Voters in seven states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Washington — have decided on 10 ballot measures related to affirmative action policies. Of these 10 ballot measures, voters decided against certain affirmative action policies eight times, either enacting prohibitions or defeating measures that would have expanded the use of affirmative action. Twice…
Twenty-nine (29) legislative referrals were certified for statewide ballots in 2023 as of Jun. 15. Of that total, six received unanimous support from both parties; six received unanimous support from only Republicans; and 10 received unanimous support from only Democrats, which is higher than 2021 (4) and 2019 (5). One measure in New York—where legislative…
Voters in Augusta, Maine will decide on Question 1 on June 13, 2023, which would approve the school budget of $36.25 million for K-12 education for the 2023-2024 school year. In Maine, school districts are required to have elections to approve a budget or to issue new bonding and or bond taxes. If a budget…
Smart & Safe Florida, a campaign supporting a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in Florida, has collected 967,528 valid signatures, exceeding the 891,523 valid signatures needed to be placed on the ballot in 2024. State officials confirmed on June 1, 2023, that the campaign had submitted enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot and…
Texas voters will decide on 13 constitutional amendments this November—the most since 2007 when voters decided on 17 measures on two election dates. The average number of measures appearing on Texas odd-numbered-year ballots was 14 between 1985 and 2021. The year with the highest number of measures was 1987 with 25 on one election date.…
On May 25, the Texas Legislature took the final vote to send a constitutional amendment to the ballot that would authorize the legislature to provide for cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for certain annuitants, who meet criteria provided by law, of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. The amendment also authorizes the legislature to allocate money from…
A constitutional amendment regarding indebtedness for the construction of sewage facilities will appear on the ballot for New York voters on Nov. 7, 2023. The amendment was referred to the ballot by the New York Legislature. In New York, for the state Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, a simple majority vote…
An amendment to remove the constitutional status of the Board of Regents in Nevada, an elected executive agency responsible for managing the state’s system of higher education, will appear on the ballot in 2024 for Nevada voters. In Nevada, placing an amendment on the ballot requires a majority vote in two consecutive sessions of the…
Voters in Minnesota will be asked to keep providing revenue from state-operated lotteries to the Environment and Natural Resources Fund through 2050. The dedicated revenue source is set to expire at the end of 2024. The constitutional amendment will appear on the ballot at the general election on Nov. 5, 2024. It’s the first measure…
Advance Colorado and Englewood City Council member Steven Ward filed a lawsuit on May 15, 2023, in Denver County District Court, challenging the property tax measure recently placed on Colorado’s Nov. 2023 ballot. The lawsuit alleges that the measure violates the state’s single-subject rule, which requires ballot measures to concern a single subject, and alleges…