California is under a shelter-in-place order due to the coronavirus pandemic, but several ballot initiative campaigns are in the final days or weeks of their signature drives. As of March 23, four citizen-initiated measures have qualified to appear on the ballot in November. An additional nine ballot initiative could receive enough signatures to appear on…
A bond package containing three separate bond issues was signed by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) and certified for the ballot on March 11, 2020. The bond package was introduced on January 29, 2020, as Senate Bill 207. To put a bond question before voters, a simple majority is required in both the…
The election on June 9, 2020, will feature two statewide bond measures in Maine. Legislators passed the bond measures on March 17, and Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed the legislation on March 18. A two-thirds vote was needed in each legislative chamber. The first bond measure would authorize $105 million in bonds for transportation infrastructure…
Maryland Legislative Authority over State Budget Amendment would authorize the Maryland General Assembly to increase, decrease, or add items to the state budget as long as such changes do not make the budget exceed the total proposed budget submitted by the governor. The amendment is the first measure certified to appear on the statewide ballot…
An effort to recall Mayor Alejandra Cortez and city council members Pedro Aceituno and Marco Barcena in Bell Gardens, California, was rejected by the city clerk. Recall organizers submitted notices of intent to recall in late February. The notices were rejected on the grounds that they did not include Section 11023 of the Elections Code,…
Signatures for citizen initiative petitions in Idaho are due on May 1, 2020. To qualify for the November ballot, 55,057 valid signatures are required. As of March 19, 2020, three citizen initiatives were cleared to gather signatures targeting the 2020 ballot in Idaho. The Idaho Minimum Wage Increase Initiative was designed to increase the minimum…
On March 3, Californians voted on one statewide ballot measure, Proposition 13, which would have issued $15 billion in general obligation bonds for preschool, K-12, and higher education facilities. The ballot measure would have also made changes to the formula used to distribute state bond funds to schools, the rules governing local bond measures, and…
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…
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…
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…