier this month in a vote of 53% to 47%. The measure, sponsored by Tim Eyman, was designed to limit annual license fees for vehicles weighing under 10,000 pounds at $30 except voter-approved charges, base vehicle taxes on the Kelley Blue Book value rather than 85% of the manufacturer’s base…

Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Patrick Wyrick vacated his seat on the court on April 10, 2019, when he received commission to become an Article III federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. On November 20, 2019, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) appointed Dustin Rowe to succeed Wyrick on the…

A new state legislative special election has been added to our list. The special election is for the District 38 seat in the Kentucky State Senate on January 14, 2020. There is no primary, and the filing deadline is on November 26, 2019.

On November 19, Pennsylvania state Sen. John Yudichak announced he had changed his registration from Democratic to Independent. He also said that he would begin caucusing with the chamber’s Republicans majority. Yudichak was first elected to represent District 14 in 2010. He won re-election unopposed at both the primary and general levels in 2014 and…

Supporters of the effort to recall Michigan state Rep. Larry Inman (R) have until November 22 to submit 12,201 signatures to force a recall election. The recall effort was submitted to the Michigan Board of State Canvassers on July 19, 2019, and it was approved on August 1.   According to the petition language, recall…

On Nov. 13, the Illinois Senate voted 45-9 to approve SB1784, a bill that would make a series of changes to the state’s existing public-sector labor relations laws. The House approved the bill 93-23 on Oct. 29. The bill now goes to Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), who has not indicated whether he plans to sign…

Louisiana held a general election for 33 state government offices on November 16, 2019. The top-two finishers in the October 12 primary advanced to the general election if no candidate received a majority of votes. In Louisiana, all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, face off in the primary election. This year, 160 state seats were…

On November 15, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady died of a heart attack.   Cady was the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court from 2011 to 2019. He was appointed to the court as an associate justice in 1998 by Governor Terry Branstad (R). Cady previously served on the Iowa Court of…

A new state legislative special election has been added to our list. The special election is for the District 28 seat in the California State Senate on May 12, 2020. The primary is on March 3, and the filing deadline is on January 9.