Category: State
-
Election legislation roundup: Texas State Senate
As of Oct. 29, Ballotpedia has tracked 118 election-related bills in the Texas State Senate since the beginning of the year. Of the 118, Ballotpedia tracked two from Oct. 23-29. Republicans sponsored both bills. The two bills are below: During the week of Oct. 23-29, Ballotpedia tracked 11 Senate election-related bills nationally. As of Oct.…
-
Seven states have banned foreign spending in ballot measure elections. Maine voters will decide the issue with Question 2 on Nov. 7.
In Maine, voters will decide on Question 2 on Nov. 7. Question 2, a citizen-initiated statute, would prohibit foreign governments, or entities with at least 5% foreign government ownership or control, from spending money to influence ballot measures or candidate elections. Federal law currently prohibits contributions, donations, expenditures (including independent expenditures), and disbursements by foreign…
-
Two state supreme court justices announce retirement, marking first official vacancies of 2024
Ballotpedia has tracked two state supreme court justice vacancies for 2024. The first state supreme court justice to confirm her retirement in 2024 was Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Elspeth Cypher, who announced in June 2023 that she plans to retire on January 12, 2024. The second to confirm retirement in 2024 was Justice Keith G.…
-
Federal district court overturns Georgia’s congressional, legislative district maps
On Oct. 26, a federal judge with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled that Georgia’s congressional and legislative district boundaries violated the Voting Rights Act and enjoined the state from using them for future elections. The court directed the Georgia General Assembly to develop new maps by Dec. 8.…
-
North Carolina legislature enacts new congressional, legislative districts
On Oct. 25, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted new congressional and legislative district boundaries. The final votes for each plan were strictly along party lines, with all votes in favor by Republicans and all votes against by Democrats. The state redrew its district boundaries after North Carolina’s Supreme Court in April overturned a prior…
-
Governor Kathy Hochul (D) vetoes one bill from Oct. 16-22
Governor Kathy Hochul (D) vetoed one bill from Oct. 16-22. She vetoed SB 6218, which would have enacted the Planned Offshore Wind Transmission Act and required the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority to establish a plan for improved transmission planning and coordinating systems for an offshore grid, and required that the Authority…
-
North Carolina lawmakers codify semi-closed primary system
North Carolina lawmakers made unaffiliated voter participation in partisan primaries a permanent feature of state election laws as part of a veto override of S747 on Oct. 10, 2023. As part of the omnibus election bill, political parties holding primaries in the state must allow unaffiliated voters to participate in their primaries. Previously, state law permitted but…
-
State supreme courts issue 247 opinions from Oct. 9-22
State supreme courts issued 247 opinions from Oct. 9-22. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia led the field with 30 opinions issued, followed by Delaware with 23 and Pennsylvania with 18. The 247 opinions account for 5% of the year-to-date total of 5,339. West Virginia, again, leads with 439 opinions issued since Jan.…
-
California governor vetoes unemployment insurance benefits for striking workers
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on September 30 vetoed a bill that would increase labor protections for striking workers. The California State Assembly and Senate on September 11 and 14, 2023, respectively, passed SB 799, which would have allowed workers who were on strike for at least two weeks to receive unemployment insurance benefits of…
-
Election legislation roundup: Texas House of Representatives
As of Oct. 22, Ballotpedia has tracked 195 election-related bills in the Texas House of Representatives since the beginning of the year. Of the 195, Ballotpedia tracked two from Oct. 16-22. Republicans sponsored both of the bills. The two bills are below: During the week of Oct. 16-22, Ballotpedia tracked 14 House election-related bills nationally.…