Tag: ballot measures
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Voters in seven states decided on 24 constitutional amendments in 2021, adopting 16 of them
Every state but Delaware requires voters to ratify proposed changes to a state’s constitution. There are four ways that proposed constitutional amendments can be proposed and put on the ballot: Through legislatively referred constitutional amendments. Through citizen-initiated constitutional amendments put on the ballot through signature petition drives. Eighteen states allow this method of amendment. Through…
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State signature deadline for Massachusetts 2022 initiatives was Wednesday
Three initiative campaigns submitted more than the required number of validated signatures (80,239) to the Massachusetts secretary of state on Dec. 1. This means that the initiatives will go to the Massachusetts General Court. If the general court does not enact the initiatives, a smaller second round of signatures will be required to put the…
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Campaign behind initiative in Mass. to classify app-based drivers as independent contractors submits 260,000 signatures to county administrators
On Nov. 16, the Massachusetts Coalition for Independent Work announced that they had submitted a total of 260,000 signatures to local clerks in their bid to place a ballot initiative on the 2022 ballot that was modeled after 2020’s California Proposition 22. The total number of signatures is split between two different versions of the…
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Tucson voters approve increasing the local minimum wage to $15 by 2025
On Nov. 2, Tucson voters approved Proposition 206, an initiative designed to incrementally increase the local minimum wage to $15 by 2025, and tie it to inflation thereafter. According to unofficial election results, 65% of voters approved Proposition 206. Currently, the minimum wage is $12.15. The minimum wage will increase by the following increments: $13…
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Maine transmission line company files lawsuit over constitutionality of Question 1
Voters in Maine approved Question 1 on November 2. The citizen-initiated ballot measure received 59% of the vote with 97% of precincts reporting. Question 1 was designed to stop the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), a 145-mile long, high-voltage transmission line project that would transmit around 1,200 megawatts from hydroelectric plants in Quebec to electric utilities…
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Maine voters approve ballot measures, including transmission corridor initiative and right to food amendment
Voters in Maine approved each of the three measures on the ballot for Nov. 2, 2021. As of 8:30am EST on Wednesday, 89% of precincts had reported results. Question 1 received 59% of the vote. It was designed to prohibit the construction of electric transmission lines defined as high-impact in the Upper Kennebec Region, including the New England…
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New Yorkers reject redistricting and voting ballot measures, approve environmental rights amendment
On November 2, voters in New York passed two constitutional amendments and rejected three. The approved measures were Proposal 2, an environmental rights amendment, and Proposal 5, a judicial measure. Voters rejected Proposal 1 concerning redistricting processes and Proposal 3 and Proposal 4, which would have allowed for same-day voter registration and no-excuse absentee voting.…
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Texas voters to decide on an increase to the homestead exemption from school district property taxes in May 2022
On Oct. 18, the Texas State Legislature voted to refer to the ballot a constitutional amendment that would increase the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $25,000 to $40,000. Voters will decide the measure on the May 2022 ballot. It would take effect for the 2022 tax year. The Legislative Budget Board estimated…
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Juneau voters approve sales tax renewal measure
Voters in Juneau approved a measure on October 5 that renewed for five years (until June 30, 2027) the city’s 3% sales tax set to expire on July 1, 2022. The measure continued the existing total sales tax rate of 5%. The measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the Juneau Assembly.…
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Voters in Juneau, Alaska, decide Tuesday whether to renew a 3% sales tax
On Oct. 5, voters in Juneau, Alaska, will decide a ballot measure—Proposition 1—to renew the city’s 3% temporary sales tax for five years. If voters don’t approve Proposition 1 the tax would expire on July 1, 2022. If voters approve Proposition 1, the city’s total sales tax rate would remain at 5%: this 3% temporary…