Tag: ballot measure
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Oklahoma voters could decide in November on changing the state’s judge selection process
The Oklahoma State Legislature is considering a constitutional amendment for the Nov. 2022 ballot that would establish a new judicial selection process in Oklahoma that is more similar to the U.S. federal court system structure. Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection…
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Voters in Little Rock to decide measure to reduce an ad valorem tax for the Central Arkansas Library System
Voters in Little Rock will decide on a ballot measure that would reduce the existing capital-improvement millage from 1.8 to 1.3 mills on May 24. This would equate to $130 per $100,000 of assessed property value. The existing limit is a combination of two separate ad valorem taxes each at 0.9 mills. The measure would…
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Maryland voters will decide on a ballot measure to require Howard County Circuit Court judges to serve as orphans’ court judges in November
On April 8, the Maryland General Assembly voted to send a ballot measure to voters in November to require Howard County Circuit Court judges to serve as orphans’ court judges and remove the election requirement of three orphans’ court judges. The bill would also make changes to state law, if the amendment is approved, to…
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Kansas voters to decide whether to add sheriff elections to the state constitution
On April 1, the Kansas State Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment to the November ballot that would require the election of county sheriffs in counties that had not abolished the office as of January 2022 and would provide that sheriffs may be recalled from office or removed by a writ of quo warranto…
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Voters in Augusta, Maine approve $4.5 million in bonds for fire and emergency services capital improvements
Voters in Augusta, Maine approved a bond measure on March 22 that authorizes the city to issue $4,455,000 in bonds to fund fire and emergency services capital improvements and city infrastructure. The vote margin was 71.2% to 28.8%. A simple majority vote was required to approve the measure. The city charter authorizes the Augusta City…
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New Mexico governor signs bond package for senior citizen facilities, libraries, and public education, sending three measures to voters in November
On Mar. 9, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed House Bill 153 (HB 153), a bond package passed by the legislature in February. The bond package authorizes the state to issue a total of $259,722,000 in general obligation bonds. The bond package will appear as three separate ballot questions in November. The ballot…
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Committee behind an initiative to increase the minimum wage for tipped workers in D.C. submits signatures for the June ballot
On Feb. 22, the DC Committee to Build a Better Restaurant Industry submitted 34,000 signatures to the D.C. Board of Elections in an effort to place Initiative 82 on the June ballot. Initiative 82 would incrementally increase the tipped minimum wage from $5.05 in 2021 to match the minimum wage of non-tipped employees in 2027.…
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2022 will feature the most abortion-related statewide ballot measures in 36 years
Abortion has been a perennial issue for statewide ballot measures since Roe v. Wade in 1973. Since 2000, there have been just two general election cycles, 2002 and 2016, without abortion-related statewide ballot measures. In 2022, there will be at least four ballot measures addressing abortion — the most since 1986. If proponents of another…
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The committee behind a Massachusetts app-based driver initiative reported over $17.8 million in contributions
Massachusetts voters could decide on an initiative in November to classify app-based drivers as independent contractors similar to California’s 2020 Proposition 22. Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers, the committee registered to support the app-based driver initiative, reported receiving $17.8 million in 2021. The committee’s largest donor was Lyft, which contributed nearly $14.4 million in…
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Signatures submitted for Alaska initiative providing formal state recognition of federally recognized American Indian tribes in Alaska
On Jan. 13, 2022, Alaskans for Better Government submitted about 56,200 signatures for the ballot initiative. The ballot initiative would provide for formal state recognition of federally recognized American Indian tribes in Alaska. Alaska has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures equal to 7% of the vote in the last general election must…