Category: State

On March 29, 2019, Judge Roger Benitez of the U.S. District Court of Southern California ruled that a provision of Proposition 63 banning large-capacity firearm magazines (more than 10 rounds) was unconstitutional. He wrote, “[Proposition 63] burdens the core of the Second Amendment by criminalizing the acquisition and possession of these magazines that are commonly…

Members of the Alaska House ended a month-long leadership deadlock by electing Rep. Bryce Edgmon as speaker on February 14, 2019. Edgmon was elected by a bipartisan coalition under the condition that he establish a power-sharing arrangement where both Democrats and Republicans held positions of power.   The coalition that elected Edgmon speaker included all…

Special general elections are being held for three seats in the Louisiana House of Representatives on March 30. In District 17, Rodney McFarland Sr. (D) and Pat Moore (D) are facing off. The seat became vacant after Marcus Hunter (D) was elected to serve as a judge on the Fourth Judicial District. Hunter had represented…

On November 5, 2019, voters in Kansas will decide a ballot measure to end a process that requires the state to adjust its census population for state legislative redistricting. Kansas is the only state that adjusts its census population for redistricting.   Before 1988, Kansas reapportioned state legislative districts based on the state government’s own…

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) appointed former appeals judge David Buckingham to the Kentucky Supreme Court on March 27. Buckingham succeeds Bill Cunningham, who retired on January 31. A special election will be held on November 5 to elect a replacement to fill the remainder of Cunningham’s term.   Bevin chose Buckingham from a list…

Four states—Maine, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—each have one state legislative seat up for special election on April 2, 2019. In Maine, Sean Paulhus (D) and Kenneth Sener (R) are running in the general election for the state House’s District 52 seat. The seat was vacated when Jennifer DeChant (D) resigned on February 1, 2019, to…

Kentucky’s gubernatorial primaries are less than two months away, and candidates have begun releasing advertisements on television and YouTube.   Four candidates are running in each party’s primary. Gov. Matt Bevin (R) is seeking re-election, although he is running in 2019 with a different running mate than his current lieutenant governor.   Democrat Adam Edelen…

On March 19, 2019, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) vetoed Senate Bill 1156, which would have prohibited sanctuary cities.   The term sanctuary jurisdiction refers to a city, county, or state that has enacted policies that limit local officials’ involvement in the enforcement of federal immigration law. The official bill summary described SB 1156 as…

On March 21, the Nevada State Senate gave final approval to a measure to remove the constitutional status of the Board of Regents, which governs Nevada’s state universities. The amendment—Assembly Joint Resolution 5 (AJR 5)— was previously approved in both chambers during the 2017 legislative session and by the state Assembly on March 11, 2019.…

State legislative offices are up for regular election in seven chambers across four states this year. General elections in Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia are scheduled for November 5, while general elections in Louisiana are set for November 16.   The chambers with the closest margins of partisan control are in Virginia, where Republicans hold…