Tag: ballot measure
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District judge rules against ballot initiative to replace Minneapolis Police Department; Supreme Court will hear appeal
Voters in Minneapolis will see a citizen-initiated charter amendment on their ballots to replace the Minneapolis Police Department. On Sept. 14, however, District Court Judge Jamie Anderson ruled that the ballot question for the proposal was unreasonable and misleading and enjoined election officials from counting votes on Nov. 2. On Sept. 15, the Minnesota Supreme…
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Florida Realtors suspends initiative campaign after making compromise deal with state legislators
On Sept. 7, 2021, Floridians for Housing, a ballot initiative committee sponsored by the Florida Realtors, said they were suspending their campaign. The initiative would have created state and local government housing trust funds to “address affordable housing access and availability, including funding of programs addressing new construction, down payment and closing cost assistance, rehabilitation,…
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Colorado initiative to create out-of-school education program and increase the marijuana sales tax qualifies for 2021 ballot
On August 25, 2021, the Colorado Secretary of State announced that Initiative 25 qualified for the November 2021 ballot. The initiative would create the Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress Program, also known as the LEAP Program. Eligible children would include children at least five years of age and no older than 17 years who are…
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Austin police staffing minimum and training requirements initiative qualifies for the ballot
On Tuesday, the Austin city clerk announced that the group Save Austin Now submitted enough valid signatures to qualify its initiative for the ballot. The initiative would: establish a minimum police department staffing requirement based on the population of the city, which would require the city to hire additional police officers; state that the police…
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Detroit voters reject Proposal P charter revision
Detroit Proposal P, which would have adopted a new city charter for Detroit was defeated by voters on August 3. According to election night results, 67% of voters were opposed to the measure, and 33% were in favor. The new charter would have made changes to policy regarding broadband access, police practices, healthcare, taxes and…
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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,…