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Four 2019 initiative signature deadlines passed, three remain

By Josh Altic
In Ballot measures
February 4, 2019 at 5:51 PM
Four signature submission deadlines for statewide ballot initiatives targeting the 2019 ballot have passed, and three remain.
 
Ballot initiatives are proposals for new laws or constitutional amendments put on the ballot through citizen signature petition drives. Of the 26 states with a process for citizen-initiated measures, four allow for ballot initiatives or veto referendums for elections in any odd-numbered years: Colorado, Maine, Ohio, and Washington. Moreover, citizen-initiated measures could have gone on the Mississippi ballot because of the gubernatorial election in 2019, but no signatures were filed by the deadline.
 
Signature deadlines that have passed:
 
October 10, 2018: initiated constitutional amendments in Mississippi;
  • No signatures were submitted
December 28, 2018: initiated state statutes in Ohio;
  • No signatures were submitted
January 4, 2019: Washington’s indirect process for Initiatives to the Legislature;
  • Signatures for two Washington Initiatives to the Legislature were submitted
January 24, 2019: initiated state statutes in Maine.
  • No signatures were submitted
Signature deadlines that remain:
 
July 3, 2019: initiated constitutional amendments in Ohio
  • There is one pending potential 2019 initiative left in Ohio – an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana and authorize the state legislature to enact a marijuana sales tax.
    • Proponents need to collect 442,958 signatures by the July 3 deadline to qualify the initiative for the November 2019 ballot. They must also meet Ohio’s signature distribution requirement by gathering signatures equal to at least 5 percent of votes cast for governor in at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties.
    • In 2018, voters approved a recreational marijuana legalization initiative in Michigan (the first to be approved in the Midwest) and defeated a recreational marijuana legalization initiative in North Dakota.
    • Voters in Ohio rejected a marijuana legalization initiative in 2015 (Issue 3) that was designed to give exclusive rights for commercial marijuana production to 10 facilities.
July 5, 2019: Washington’s direct process for Initiatives to the People
  • Unlike Initiatives to the Legislature, these initiatives go directly to the ballot without consideration by the state legislature if the required 129,811 signatures are submitted before the July 5 deadline.
  • Proponents of 11 distinct initiative efforts filed Initiatives to the People with the Washington secretary of state. Some proponents submitted multiple versions for the same initiative effort.
August 5, 2019: initiated constitutional amendments and initiated state statutes in Colorado
  • Two distinct initiatives have been filed with the secretary of state, although proponents of one effort filed multiple versions. One would change the tax structure for oil and gas severance taxes and the other would amend or repeal (depending on the version) Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR).
  • Proponents must submit 124,632 signatures by the August 5 deadline and meet the state’s distribution requirement to qualify for the November 2019 ballot.
There are also signature deadlines for veto referendums, which are measures to overturn bills passed by the state legislature during the 2019 session. These depend on the date the bill was approved or the adjournment date of the legislature. None are currently pending for the 2019 cycle.


One-fourth of contested Kentucky state executive primaries since 2007 have been decided by less than 5 percent

By Dave Beaudoin
In State
February 4, 2019 at 5:41 PM
Twenty-six percent of contested state executive primaries in the Commonwealth of Kentucky since 2007 have been decided by five percentage points or less, including four where the winner’s margin of victory was less than one percent of total votes cast.
 
All four of the races decided by less than one percent during this time were Republican primaries, and all of them were for open seats in the general election.
 
These four primaries decided by less than one percent were:
  • in 2007, the Republican primary for state treasurer was won by Melinda Wheeler by 1,107 votes, or 0.7 percent, over Lonnie Napier. In the general election that year, Todd Hollenbach (D) won the open-seat race over Wheeler.
  • in 2011, the Republican primary for secretary of state was won by Bill Johnson by 1,108 votes, or 0.8 percent, over Hilda Legg. Johnson was defeated in the open-seat contest in the general election by current Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D).
  • in 2015, Ryan Quarles won the Republican primary for agriculture commissioner by 1,429 votes, or 0.8 percent, over Richard Heath. Quarles then defeated Jean-Marie Lawson Spann (D) in the open-seat contest that November.
  • in 2015, Matt Bevin won the Republican primary for governor by 83 votes out of more than 214,000 votes cast, or 0.04 percent, over then-Agriculture Commissioner James Comer. Bevin went on to win the open-seat governor’s race over Attorney General Jack Conway (D) in November 2015.
 
Kentucky elects six constitutional officers every four years – governor/lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, and commissioner of agriculture. Over the past three election cycles (2007, 2011, and 2015), 23 primaries held during this time were contested, an average of just under eight per year. In 2019, there are nine contested primary elections in Kentucky for these offices – four Republican and five Democratic – which will take place on May 21.
 
Click here to see a chart showing the distribution of the margin of victory in contested Kentucky state executive primaries from 2007 to 2015.


Voters to decide in May whether to make Denver the first U.S. city to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms

By Josh Altic
In Ballot measures
February 4, 2019 at 5:36 PM

Denver voters will decide a citizen initiative to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms at the election on May 7, 2019. The initiative would make the enforcement of any criminal laws regarding the possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms by anyone 21 years old or older the lowest law enforcement priority of the city. It would also prohibit any city officers, agencies, or employees from using city funds or resources to enforce laws with criminal penalties for the possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms by adults.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), psilocybin is a “chemical obtained from certain types of fresh or dried mushrooms.” The mushrooms containing psilocybin are also known as magic mushrooms, hallucinogenic mushrooms, or shrooms. Psilocybin is considered a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act and the state Controlled Substances Act.

The group behind the initiative, Decriminalize Denver, submitted over 8,000 signatures to place the initiative on the ballot with the Denver Elections Division on January 7, 2019. A total of 4,726 valid signatures were required to qualify the initiative for the ballot. In Denver, signatures equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for mayoral candidates in the preceding mayoral election are required to put an initiative before voters. On February 1, 2019, the Denver elections office announced that enough signatures had been validated to qualify the initiative for the May 2019 ballot.

No state or city has legalized or decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms. An initiative effort is ongoing in Oregon targeting the 2020 ballot to reduce some criminal penalties for possession and use of psilocybin mushrooms and create a regulated program to provide psilocybin mushrooms to certain adults. An initiative effort to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms last year in California reported making it a quarter of the way to the state’s signature requirement but ultimately did not qualify for the 2018 ballot.



Federal Register weekly update; page count rises as government reopens

By Caitlin Styrsky
In Federal
February 4, 2019 at 2:01 PM
The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity.
 
During the week of January 28 to February 1, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 936 pages, bringing the year-to-date total to 1,342 pages. A total of 600 documents were included in the week’s Federal Register, including 534 notices, one presidential document, 31 proposed rules, and 34 final rules.
 
One proposed rule and one final rule were deemed significant under E.O. 12866—meaning that it may have large impacts on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. Significant actions may also conflict with presidential priorities or other agency rules.
 
During the same week in 2018, the number of pages in the Federal Register increased by 1,092 pages. As of February 1, the 2019 total trailed the 2018 total by 3,686 pages.
 
The Trump administration has added an average of 268 pages to the Federal Register each week in 2019 as of February 1. In 2018, the Trump administration added an average of 1,301 pages to the Federal Register each week. Over the course of the Obama administration, the Federal Register increased by an average of 1,658 pages per week.
 
According to government data, the Federal Register hit an all-time high of 95,894 pages in 2016.
 
Click here to find yearly information about additions to the Federal Register from 1936 to 2016:


Administrative state cases bring unpredictable partisan splits at U.S. Supreme Court

By Jace Lington
In Federal
February 4, 2019 at 1:56 PM

The contemporary U.S. Supreme Court often divides along partisan lines. In Oil States Energy Services v. Greene’s Energy Group — a 2017 term case questing whether an administrative tribunal violated Article III of the U.S. Constitution — partisan lines weren’t so predictable. Neil Gorsuch and John Roberts were the only dissenting voices from an opinion written by Clarence Thomas, which held that the tribunal did not violate Article III.



Two Georgia Republicans competing in February 5 special runoff

By Tyler King
In State
February 4, 2019 at 9:06 AM
On January 8, Jesse Vaughn (R) and Matt Barton (R) defeated four other candidates in a special general election for the District 5 seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. Vaughn and Barton advanced to a special runoff election scheduled for February 5.
 
The seat was previously held by John D. Meadows III (R), who passed away on November 12, 2018. Meadows was first elected to the office in 2004. He won his last re-election bid on November 6, 2018, with more than 81 percent of the vote against challenger Brian Rosser (D). Rosser was also the only Democratic candidate to file in the special election to replace Meadows, and he finished in fifth place with less than 5 percent of the vote. Meadows ran unopposed in the 2018 Republican primary and won re-election unopposed in 2014 and 2016. He had served as the chair of the chamber’s Rules Committee.
 
Entering the special election, the Georgia House of Representatives has 75 Democrats, 103 Republicans, and two vacancies. Another special election is scheduled on February 12 for the District 176 seat, which was previously held by Jason Shaw (R). A majority in the chamber requires 91 seats. Georgia has a Republican trifecta. A state government trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.


Washington Legislature unanimously passes bill to amend police use of deadly force initiative, I-940

By Jackie Mitchell
In Ballot measures
February 4, 2019 at 8:51 AM
House Bill 1064 to amend Washington I-940 was introduced on December 17, 2018. It passed unanimously in the House on January 24 and unanimously in the Senate on January 30, 2019, sending it to the desk of Gov. Jay Inslee (D) for his signature.
 
Initiative 940 was designed to create a legally-defined good faith test to determine when the use of deadly force by police is justifiable, require police to receive de-escalation and mental health training, and provide that police have a duty to render first aid. It removed the requirement that prosecutors show that a law enforcement officer acted with malice to be convicted. I-940 was approved in November 2018 by 59.6 percent of voters.
 
House Bill 1064 was designed to amend I-940 as passed by voters in 2018. Specifically, the bill amends provisions relating to I-940’s standard for the use of deadly force. Under I-940, officers would have been required to show that they believed they were acting in good faith when they used deadly force. The new language under HB 1064 uses a different test: whether another officer acting reasonably in the same circumstances would have believed deadly force was necessary.
 
The bill was also designed to require the state to reimburse law enforcement officers for defense costs if charges against an officer are dismissed or if they are found not guilty of charges surrounding unjustified use of deadly force. The bill also modified provisions of I-940 regarding independent investigations of deadly force incidents, training requirements, and more. HB 1064 was the result of a compromise between supporters and opponents of I-940.
 
Ken Thomas, president of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs board, said, “We believe this new deadly-force standard — clarified and agreed-upon by HB 1064 — provides a clear and objective standard that can be clearly understood.”
 
Before the election, a deal was made and state legislators approved bills designed to enact I-940 and immediately amend it without it going on the ballot. Ultimately, a court ruling required that the initiative go before voters at the November 2018 election.
 
In Washington, a two-thirds majority vote in the legislature is required to amend an initiative passed by voters within two years following a measure’s approval. Five states along with Washington have a supermajority requirement in the legislature to appeal or amend an initiative. Eleven states have no restrictions on legislative alteration of initiatives. California and Arizona are the only two states that require voter approval for changes to or the repeal of citizen-initiated state statutes.
 
In 2017 and 2018, Ballotpedia tracked nine other initiatives in five states and D.C. that were amended or repealed through legislative alteration. Moreover, proposals were introduced but ultimately failed for the legislative alteration of two additional initiatives in 2017.
 
Utah Proposition 2, the medical marijuana initiative of 2018, was altered by the legislature the month after it was approved by voters. The Utah Senate is expected to pass a bill altering Proposition 3, the Medicaid expansion initiative, in the coming days.
 
Click here to read more about legislative alteration of citizen initiatives.


How much did the signature drives for California’s three 2020 citizen-initiated measures cost?

By Ryan Byrne
In Ballot measures
February 2, 2019 at 10:51 AM
As of February 1, 2019, three citizen-initiated statewide ballot measures have qualified for the election on November 3, 2020, in California. The signature drives for the ballot initiatives cost between $2.05 million and $3.49 million.
 
Campaigns behind ballot initiatives often hire companies that specialize in signature drives to circulate petitions. Since Ballotpedia began tracking signature drive costs in 2010, none of the 51 citizen-initiated measures that appeared on statewide California ballots relied exclusively on volunteers to collect signatures; each hired a private firm to collect some or all of the required signatures.
 
In 2018, the average signature drive cost in California was about $2.56 million, or $6.07 per required signature. The ballot initiatives that have qualified for the 2020 ballot thus far had the same signature requirements as those on the ballot in 2018. However, any future 2020 ballot initiatives will require 70.3 percent more signatures due to voter turnout in 2018, which will likely increase the spending on signature drives. From 2010 to 2018, the cost-per-required-signature has ranged from $1.18 to $11.31 in California.
 
Summaries of California’s three 2020 citizen-initiated measures are below:
 
*Criminal Sentencing, Parole, and DNA Collection Initiative: The ballot initiative would amend several criminal sentencing and supervision laws that were passed between 2011 and 2016. The Keep California Safe PAC, a project of the California Public Safety Partners, is leading the campaign in support of the ballot initiative. The PAC spent $2.05 million to collect the 365,880 valid signatures required to put the initiative on the ballot, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $5.59. Arno Petition Consultants was hired to collect signatures, receiving 96.7 percent of the spending on the signature drive.
 
*Replace Cash Bail with Risk Assessments Veto Referendum: The veto referendum was designed to overturn Senate Bill 10 (10). SB 10 was designed to replace cash bail with risk assessments for detained suspects awaiting trials. The American Bail Coalition, a nonprofit trade association, organized the political action committee (PAC) Californians Against the Reckless Bail Scheme to sponsor the veto referendum petition and advocate for a “no” vote. The PAC spent $2.78 million to collect the 365,880 valid signatures required to put the referendum on the ballot, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $7.59. National Petition Management, Inc. was the largest recipient of the spending, receiving 99.1 percent.
 
*Tax on Commercial and Industrial Properties for Education and Local Government Funding Initiative: The ballot initiative would require commercial and industrial properties, except those zoned as commercial agriculture, to be taxed based on their market value, rather than their purchase price. As of 2019, commercial and industrial properties, like residential properties, are taxed based on purchase price. The additional revenue from the change would be allocated to local governments and school districts. The Schools and Communities First PAC is leading the campaign in support of the ballot initiative. The PAC spent $3.40 million to collect the 585,407 valid signatures required to put the referendum on the ballot, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $5.96. Kimball Petition Management, Inc. received 99.0 percent of the spending on the signature drive.


Missouri could have the 10th largest city in the U.S. if voters decide a ballot initiative to merge St. Louis city and St. Louis County

By Ryan Byrne
In Ballot measures
February 2, 2019 at 10:46 AM
In 2020, voters across Missouri could decide a ballot initiative to consolidate St. Louis city and St. Louis County into a single political entity named The Metropolitan City of St. Louis. The new city would be the 10th largest city in the U.S., with a population around 1.3 million as of 2017. Residents of The Metropolitan City of St. Louis would elect a 33?member legislative council, with members elected from districts to four-year terms, an executive mayor, a prosecutor, and an assessor.
 
The ballot initiative would amend the Missouri Constitution, as St. Louis city and St. Louis County are inscribed in the state constitution. Changes to the Missouri Constitution require a statewide vote.
 
Better Together, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, proposed the ballot initiative. St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson (D) and St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger (D) spoke at Better Together’s news conference in favor of the plan. Ben Keathley, a council member for the city of Chesterfield in St. Louis County, said he was opposed to not having a local vote on consolidation. He stated, “If this is the thing we want to do, then we should be the ones choosing it. People all over the state of Missouri shouldn’t be picking the government for someone else.”
 
Voters in Missouri had addressed several ballot measures related to the consolidation of St. Louis and St. Louis County, including in 1930 and 1962. Both of the ballot measures were defeated.
 
In Missouri, the signature requirement totals for initiatives are based on the number of votes cast for governor in the state’s most recent gubernatorial election in six of the state’s eight congressional districts. This means the smallest possible requirement to get an initiated constitutional amendment placed on the ballot for November 3, 2020, is 160,199. Signatures for initiated amendments are due six months before the general election, which is May 3, 2020.


North Carolina gets new state board of elections with NC-09 investigation still pending

By Emily Aubert
In State
February 2, 2019 at 10:36 AM
Gov. Roy Cooper (D) appointed three Democrats and two Republicans to the new North Carolina State Board of Elections: Stella Anderson (D), David Black (R), Jeff Carmon III (D), Bob Cordle (D), and Ken Raymond (R). Cordle was elected chairman of the board Thursday.
 
Reaching a conclusion in the 2018 election for North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, where there is an ongoing investigation into alleged election fraud, is the top priority of the new board. Four board votes are required to order a new election and three votes are required to certify the current returns that have Mark Harris (R) leading Dan McCready (D) by 905 votes. At least one board member must cross party lines to move forward on the race.
 
The board will also work to implement new voter identification requirements and evaluate voting equipment for upcoming elections.


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