Tag: ballot measure
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Campaigns for three Colorado initiatives submit signatures by August 2 deadline
Campaigns for three initiatives in Colorado faced a signature deadline of August 2. To qualify for the ballot, 124,632 valid signatures are required. Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress Program and Marijuana Sales Tax Increase Initiative (#25): This initiative would amend state law to create the Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress Program to provide out-of-school learning opportunities for…
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Texas deputy secretary of state draws ballot order for November ballot measures
On July 29, Texas Deputy Secretary of State Joe Esparza drew the ballot order for the eight constitutional amendments referred to the November ballot during the state legislature’s regular session. The deadline to add a measure to the ballot is August 16. However, with a lack of quorum in the Texas House of Representatives due…
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Georgia’s suspended insurance commissioner found guilty on 37 charges of fraud; voters to decide in 2022 on suspending pay for indicted officials
On July 22, a jury found former Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck (R) guilty on 37 counts of fraud, including mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and tax fraud. Beck was elected to the office on November 6, 2018, and was suspended from the office by Governor Brian Kemp (R) on May 16, 2019. The…
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Missouri Supreme Court upholds Medicaid expansion amendment
On July 22, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a constitutional amendment enacting Medicaid expansion was constitutional. The decision reversed a lower court’s ruling that found the amendment approved by voters last August to be unconstitutional because it did not include a revenue source for the state to pay for the Medicaid expansion. The…
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Minneapolis City Council votes to certify Nov. 2 ballot language for initiative to replace police department
On July 23, the Minneapolis City Council voted to approve a ballot question and explanatory note for a citizen initiative that would replace the police department with a department of public safety. The measure will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot. The initiative would remove language on the city’s police department from the city charter,…
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Contributions exceed $46 million to campaigns surrounding Maine electric transmission lines initiative
In November, voters in Maine will decide a ballot initiative designed to stop the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), a 145-mile long, high-voltage transmission line project. NECEC would transmit around 1,200 megawatts from hydroelectric plants in Quebec to electric utilities in Massachusetts and Maine. Since 2010, Ballotpedia has tracked campaign finance for ballot measures…
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Maine voters to decide $100 million transportation bond at November 2021 election
On July 6, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed legislation placing a $100-million bond issue on the ballot for November 2, 2021. The bond issue is the third ballot measure set to go before voters in November. It’s the only bond issue certified for the ballot so far. The ballot measure divides the bond revenue…
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Washington initiative signature deadline passes with no campaigns submitting signatures
The signature submission deadline for Initiatives to the People (ITP)—which is the name of direct ballot initiatives in Washington—passed on July 2, 2021. No campaigns submitted signatures. To qualify for the ballot, proponents would have needed to submit 324,516 valid signatures. A total of 136 ITPs were filed by five sponsors. The filed initiatives concerned…
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Maine legislature sends right-to-food constitutional amendment to 2021 ballot
Maine voters will decide a constitutional amendment to create a state right to growing, raising, harvesting, and producing food, as well as saving and exchanging seeds, at the election on November 2, 2021. People would have this right as long as an individual does not commit trespassing; theft; poaching; or abuses to private land, public…
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Judge blocks $3,000 limit on contributions to Florida initiative campaigns during signature gathering
On July 1, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor issued a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of Florida Senate Bill 1890. SB 1890 was designed to set $3,000 limits on campaign contributions to committees in support of or opposition to ballot initiatives during signature gathering. The bill was designed to lift the contribution limits after a…