TagDaily Brew

Welcome to the Friday, June 9, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1.  Eight states have withdrawn from the Electronic Registration Information Center since 2022; Texas is poised to become the ninth
2. Burgum, Christie, and Pence announce presidential campaigns 
3. #FridayTrivia: In the 14 states and D.C. where marijuana legalization was on the ballot and passed, what was the average yes vote?

Eight states have withdrawn from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) since 2022; Texas is poised to become the ninth 

On May 29, Texas lawmakers sent Senate Bill 1070 (SB 1070) to Gov. Greg Abbot (R), positioning the state to become the eighth to withdraw from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) this year, and the ninth since 2022. 

In case you have not been following the story, let’s dive into the background. 

A group of chief election officials in Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, Utah, Virginia, and Washington established ERIC in 2012 with financial assistance from the Pew Charitable Trusts. A multi-state voter list maintenance nonprofit, ERIC says its mission is “to help states improve the accuracy of America’s voter rolls, increase access to voter registration for all eligible citizens, reduce election costs, and increase efficiencies in elections.” Because states run elections, there is no national list of voters. States that join ERIC agree to share their voter registration and licensing and identification data from motor vehicle departments every 60 days. ERIC compiles this data and issues a series of voter list maintenance reports. The organization also requires member states to contact eligible voters with voting registration information. 

At its height, 33 states were participating members in ERIC. The country’s four most populous states broke in different directions when it came to joining the organization—California and New York never joined While Florida and Texas did (the California Assembly is currently considering Assembly Bill 1206, which would require the secretary of state to apply for membership in ERIC).  

On July 13, 2022, Louisiana became the first state to officially resign its membership in ERIC, after previously suspending its participation in January. 

Since then, the following seven states have also withdrawn:

• Alabama
• Florida
• Iowa 
• Ohio
• Missouri
• Virginia
• West Virginia

With the exception of Louisiana, which has a Democratic governor, every state that has withdrawn from ERIC has a Republican governor. 

Critics of ERIC include officials like Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), who once defended the organization but now say it needs to enact reforms related to governance, data security, and member state requirements. LaRose said ERIC’s bylaws should be changed to no longer allow two non-voting members who are not government employees on the board of directors: “ERIC’s membership should only consist of member states, who answer to the voters and taxpayers they represent.” Objecting to a requirement that members regularly contact eligible but unregistered voters, LaRose also said members should be able to decide for themselves how best to use ERIC’s data. 

Ohio’s withdrawal from ERIC is effective June 16.   

Susan Beals, Virginia’s commissioner of elections, said that although Virginia was a founding member of the organization, “ERIC’s mandate has expanded beyond that of its initial intent—to improve the accuracy of voter rolls. We will pursue other information arrangements with our neighboring states and look to other opportunities to partner with states in an apolitical fashion.”

Not all Republican secretaries of state have opposed ERIC, however. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), for example, said, “states that prioritize best practices and actual election integrity over politics are going to stay in ERIC and have clearer and more accurate voter rolls than those that choose to leave.” 

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) said, “This entire controversy is fueled by easily debunked misinformation and a newfound desire by some member states wanting to opt out of sending eligible citizens information on how to register to vote.”

In an open letter responding to criticisms, ERIC Executive Director Shane Hamlin said, “We analyze voter registration and motor vehicle department data, provided by our members through secure channels, along with official federal death data and change of address data, in order to provide our members with various reports. They use these reports to update their voter rolls, remove ineligible voters, investigate potential illegal voting, or provide voter registration information to individuals who may be eligible to vote.”

The Texas Republican Party, which supported the state’s withdrawal from ERIC, said, “The ERIC membership agreement collects an extensive amount of personally identifiable information and data related to elections going far beyond the requirements of our Interstate Crosscheck Program.” State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R), who cosponsored the bill, said, “Now, there is no evidence that ERIC is doing anything to Texas voter rolls. But we do know that the people running ERIC do not share our worldview.” State Rep. Chris Turner (D) said: “I don’t understand why we have this bill before us, particularly when we know the data shows that ERIC has helped Texas identify duplicate registrations, and that’s exactly what we should be trying to do.”

Texas isn’t the first state in which the legislature has passed a bill that would affect membership in ERIC. On May 15, the Arizona Legislature sent Senate Bill 1135 (SB 1135) to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), which Hobbs vetoed on May 26. The bill included provisions that would have effectively withdrawn Arizona from ERIC.

In the eight states that have withdrawn from ERIC so far, the chief election official made the decision without legislative input. 

So far this year, we’ve tracked 122 bills related to voter list maintenance. That figure is slightly less than the 159 introduced and tracked in 2022. Of those 122 bills, 10 have been enacted and two have been vetoed (including Arizona’s SB 1135). Click here to use our Legislation Tracker to follow bills in your state. 

Click below to learn more about ERIC.
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Burgum, Christie, and Pence announce their presidential campaigns 

Let’s check in on the race to the White House, which is becoming ever more packed with candidates. Over the last week, three new noteworthy candidates announced 2024 presidential campaigns. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) officially announced his candidacy on June 6, while former Vice President Mike Pence (R) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) officially announced their candidacies on June 7.

There are now three noteworthy Democrats and 11 noteworthy Republicans running for president. Below is a summary of each candidate’s campaign activity from May 31 to June 7.

• Joe Biden (D) commented on his signing of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 on June 4. The Democratic National Committee and Building Back Together, a group supporting Biden, released ads highlighting his handling of the negotiations.
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (D) participated alongside Elon Musk and other guests in a live-streamed conversation on Twitter on June 5. Kennedy also campaigned in New Hampshire on June 1, where he spoke before the New Hampshire Senate, and visited Yuma, Arizona, on June 7.  
• Marianne Williamson (D) wrote an op-ed for Newsweek titled “Debate Us, Mr. President,” on May 31. 
• Doug Burgum (R) announced his presidential campaign on June 7 at an event in Fargo, North Dakota. 
• Chris Christie (R) announced his presidential campaign on June 6 at an event at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Goffstown, New Hampshire.
• Ron DeSantis (R) campaigned in South Carolina on June 2 and visited Sierra Vista, Arizona, on June 7.  Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt endorsed DeSantis on June 6.
• Nikki Haley (R) participated in a CNN Town Hall on June 4. At the event, Haley commented on issues including the war in Ukraine, Medicare, and social security. Haley also spoke at the Connecticut Republican Party’s Prescott Bush Awards Dinner in Stamford, Connecticut, on May 31. 
• Asa Hutchinson (R) participated in a televised WMUR town hall on May 31, and campaigned in Indianola, Iowa, on June 2. 
• Mike Pence (R) announced his candidacy on June 7 at an event in Ankeny, Iowa. 
• Vivek Ramaswamy (R) campaigned in New Hampshire on June 1 and 2, and attended an event in Garrett County, Maryland, on June 5. On June 4, Ramaswamy commented on the war on Ukraine during an interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz. 
• Tim Scott (R) wrote an op-ed for Fox News titled “America is a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression,” published on June 1. On June 2, Scott campaigned in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and on June 7, he released a new ad set to air in Iowa. Also, on May 31, Scott said he would vote against the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. 
• Donald Trump (R) released a policy memo on drug policy on June 1. That same day, he campaigned in Urbandale, Des Moines, and Grimes, Iowa, and participated in a televised Fox News town hall. On June 6, Trump released an ad criticizing Biden and Democratic members of Congress, among other government officials. On June 7, Politico reported that 50 members of the West Virginia Legislature signed a letter endorsing Trump.

In addition to the events above, DeSantis, Larry Elder (R), Haley, Hutchinson, Pence, Ramaswamy, and Scott attended a Roast and Ride event organized by Sen. Joni Ernst (R) in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 3.  

At this point in the 2020 cycle, 26 noteworthy candidates were running for president—24 Democrats and two Republicans. In the 2016 election, 14 noteworthy candidates had announced their campaigns as of June 7.

Learn more about the 2024 presidential race at the link below. 

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#FridayTrivia: In the 14 states and D.C. where marijuana legalization was on the ballot and passed, what was the average yes vote?

In the Wednesday Brew, we brought you a story about how voters in Florida could vote on legalizing marijuana in 2024—but only if the measure gets through a state supreme court review. 

Currently, 23 states and Washington D.C. have legalized the possession and personal use of marijuana for recreational purposes. This includes 16 states with Democratic trifectas, two with Republican trifectas, and five with divided governments. In 14 of those states and D.C., voters decided legalization measures at the ballot box.

What was the average yes vote in those 14 states and D.C.?

1. 51%
2. 67%
3. 58%
4. 71%

Welcome to the Thursday, June 8, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Tuesday’s election results roundup: One incumbent loses in New Jersey, and Denver gets a new mayor
2. On this date in 1976: Ohio voters approved the Ohio Joint Election of Governor and Lieutenant Governor Amendment
3. A roundtable of Ballotpedia reporters discuss highlights from this year’s state legislative sessions in the latest episode of On the Ballot

Tuesday’s election results roundup: One incumbent loses in New Jersey, and Denver gets a new mayor 

New Jersey held municipal and statewide legislative primaries on Tuesday, while Denver, Colorado, held a runoff election for mayor. Let’s dive into the key results:

One incumbent defeated in New Jersey’s state legislative primaries

Seventeen incumbents faced contested primaries on Tuesday, and all but one advanced to the general election. 

Democratic Sen. Nia Gill lost her primary, representing 1.1% of the 93 incumbents running for re-election. Overall, 76 incumbents, or 82% of the total running for re-election, didn’t face primary challengers and were guaranteed to advance to the general election. 

It is uncommon for New Jersey legislative incumbents to lose in primaries. 

From 2011 to 2017, no incumbents lost in primaries. In 2019, one Republican incumbent lost. A decade-high three incumbents lost primaries in 2021. 

Gill’s defeat comes in the state’s only incumbent v. incumbent primary, where she faced fellow incumbent Richard Codey (D). The two ended up in the same district following redistricting, guaranteeing at least one would lose.

Both incumbents were long-standing members of the Senate. Gill assumed office in 2002 and Codey in 1982. Codey is running unopposed in the November general election.

Click here to learn more about state legislative incumbents defeated so far in 2023. 

New Jersey is one of four states holding state legislative primaries in 2023, and the first to do so this year. 

The next state legislative primary date is June 20 in Virginia, where 17 incumbents are running in contested primaries, including two incumbent v. incumbent primaries.

Mississippi will hold its state legislative primaries on Aug. 8, followed by Louisiana on Oct. 14.

HDCO-endorsed incumbents advance in Hudson County

In Hudson county, a slate of candidates who received endorsements from the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) defeated a slate who received endorsements from the Progressive Democrats of Hudson County (PDHC) in the six contested Democratic primaries for the board of commissioners.

Five of the Democratic primaries had an incumbent, and one was for an open position. The HCDO endorsed all five contested incumbents as well as Robert Baselice in the open race. None of the six PDHC endorsees were incumbents, including Stephanie Martinez running in the open race.

The HDCO is the county-level affiliate of the state Democratic Party, and the PDHC is the county-level affiliate of the Progressive Democrats of New Jersey. 

No district had contested Republican primaries.

Additionally, HDCO-endorsed candidate Craig Guy defeated PDHC-endorsed Eleana Little in the Democratic primary for county executive. Guy is running unopposed in the November general election. Incumbent Thomas Degise (D), in office since 2002, did not seek re-election. 

Elsewhere in New Jersey, Essex County held primaries for county surrogate and its board of commissioners. Click here to view those results. 

Johnston defeats Brough in Denver’s mayoral runoff

In Colorado, former State Sen. Mike Johnston (D) defeated former Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Kelly Brough in the runoff election for Denver mayor. As of this writing, Johnston had 56% to Brough’s 45%. 

Johnston and Brough advanced from a field of 22 candidates in the April 4 general election. Incumbent Michael Hancock (D), first elected in 2011, was term-limited. This was Denver’s fifth open mayoral election since 1959.

Ahead of the general election, Denverite’s Kyle Harris wrote that Brough and Johnston were “centrist candidates … [who] cleaved toward the middle, offering an optimistic vision while gently pushing for using policing in their homelessness solutions.” 

Both candidates highlighted public safety, homelessness, and housing affordability as key issues in this race.

Johnston’s endorsers included U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D), former Mayor Federico Peña, and a number of local unions. Brough’s endorsers included Gov. Bill Ritter (D), the Denver Police Protective Association, and the Denver Republican Party.

While the election was officially nonpartisan, Brough and Johnston are both Democrats.

We previewed this race in our May 30 edition. Click here to read more. 

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On this date in 1976: Ohio voters approved the Ohio Joint Election of Governor and Lieutenant Governor Amendment

Earlier this week, we told you about a historical ballot measure of note—Prop 13 on June 6. Today let’s explore another measure in our database, this time from Ohio. 

Forty-seven years ago today, Ohio voters approved the Ohio Joint Election of Governor and Lieutenant Governor Amendment, a constitutional amendment providing that the lieutenant governor and governor run as a joint ticket in general elections.

The amendment also removed the lieutenant governor’s duty to preside over the state Senate and gave the General Assembly the power to determine the method for nominating the lieutenant governor and governor. 

Before the amendment’s implementation, Ohio’s governors and lieutenant governors were elected separately, which could result in officeholders from different parties. This happened 10 times in the 20th century, including in 1970, when Democrat John J. Gilligan was elected governor, and Republican John W. Brown was elected lieutenant governor.

In 1971, the Constitutional Revision Commission, a body created to suggest revisions to the state constitution, recommended “the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor be elected as a team, and that the General Assembly provide by law for the joint nomination of candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.” The commission stated the change would “strengthen the executive role of the Lieutenant Governor and, by requiring political harmony between the two offices, insure continuity of public policy in the event of an abrupt transition of government.”

Gilligan and Brown both testified in favor of the change. Addressing the commission, Gilligan said:

“[…] It is the constitutional responsibility of the Lt. Governor to assume the duties of the Governor if the latter dies or becomes disabled. A close working relationship between the Governor and Lt. Governor will substantially ease the problems of the gubernatorial transition. I am certain that a Lt. Governor of the Governor’s own party will play a major role in much of the discussion and decision making process in the Governor’s office and will, therefore, be better equipped in an emergency to take over the duties of the State’s Chief Executive.”

Following the commission’s recommendation, the Ohio General Assembly referred the amendment to the ballot. Voters approved the measure 61% to 39% on June 8, 1976. 

The amendment’s approval didn’t take place in time to prevent the same situation from happening one last time, though. In the 1974 general election, two years before the amendment’s approval, both Gilligan and Brown lost to challengers from the opposing parties: Gilligan to Republican James Rhodes and Brown to Democrat Richard Celeste.

Today, Ohio is one of 26 states in which the lieutenant governor is selected on a ticket with the governor. 

In 18 of these states, including Ohio, gubernatorial candidates may pick their own running mates in a similar fashion to presidential candidates. In the remaining eight states, there are separate primaries for governor and lieutenant governor, with the winning candidate in each primary appearing on the general election ticket.

The lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor in 17 states. In Tennessee and West Virginia, the title of lieutenant governor is given to the president of the state Senate.

Arizona was the last state to approve a measure to make the governor and lieutenant governor appear on a joint ticket. On Nov. 8, 2022, voters approved Proposition 131 55% to 45%. The measure created the position of lieutenant governor and provided that it should be elected on a joint ticket with the governor, beginning in 2026. Currently, Arizona is one of five states—alongside Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Wyoming—where the position of lieutenant governor doesn’t exist. 

As of June 7, Louisiana, North Carolina and Vermont are the only states where the lieutenant governor and the governor are from different parties. Louisiana and North Carolina both have Democratic governors and Republican lieutenant governors, while Vermont has a Republican governor and a Democratic lieutenant governor. 

Keep reading 

A roundtable of Ballotpedia reporters discuss highlights from this year’s state legislative sessions in the latest episode of On the Ballot

On the Ballot, our weekly podcast, takes a closer look at the week’s top political stories.

In this week’s episode, host Victoria Rose and a roundtable of Ballotpedia’s reporters discuss highlights and trends from this year’s state legislative sessions as they begin to wind down. Among the topics they discuss is the increase in election-related legislative activity this year. States have enacted 175 election-related bills so far in 2023, compared to 156 at this point in 2022. Republicans sponsored more of the bills enacted this year than last, while the number of Democrat-sponsored bills has remained nearly the same.

Interested? Tune in! Episodes of On the Ballot come out Thursday afternoons, so if you’re reading this on the morning of June 8, you’ve still got time to subscribe to On the Ballot on your favorite podcast app before this week’s episode comes out!

Don’t miss out on the latest content! Click below to listen to older episodes and find links to where you can subscribe.
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Welcome to the Tuesday, June 6, Brew. 

By: Samuel Wonacott and Douglas Kronaizl

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Previewing Virginia’s June 20 primaries
2. On this date in 1978: California voters approved Proposition 13 limiting property taxes
3. 62 candidates filed for federal and statewide offices last week

Previewing Virginia’s June 20 primaries

Today is primary day in New Jersey. In case you missed our preview, get caught up here. Now, let’s look ahead to Virginia’s June 20 primaries.

The Virginia General Assembly is holding a decade-high number of state legislative primaries on June 20.

In total, there are 47 contested primaries—31 for Democrats and 16 for Republicans—up 88% from 2021 and up 34% from 2019, the last time both the Senate and House held elections. Unlike in other states, in Virginia, local party organizations can decide whether to hold primary elections or some other method, like conventions, for selecting general election candidates. Fifty-five district Republican parties—42 in the house and 13 in the Senate—scheduled conventions to select candidates. 

These totals include 17 incumbents facing contested primaries—12 Democrats and five Republicans—representing 18% of all incumbents running for re-election.

Most of the incumbents facing challengers are in the Senate, making up more than one-third of those running for re-election. The six incumbents facing challengers in the House represent 9% of those running for re-election.

Based on media coverage and other competitiveness metrics, Ballotpedia identified 14 battleground primaries—eight in the Senate and six in the House.

Here’s a preview of some of the races we are watching closely.

Senate District 12

Incumbent Amanda Chase, nonprofit founder Tina Ramirez, and former state Sen. Glenn Sturtevant are running in the Republican primary.

Chase assumed office in 2016. The chamber censured her in 2021 following comments she made supporting events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The Washington Post’s Laura Vozzella wrote, “Chase’s challengers … are trying to convince voters in a newly drawn suburban district south of Richmond that they’d cut the same staunchly conservative figure in the Capitol as the incumbent — without the drama.”

Elections Daily’s Joe Szymanski said the presence of two challengers, rather than one, could affect the primary’s outcome, writing, “[I]t’s nowhere near a certainty that [Chase] loses and with multiple opponents, in only increases the chances she survives.”

House District 55

Amy Laufer and Kellen Squire are running in the Democratic primary for this open district.

Laufer, a former teacher, served on the Charlottesville City School Board from 2011 to 2019 and is a former Chair of the Albemarle County Democrats.

Squire is an emergency room nurse and C.E.O. of a nature advocacy organization.

Szymanski described this race as “a primary that could end up being the closest of them all” and said, “Squire has taken the more progressive wing here- hyping his large base of small donors, one of the largest in Virginia.”

Szymanski said “Laufer is still progressive, albeit slightly less so than Squire, and has key institutional support,” pointing to endorsements from state Sens. Scott Surovell (D) and Louise Lucas (D).

Incumbent v. incumbent primaries

Our list of battleground primaries also includes the General Assembly’s two incumbent v. incumbent primaries. This is Virginia’s first election following redistricting. Under new lines, multiple incumbents might end up living in the same district and running against each other for re-election.

In the Senate, there is an incumbent v. incumbent primary in District 18 between Sens. Louise Lucas (D) and Lionell Spruill (D). Lucas assumed office in 1992 and is the chamber’s current President Pro Tempore. Spruill assumed office in the Senate in 2016 after having served in the House since 1994.

In the House, District 47 has an incumbent v. incumbent primary between Dels. Marie March (R) and Wren Williams (R), both of whom assumed office in 2022.

Virginia is one of 11 states with a divided government. Democrats have a 22-18 majority in the Senate, while Republicans control the governorship—which is not up for election until 2025—and have a 50-46 majority in the House.

While the primaries are first on the calendar, control of both chambers will likely come down to just a handful of races in November.

CNalysis rates both chambers as Lean Democratic. In the 40-member Senate, the outlet rates two districts as Toss-Ups, with the other 38 favoring one party or the other. The outlet has four Toss-Up districts in the 100-member House.

Keep reading 

On this date in 1978: California voters approved Proposition 13 limiting property taxes

Today, June 6, marks the 45th anniversary of the passage of Proposition 13 in California. 

This initiated constitutional amendment limited property tax to no more than 1% of a property’s assessed value in 1976 and limited annual increases for the inflation rate or 2%, whichever is less.

The Hoover Institution’s Steven Hayward wrote, “The widespread public backlash against high taxes that began in California,” with the passage of Prop. 13, “contributed to Ronald Reagan’s election to the White House in 1980 … and pushed taxes to the top tier of national political issues.” In 2014, then-Gov. Jerry Brown (D), running for re-election, said he would not seek to change the law: “Prop. 13 is a sacred doctrine that should never be questioned. That doesn’t mean that we can’t look at our tax code in various ways.”

Voters approved the measure 65%-35%.

In addition to its property tax limitations, Prop. 13:

• Prohibited the Legislature from enacting new taxes on the value or sale of properties;
• Required local governments to refer special taxes to the ballot where they need a two-thirds majority to pass; and,
• Require a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to increase non-property taxes.

Prop. 13 has also had a lasting effect on Californians’ ballots. Since its passage, voters have decided 34 statewide measures to change rules, requirements, and rates tied to Prop. 13, approving 24 and rejecting 10.

Most recently, in 2020, voters weighed in on Props. 15 and 19:

• Prop. 15 would have required that most commercial and industrial properties be taxed based on their market value rather than purchase price. Voters defeated this measure 52 to 48%.
• Prop. 19 changed rules regarding the transference of tax assessments when moving or inheriting property and directed additional revenue or savings to counties and wildfire agencies. Voters approved this measure 51% to 49%.

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62 candidates filed for federal and statewide offices last week

Last week, 62 candidates filed to run for congressional and state offices—including for elections in 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026. That’s the same number of candidates who declared for congressional and state offices two weeks ago.

This year, we’ve tracked 1,118 declared candidates for congressional and statewide offices. At this time in 2021, we had identified 1,372 declared candidates for 2022, 2023, and 2024 races.

Here’s a breakdown of the candidates who declared last week:

Of the partisan nature of the declared candidates: 

• 36 are Democrats.
• 20 are Republicans.
• 4 are running as Libertarians. 
• Two independents. 

Of the offices tracked:

• 50 candidates filed for Congress.
• 10 candidates filed for state legislature. 
• 2 candidates filed for governorships.

Between March 6 and May 17, we tracked an average of 26 candidates who filed for congressional or state elections. Between April 17 and May 29, that average increased to 45 candidates.

We cover elections for tens of thousands of offices across the country, and part of that work includes keeping tabs on the candidates who file to run for those offices. We’ll periodically update you on how many candidates are signing up to run for state and congressional offices. We process both official and declared candidates.

Click here to read more about our definition of candidacy. Click the link below to see a list of all declared candidates for federal elections in 2024. 

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Welcome to the Monday, June 5, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. A preview of tomorrow’s New Jersey statewide primaries
2. Biden issued two executive orders in May on sanctions and coronavirus vaccine requirements
3. States continue to enact more election-related legislation this year than in 2022

A preview of tomorrow’s New Jersey statewide primaries

Tomorrow is Tuesday, and that means it’s Election Day somewhere. This week, that somewhere is New Jersey.

The Garden State is holding municipal and state legislative primaries tomorrow. The state is one of four, along with Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia, holding state legislative elections this year. Tomorrow’s primary is the first state legislative primary date of the 2023 election cycle.

Here’s what you need to know. 

State legislative districts

The 28 open seats this year are the most in a decade, with eight open in the Senate and 20 in the General Assembly. There were 12 open seats in 2021 and 13 in 2017, when the entire Legislature was up for election.

All 120 seats in the state legislature are up for election this year: 40 in the Senate and 80 in the General Assembly. 

This is New Jersey’s first election under new state legislative maps following the 2020 redistricting, The number of open seats tends to rise following redistricting. 

Some incumbents may opt against running for re-election because the partisan makeup has changed. Others may not run because they now live in a district with another incumbent.

This year, 27 incumbents are retiring, 20 in the General Assembly and seven in the Senate.

Seventeen incumbents face contested primaries this year. There were 10 such primaries in 2021 and 25 in 2019.

Overall, 21 primaries—12 Democratic and nine Republican—are contested. That’s the most since 2017, when 25 primaries were contested. 

Three incumbents are running in new districts this year: 

• In the Senate, Sen. Nia Gill (D) is leaving her District 34 seat open to run in District 27. Gill will face the district’s incumbent, Sen. Richard Codey (D), in a Democratic primary.

• In the General Assembly, Assms. Brian Bergen (R) and Christian Barranco (R) are switching districts. Bergen is moving from District 25 to District 26, and vice versa for Barranco.

Democrats currently have a 45-34 majority in the General Assembly, with one vacancy, and a 25-15 majority in the Senate. Governor Phil Murphy is a Democrat, making the state a Democratic trifecta.

New Jersey Assembly members serve two-year terms, with all seats up for election every two years. New Jersey Senators serve four-year terms, except in the first term of a new decade (like the current one), which only lasts for two years.

New Jersey’s General Assembly and Senate are two of eight state legislative chambers up for election this year. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.

Municipal elections

Essex and Hudson counties—where Newark and Jersey City, respectively, are located—are holding primaries for their board of commissioners. All nine board seats are up for election in each county. 

Essex County is also holding primaries for county surrogate—a probate judge with jurisdiction over the handling of wills and other estate matters. Incumbent Alturrick Kenney, in office since 2019, is the only candidate running in the Democratic primary. Peter Russo is the only candidate running in the Republican race. 

The office of county executive is also on the ballot in Hudson County. Eleana Little and Craig Guy are running in the Democratic primary. There are no candidates on the ballot in the Republican primary. Incumbent Thomas Degise (D), in office since 2002, is not running for re-election. 

What else should I know?

New Jersey conducts semi-closed primaries, meaning a voter generally must be registered as a party member in order to participate in that party’s primary. An unaffiliated voter can participate in a party’s primary if they affiliate with a party on the day of the election. Otherwise, voters must indicate their party preference (e.g., via an updated voter registration) no later than the 55th day preceding the primary.

Winners in New Jersey primaries are determined via plurality vote, meaning that the candidate with the most votes wins even if they did not win more than 50 percent of votes cast. There are no runoffs.

The general election for all the seats up for election tomorrow is Nov. 7. 

Keep reading 

Biden issued two executive orders in May on sanctions and coronavirus vaccine requirements

President Joe Biden (D) issued two executive orders in May, bringing his total to 115. That’s more than the number of executive orders the three previous presidents had issued at this point in time. President Donald Trump (R) had issued 109 executive orders at this point, President Barack Obama (D) had issued 86, and President George W. Bush (R) had issued 110. 

The two orders he issued last month were:

1. Executive Order on Moving Beyond COVID-⁠19 Vaccination Requirements for Federal Workers (May 9, 2023)
2. Executive Order on Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition (May 4, 2023)

Biden issued 25 executive orders in January 2021, more than any other month of his presidency. He did not issue any executive orders in November 2022 and January 2023.

Biden is averaging 48 executive orders per year, tied with Ronald Reagan (R) for the second-most among presidents since 1981. Donald Trump (R) averaged 55 executive orders per year, the most in that time. Barack Obama (D) averaged 35 per year, the fewest in that time. Presidents over the last 40 years have issued an average of 40 executive orders per year.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) issued an average of 307 executive orders per year, the most of all U.S. presidents. William Henry Harrison (Whig) averaged the fewest, issuing none during his one month in office. Three presidents issued only one executive order each: James Madison (Democratic-Republican), James Monroe (Democratic-Republican), and John Adams (Federalist).

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States continue to enact more election-related legislation this year than in 2022

As of June 1, legislators across the country have enacted 174 election-related bills this year, 32 more than the 142 bills states had enacted at this point in 2022.

Tennessee has enacted the most bills this year (17). In 2022, New York and California had enacted the most bills at this point. 

Of this year’s 174 enacted bills, Republicans sponsored 106, or 63%, up from 54% of the total enacted at this point last year. Democrats sponsored 16%, down from 18% in 2022. Bills with bipartisan sponsorship make up 12% of the total enacted, down from 18% last year. Those with unclear partisan sponsorship are up to 10% from 9% in 2022. To see all bills approved this year, click here. 

This past week, state legislators enacted five new election-related bills, including:

• House Bill 05004, in Connecticut, which implements early voting in the state. 
• Senate Bill 2258, in Texas, which authorizes certain cities to change the date on which their general election for officers is held.
• House Bill 0508, in Vermont, which establishes that the City of Burlington will use ranked choice voting to elect the offices of mayor, city council, school commissioner, and ward election officer.

In addition to these five newly-enacted bills, 47 other bills passed one chamber this week, moving on to the next. No bills passed both chambers of a state legislature this week. 

You can view a full list of enacted bills this year here.

To stay up-to-date with the latest news in election-related legislation, subscribe to The Ballot Bulletin, our weekly newsletter—dropping every Friday afternoon—that delivers the latest updates on election policy. Every week, we track legislative activity, big-picture trends, recent news, and in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker.

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Welcome to the Friday, June 2, Brew. 

By: Samuel Wonacott and Juan Garcia de Paredes 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. An update on this year’s ballot measure certifications  
2. State supreme courts issued 89 opinions from May 22-28  
3. #FridayTrivia: How many states have laws allowing for charter schools?

An update on this year’s ballot measure certifications  

Now that we’ve entered June, let’s see where ballot measure certifications stand right now. 

Thus far, 26 statewide measures have been certified for the ballot in eight states. That’s 11 more than the average number—15—certified at this point in odd-numbered years from 2011 to 2021. 

The last time we looked at this year’s certified measures, on May 19, 13 had been cleared for the ballot. We often see a jump in certifications around this time of the year because, in many states, legislative sessions are ending, and lawmakers often wait until the end of the session to pass legislation.  

Here’s an update on the latest ballot measure activity.

Seven new measures were certified for the 2023 ballot last week:

1. Louisiana Constitutional Right to Worship in a Church or Place of Worship Amendment
2. Louisiana Prohibit Property Tax Exemptions for Nonprofits Owning Damaged Residential Property Amendment
3. Texas Broadband Infrastructure Fund Amendment
4. Texas Changes to Teacher Retirement System Amendment
5. Texas Energy Fund Amendment
6. Texas University Fund and Appropriations Limit Exemption Amendment
7. Texas Water Fund Amendment

Signatures have been submitted and are pending verification for one initiative in Michigan:

1. Michigan $15 Minimum Wage Initiative (2024)

Signatures were verified for three indirect initiatives in Maine, and the initiatives are now before legislators:

1. Maine Prohibit Foreign Spending in Elections Initiative
2. Maine Voter Approval of Borrowing Above $1 Billion by State Entities and Electric Cooperatives Initiative
3. Maine “Right to Repair Law” Vehicle Data Access Requirement Initiative

The first two Maine measures above are related to another measure certified for the ballot this year in the Pine Tree State—the Maine Creation of Pine Tree Power Company Initiative. The story of that initiative spans from Canada to Maine to Spain and includes power lines, consumer-owned utility companies, and fierce disagreement over a cross-border electricity transmission project. Click here to read more. 

In Ohio, one initiative to legalize marijuana was certified to the Legislature, which had four months to act on the proposal. Because the Legislature took no action, a second 90-day signature-gathering period began on May 3.

For 2024, 38 statewide measures have been certified in 20 states. That’s six more measures than the average number certified at this point from 2010 to 2022.

Two new measures were certified for the 2024 ballot last week:

1. Connecticut No-Excuse Absentee Voting Amendment
2. Nevada Revising Language Related to Public Entities for Individuals with Mental Illness, Blindness, or Deafness Amendment

Learn more about 2023 and 2024 ballot measures at the link below. 

Keep reading

State supreme courts issued 89 opinions from May 22-28  

We’re at that time of the year when the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) releases its most consequential rulings, inevitably drowning out news from the country’s lower courts (bookmark this page to stay up to date on those decisions as they’re released through June). That said, we like to keep a close eye on rulings from the country’s 52 state courts of last resort, otherwise known as state supreme courts (yes, 52 – Oklahoma and Texas each have two different courts of last resort). 

Here’s a look at recent state supreme court rulings. 

State supreme courts issued 89 opinions from May 22-28. The Delaware Supreme Court led the field with nine opinions issued, followed by Massachusetts, Montana, and New York, with six each. Last week’s 89 opinions account for 3% of the year-to-date total of 2,754. The West Virginia Supreme Court leads with 201 opinions issued since Jan. 1, followed by Pennsylvania with 194 and Delaware with 168.

State supreme courts have been issuing an average of 131 opinions per week so far this year. This figure is less than the 2022 weekly average of 143. It’s also less than the average of 160 opinions issued per week in 2021.

Supreme courts in 16 states have issued fewer than 25 opinions since the start of the year.

Some of the state supreme court opinions issued this year include those in:

1. Tennessee, where the court held that “a defendant healthcare provider cannot be compelled to provide expert opinion testimony about a co-defendant healthcare provider’s standard of care and/or deviation from that standard;”
2. New York, where the court “held that the negligence claims brought in this case involving two separate murders on property owned by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) should advance to a jury trial;” and,
3. Colorado, where the court affirmed that “when a defendant presents psychiatric evidence supporting their insanity defense, they can open the door to the admission of psychiatric evidence rebutting that defense, even if the evidence includes the defendant’s voluntary but non-Miranda-compliant statements. Additionally, the Court held that § 16-8-103.6(2)(a), C.R.S. (2022)’s waiver of privilege as to ‘communications made by the defendant to a physician or psychologist’ includes communications made to a physician’s or psychologist’s agents.”

Supreme courts in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Texas, and Delaware regularly end the year as some of the country’s most active courts. Collectively, they accounted for 26% of all opinions issued in 2021 and 2022, and, to date, 28% in 2023.

Supreme courts do not hear trials of cases. Instead, they hear appeals of decisions made in lower courts. The number of justices on each state supreme court ranges between five and nine.

In 2020, we conducted a study identifying the partisan balance on every state supreme court. You can find that research here. We also identified which justices ruled together most often in our Determiners and Dissenters report found here.

Learn more about state supreme court rulings at the link below. 

Keep reading 

#FridayTrivia: How many states have laws allowing for charter schools?

In the May 30 Brew, we looked at a recent story we featured in Hall Pass, our school board and education newsletter, about Montana becoming the latest state to allow for public charter schools. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed legislation authorizing the creation of charter schools on May 18. 

Minnesota was the first state to pass a law authorizing charter schools in 1991. Since then, such schools have expanded across the country. 

How many states now have laws allowing for the creation of charter schools?

1. 32
2. 25
3. 46
4. 39

Welcome to the Thursday, June 1, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Three special elections called so far in the 118th Congress
2. A look at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Impeachment
3. Biden issues the fourth veto of his presidency

Three special elections called so far in the 118th Congress

U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I., 1st) is expected to leave Congress today to become president of the Rhode Island Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Providence. A special election to replace Cicilline is scheduled for Nov. 7, 2023, so we thought it would be a good time to look at the special elections that have been called so far in the 118th Congress, and how they compare to the ones called in recent Congresses.

Special elections occur when a lawmaker resigns, dies, or is removed from office. State laws vary, but special elections can be held either within the same calendar year or wait until the next regularly scheduled election.

The special election to replace Cicilline is one of three scheduled so far during the 118th Congress. The other two are a special election for a U.S. Senate seat in Nebraska, scheduled for Nov. 5, 2024, and a special election for Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, which took place on Feb. 21. 

A fourth special election will be called to complete the term of Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah, 2nd) once he leaves Congress. On May 31, Stewart announced he would resign from the House due to his wife’s health, but did not give a date for his resignation. According to state law, once the vacancy occurs, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) will have seven days to call a special election. 

The special election in Nebraska is to fill the last two years of the six-year term that former Sen. Ben Sasse (R) was elected to in 2020. Sasse resigned on Jan. 8, 2023, after being appointed president of the University of Florida. On Jan. 12, 2023, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) appointed his predecessor, former Gov. Pete Ricketts (R), to fill the vacancy. Rickets is running in the November special election. 

The special election for Virginia’s 4th Congressional District was held to complete the term of Rep. Donald McEachin (D), who died in November. Jennifer McClellan (D) defeated Leon Benjamin (R) 72.2% to 27.8% in that election, and she was sworn in on March 7. 

As of May 30, the 4th District election is, so far, the only special election to occur during the 118th Congress. 

By this point in time during the 117th Congress (2021-2022), two special elections had ocurred. One special election was held at this point in time during the 116th Congress (2019-2020), and two were held at this point during the 115th (2017-2018), 114th (2015-2016), and 113th (2013-2014) Congresses.

We can expect the number of special elections called during the current Congress to increase in the following months. Sixty-seven special elections were called during the 113th through 117th Congresses, for an average of 13 special elections per Congress. 

The 117th and the 115th Congresses had the most special elections in that time, with 17 special elections each, while the 114th had the fewest, with seven. Democrats vacated 23 of the seats up for special elections during that time, while Republicans vacated 44. 

The 67 special elections resulted in nine districts switching party control. Seven districts went from Republican control to Democratic control, while two went from Democratic control to Republican control, for a net gain of five members for the Democratic Party. 

Keep reading

A look at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment

In case you missed it over the weekend, the Texas House of Representatives impeached Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). Here’s a quick summary of what happened and what comes next.

What happened? 

On May 27, the Texas House of Representatives voted 121-23 to impeach State Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

In accordance with the state constitution, Paxton was suspended from office after the impeachment vote and he will remain suspended until a trial is held in the Texas Senate. First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster (R) assumed the role of Acting Attorney General following Paxton’s suspension. 

The vote to impeach Paxton took place after the House General Investigating Committee—composed of three Republicans and two Democrats—unanimously recommended his impeachment on May 25. The Texas constitution does not list specific grounds for impeachment. That decision is left to House members. 

A simple House majority is needed to impeach a state official. Sixty Republicans and 61 Democrats voted to impeach, while 23 Republicans voted against the measure. Two members—one Republican and one Democrat—voted present, and three members were absent. 

What is the partisan breakdown of the Texas state legislature?

Republicans have an 85-64 House majority, with one vacancy, and a 19-12 majority in the Senate. Governor Greg Abbott is a Republican. 

Texas is one of 22 Republican trifectas, meaning the Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

What are the reasons for impeachment?

The House investigative committee recommended 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton, including for disregard of official duty, misapplication of public resources, and obstruction of justice.

The Texas Tribune’s Zach Despart and James Barragán wrote that, “[m]any of the articles of impeachment focused on allegations that Paxton had repeatedly abused his powers of office to help a political donor and friend, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.”

During the House vote, Rep. David Spiller (R), a member of the investigating committee, said “[Paxton] put the interest of himself above the laws of the state of Texas. … He put the interest of himself over his staff who tried to advise him on multiple occasions that he was about to violate the law.”

What did Paxton say in response? 

Following the House vote, Paxton said, “The ugly spectacle in the Texas House today confirmed the outrageous impeachment plot against me was never meant to be fair or just. It was a politically motivated sham from the beginning. … What we witnessed today is not just about me. It is about the corrupt establishment’s eagerness to overpower the millions of Texas voters who already made their voices heard when they overwhelmingly re-elected me.“

Paxton was first elected Attorney General in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018 and 2022. In the 2022 election, Paxton defeated Rochelle Garza (D) 54%-43%.

In his statement, Paxton said “[he looked] forward to a quick resolution in the Texas Senate, where [he had] full confidence the process will be fair and just.” 

What comes next?

The process now goes to the Texas Senate, where the impeachment trial will take place. The chamber adopted a resolution on May 30 setting a date for Paxton’s trial no later than August 28, 2023. 

A group of 12 House members—seven Republicans and five Democrats—will handle the prosecution.

A two-thirds vote is required to convict Paxton and remove him from office. Paxton’s wife, Angela Paxton (R), is a state senator.

What have others said?

Following the vote, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted, “What is happening to Ken Paxton is a travesty. For the last nine years, Ken has been the strongest conservative AG in the country, bar none. … Virtually all of the information in the articles was public BEFORE Election Day, and the voters chose to re-elect Ken Paxton by a large margin.” 

House Democratic Leader Trey Martinez Fischer, who voted to impeach Paxton, said, “This vote is not about a political party. It is not about Ken Paxton. It is not about any one of us. … This vote is about the people of Texas and ensuring their elected officials are held accountable when they violate the people’s trust.”

Texas Republican Party Chair Matt Rinaldi criticized the vote, saying, “The impeachment proceedings against the Attorney General are but the latest front in the Texas House’s war against Republicans to stop the conservative direction of our state.”

In a joint statement released after the vote, Republican State Reps. Jeff Leach, Matt Shaheen, Justin Holland, Candy Noble, and Frederick Frazier, said: “This was a vote we wish we didn’t have to make and a vote we did not take lightly. […] [A]fter hours of deliberation – and upon a thorough analysis of the relevant law – it became clear to us that sufficient evidence indeed exists to vote to commend articles of impeachment to the Texas Senate for full-trial.”

How often are elected officials impeached in Texas?

Not often. Paxton is the second statewide official, and the third overall, to be impeached in Texas history. In 1917, the Legislature impeached Gov. James Ferguson (D) following his indictment on nine charges including misapplication of public funds and embezzlement. Ferguson resigned a day before the Senate vote, but the body still voted for his removal. Ferguson is one of 16 state governors to be impeached in U.S. history, and one of nine to have been removed from office following impeachment. 

In 1976, the Texas Legislature impeached and removed State District Judge O.P. Carrillo for “schem[ing] to take Duval County taxpayers’ money through phony equipment rentals.” 

Keep reading

Biden issues the fourth veto of his presidency

On May 25, President Joe Biden (D) vetoed H.J. Res. 42, a resolution disapproving a policing law the D.C. council passed last year. This was the fourth veto of his presidency.

H.J.Res.42 was a joint resolution of disapproval under the terms of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, also known as the Home Rule Act. The act allows Congress to nullify D.C. laws within a certain review period. 

The D.C. law at issue was the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022. The law “[set] forth a variety of measures that focus on policing in the District, including measures prohibiting the use of certain neck restraints by law enforcement officers, requiring additional procedures related to body-worn cameras, and expanding access to police disciplinary records.”

In his veto message, Biden said, “While I do not support every provision of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, this resolution from congressional Republicans would overturn commonsense police reforms such as: banning chokeholds; setting important restrictions on use of force and deadly force; improving access to body-worn camera recordings; and requiring officer training on de-escalation and use of force. The Congress should respect the District of Columbia’s right to pass measures that improve public safety and public trust.”

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who discharged the resolution on the Senate floor, said, “Congress must exert our constitutional authority to keep our nation’s capital safe. It’s a disgrace that the capital of the most powerful nation on earth has become so dangerous, but this sad reality is exactly what we should expect when far-left activists are calling the shots.” After Biden vetoed the resolution, Vance said, “With today’s veto, President Biden rejected a bipartisan and commonsense effort to make our nation’s capital safer.”

Overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of Congress. The House of Representatives and Senate both passed the resolution by a simple majority.

The House of Representatives voted 229-189 to approve the resolution on April 19, 2023, with 14 Democrats and 215 Republicans voting in favor. The Senate voted 56-43 to approve the resolution on May 16, with six Democrats, one Independent who caucuses with Democrats, and 48 Republicans voting in favor. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) introduced the resolution on March 9.

This was the second Home Rule Act resolution related to D.C. criminal law to make it to Biden’s desk during the 118th Congress. The first was H.J.Res.26, which sought to nullify a D.C. law that would make “a variety of changes to DC criminal laws, including by providing statutory definitions for various elements of criminal offenses, modifying sentencing guidelines and penalties, and expanding the right to a jury trial for certain misdemeanor crimes.” Biden signed the resolution into law on March 20, 2023, marking the fourth time the federal government had nullified a D.C. law since the Home Rule Act was adopted in 1973.

President Ronald Reagan (R) issued the most vetoes (87) of all presidents since 1981. Biden, with four vetoes, has issued the fewest. President Donald Trump (R) issued the second-fewest vetoes (10) within this timeframe.

Presidents have issued 2,586 vetoes in American history. Congress has overridden 112. President Franklin D. Roosevelt vetoed 635 bills, the most of any president. Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Q. Adams, William H. Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, and James A. Garfield did not issue any vetoes.

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Welcome to the Wednesday, May 31, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Taking stock of 2024 presidential and statewide primary dates
2. Explore how A.I. could affect political news on the latest episode of On the Ballot, our weekly podcast
3. 17 state legislatures are still in session

Taking stock of 2024 election dates 

Although this year’s elections are in full swing (one week until New Jersey’s statewide primary), let’s take a look at what we know so far about 2024. 

As of May 26, 23 states have confirmed the dates for their 2024 presidential preference primaries through the release of an official election calendar, candidate filing instructions, or an announcement from a state political party. The remaining 27 states have not formally or officially confirmed their dates.

In some states, presidential preference primary elections are scheduled at the same time as statewide primaries for other offices. In others, states choose to schedule two separate primary elections. Of the 23 states that have confirmed presidential preference primary dates for 2024, seven—Alabama, California, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Texas—will hold their statewide primaries for other offices on the same day.

The graphic below shows all 23 confirmed presidential preference primary dates for 2024.

• South Carolina has the earliest confirmed 2024 presidential preference primary date on Feb. 3, according to the South Carolina Democratic Party. 
• New Mexico and South Dakota share the latest confirmed date—June 4. 
• Twelve other states share the most popular confirmed date, March 5, which is commonly known as Super Tuesday: Alabama, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia.

Iowa and New Hampshire held the first presidential preference contests in the nation in 2020, with the former holding its caucuses on Feb. 3 and the latter holding its primary on Feb. 11. As of this writing, neither state has confirmed the date for its 2024 presidential preference contest. On Feb. 4, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) voted to make South Carolina’s primary the first in the country, prompting the New Hampshire State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot that would direct the secretary of state to “ensure that the presidential primary election be held seven or more days immediately preceding the date on which any other state shall hold a similar election.” 

Puerto Rico held the latest presidential primary in 2020 on July 12. In 2020, Super Tuesday occurred on March 3, with 15 states holding their presidential preference primaries.

States are also scheduling their statewide primary dates, which, as we discussed above, may overlap with presidential primaries. As of May 26, 22 states have confirmed the dates for their 2024 statewide primaries through the release of either an official election calendar or candidate filing instructions. 

The graphic below shows all 22 confirmed statewide primary dates for 2024.

March 5 is the earliest and most popular confirmed 2024 statewide primary date. Alabama, California, North Carolina, and Texas have scheduled their statewide primaries on that day. Louisiana’s unique majority-vote system gives it the latest confirmed statewide primary date—Nov. 5.   

For more information on 2024 election dates, click here. 

Keep reading

Explore how A.I. could affect political news on the latest episode of On the Ballot, our weekly podcast

With the prevalence of artificial intelligence (A.I.) in the news in recent months, we wanted to explore how the rapidly evolving tools and world of A.I. will affect political news and elections.  

To help us answer that question, host Victoria Rose sat down with Joe Amditis, assistant director of products and events at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, for a wide-ranging conversation about how A.I. might affect news, misinformation, and our political media ecosystem. Along the way, Victoria and Joe discuss A.I.’s capabilities and limitations, the alternative A.I. tools that have arisen since ChatGPT became widely known last November, and Joe’s recent ebook, “Beginner’s prompt handbook: ChatGPT for local news publishers.”

This is the first in what will be a series of episodes exploring how A.I. will affect the media and politics. Subscribe today to listen to our most recent episode and stay up to date on future releases!

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17 state legislatures are still in session

Summer is quickly approaching, and state legislative sessions are winding down. Let’s check in on where lawmakers are still meeting to draft and vote on legislation and set state policy. 

As of May 30, according to the latest data from the 2023 MultiState Insider Resource, 17 state legislatures are still in session, 28 legislatures have adjourned, four legislatures are in special session, and one legislature is in recess.

Several legislative sessions will end within the next 30 days.

• Connecticut’s legislative session is scheduled to end on June 7. 
• Louisiana’s and New York’s are scheduled to end on June 8. 
• Nebraska’s is scheduled to end on June 9. 
• Sessions in Arizona, Delaware, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island are scheduled to end on June 30.

Legislative sessions vary from state to state. Forty-six state legislatures hold regular sessions every year, while the other four states—Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas—legislatures meet only in odd-numbered years. The length of these sessions ranges from about two months in states like Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana to almost a year in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Click below to learn more about this year’s state legislative sessions. 

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Welcome to the Tuesday, May 30, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. A look at next week’s mayoral runoff in Denver
2. States enacting more election-related legislation in 2023 than 2022
3. Latest edition of Hall Pass: Montana becomes the 46th state to authorize charter schools

Denver to elect a new mayor for the first time since 2011

Welcome back! We hope you had a restful Memorial Day weekend. Let’s start the day with a look at one of the key elections set to take place next week: the runoff election for Mayor of Denver, Colorado. This is Denver’s fifth open mayoral election since 1959. Incumbent Michael Hancock (D), first elected in 2011, is term-limited. 

Kelly Brough and Mike Johnston are running in the June 6 runoff. They advanced from a field of 22 candidates in the April 4 general election, where Johnston received 25% of the vote, and Brough received 20%.

Denverite‘s Kyle Harris wrote that residents “are worried about the city’s affordability … public safety and rising crime … [and] homelessness. People want solutions, and it’s clear that the people of the city understand that the mayor’s seat can try to tackle many of these issues.” Harris added, “The mayor is powerful … [and] often described as the strongest elected position in the state.”

Harris said Brough and Johnston are “centrist candidates … [who] cleaved toward the middle, offering an optimistic vision while gently pushing for using policing in their homelessness solutions.” While the election is officially nonpartisan, Brough and Johnston are both Democrats. Denver’s last Republican mayor was Richard Batterton, who served from 1959 to 1963. 

Brough was chief of staff for former Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) from 2003 to 2009 before becoming president and C.E.O. of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, a post she held until 2021. 

Brough’s endorsers include former Gov. Bill Ritter (D), former mayors Bill Vidal (D) and Wellington Webb (D), the Denver Police Protective Association, and the Marijuana Industry Group. The Republican Party of Denver also endorsed Brough. Andy Rougeot, the only Republican candidate to run this year, did not advance to the runoff. 

Johnston is a former educator and school administrator who served in the state Senate from 2007 to 2019. He finished third in the state’s 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Johnston’s endorsers include U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D), former Mayor Federico Peña, and a number of local unions, including the Denver Area Labor Federation. Six candidates who ran in the April general election but did not advance to the runoff, including third-place finisher Lisa Calderón and fifth-place finisher Leslie Herod, also endorsed Johnston. 

An April poll found 38.9% of respondents supported Johnston and 34.1% supported Brough, a difference within the poll’s 4.8% margin of error. Twenty-seven percent of respondents were undecided.

The candidates have raised a combined $3.5 million dollars: $1.8 million for Brough and $1.7 million for Johnston.

Satellite spending has also played a role in this race. Advancing Denver has spent $4.1 million supporting Johnston, and A Better Denver has spent $1.3 million supporting Brough. Both organizations were created specifically to support their respective candidates.

Both candidates say public safety, homelessness, and housing affordability are key issues in this race.

On the topic of homelessness, Brough said, “[T]here is not a single, monolithic homeless population and so we need a coordinated set of nuanced, population-specific approaches.” Among these approaches, Brough included updates to the city’s shelter system, creating supportive housing units, and investing in services.

Johnston said the city had to address “the lack of affordable housing, the absence of mental health support, and an explosion in the severity of addiction drugs.” Johnston pledged to “build 1,400 additional units of housing … ending homelessness in Denver by the end of my first term.”

Denver is the most populous city in Colorado and the 19th most populous city in the U.S. Twenty-nine of the 100 most populous cities, including Denver, are holding mayoral elections this year. Twelve of those have already taken place, and 17 are scheduled to take place later in the year. Of those, the elections in Jacksonville, Florida, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, are the only ones to have resulted in partisan change. Heading into the year, 20 of those cities had a Democratic mayor, six had a Republican mayor, two mayors were independent or nonpartisan, and one mayor’s partisan affiliation was unknown.

As of May 2023, Democrats hold 62 top-100 mayoral offices, Republicans hold 26, independents hold three, and nonpartisan mayors hold seven. Two mayors’ partisan affiliations are unknown.

Denver has a strong mayor government, where the mayor serves as chief executive, and the city council operates as a legislative branch. The mayor sets the city budget, nominates department heads, and appoints more than 700 officials citywide. The mayor also oversees the Denver International Airport, police and sheriff departments, and the community planning and development department.

Keep reading 

States enacting more election-related legislation in 2023 than 2022

As of May 25, legislators across the country have enacted 164 election-related bills this year, 33 more than the 131 bills states had enacted at this point in 2022.

Of this year’s 164 enacted bills, Republicans sponsored 103, or 63%, up from 54% of enacted bills at this point last year. Democrats sponsored 16%, down from 18% in 2022. Bills with bipartisan sponsorship make up 12% of the total enacted, down from 18% last year. Those bills with unclear partisan sponsorship are up to 10% from 9% in 2022.

Last week, we tracked 12 newly enacted election-related bills, including:

• Senate Bill 7050, in Florida, changes a number of election procedures in the state, and exempts officials running for president or vice president from the state’s resign-to-run law.
• House Bill 0828, in Tennessee, states that a visible sign informing voters of misdemeanor penalties for voting in a party’s primary without being a party member must be posted at each polling place. 
• House Bill 229, in North Carolina, establishes four-year staggered terms for mayor and commissioners in the town of Halifax, makes the elections to these positions nonpartisan, and aligns municipal elections with the general election in odd-numbered years. 

In addition to these 12 newly-enacted bills, we tracked 45 bills passing one chamber last week, moving on to the next. No bills have passed both chambers since May 19.

You can view a full list of enacted bills this year here.

To stay up-to-date with the latest news in election-related legislation, subscribe to The Ballot Bulletin, our weekly newsletter—dropping every Friday afternoon—that delivers the latest updates on election policy. Every week, we track legislative activity, big-picture trends, recent news, and in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker.

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In the latest edition of Hall Pass: Montana becomes the 46th state to authorize charter schools

Hall Pass is Ballotpedia’s free weekly newsletter that keeps you informed about the conversations driving school board politics and education policy. New editions reach your inbox Wednesday afternoons.

In last week’s edition, we looked at how Montana became the 46th state to authorize charter schools. 

On May 18, Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed two bills—House Bill 549 (HB 549) and House Bill 562 (HB 562)—authorizing the creation of charter schools in Montana. Both bills provide for charter schools but differ on which government bodies are authorized to submit and approve charter applications. HB 549 puts the authority in the hands of local school boards, while HB 562 creates a new, seven-member appointed commission with the authority to review applications and authorize qualified school districts to do the same. 

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, roughly 3.7 million students, 7.5% of all public school students nationwide, were enrolled in charter schools during the 2020-2021 school year. In 2000, the National Center for Education Statistics estimated that 448,343 students were enrolled in charter schools. 

Only Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont do not have laws authorizing charter schools. Kentucky authorizes charter schools but does not currently have any in operation.

To read more about this and other stories in the latest edition of Hall Pass, click the link below! Click here to subscribe now and look for tomorrow’s edition in the afternoon, where we’ll take an in-depth look at this year’s Wisconsin’s school board elections.

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Welcome to the Friday, May 26, Brew. 

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. More bills introduced in 2023 than in 2022 that would make ballot access more difficult for political parties
2. Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis join Republican presidential primary field
3. A look at the age demographics of Oklahoma school board candidates

More bills introduced in 2023 than in 2022 that would make ballot access more difficult for political parties

Lately, we’ve been bringing you deep dives into recent trends in election-related legislation. We’ve reported that states are enacting more election administration bills than in 2022 and that Utah, for the second year running, is enacting more of those bills than other states. We’ve also looked at the increase this year in bills regulating absentee ballot drop box availability and security. 

Let’s take a look at another topic that falls under election administration—ballot access. 

Compared to last year, lawmakers in 2023 have introduced more bills that would make it more difficult for political parties to qualify for the ballot.

We’ve tracked 25 ballot access bills since January. We’ve determined nine bills would make it more difficult for parties to qualify for ballot access,introduced in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, and Texas.  Seven bills would do the opposite and decrease ballot access difficulty. The other nine ballot access bills we’re tracking would not affect the difficulty of ballot access. 

Democrats and Republicans sponsored bills in both categories on a fairly even basis. 

How parties get their candidates on the ballot varies from state to state. Some states require parties to file petitions to qualify for the ballot. Others require party candidates to win a certain percentage of the vote, and others require a party to register a certain number of voters.

In our analysis, we counted bills that would raise petition, vote, or registration requirements or restrict timelines as increasing difficulty, and bills that would lower requirements or expand timelines as decreasing difficulty. 

Here’s a look at some of ballot access bills that would have made it more difficult for parties to qualify candidates for the ballot:

• Minnesota SF1827: This bill would have doubled the vote threshold to meet the definition of a “major political party,” requiring parties to have run a candidate who received at least 10% of the vote in the last election for certain offices (up from 5%). SF1827 did not pass the Senate before the end of the legislative session on May 22. Minnesota HF1830, an omnibus bill with a similar provision—changing the major political party vote requirement from 5% to 8%—was enacted on May 24In Minnesota, major party candidates are nominated in primaries, with the winner qualifying for the general election without having to file nominating petitions. According to Ballot Access News publisher Richard Winger, Minnesota’s current 5% requirement is one of the most difficult in the country, with 2% being the median requirement. Virginia and New Jersey have a 10% requirement, while Alabama’s is 20%. A House omnibus bill an omnibus bill with a similar provision—changing the major political party vote requirement from 5% to 8%—was enacted on May 24.
• Montana SB565. This bill, which died in committee, would have increased minor party petition requirements from either (1) 5,000 signatures to 15,000 signatures, or (2) from 5% of the number of votes cast for the successful candidate in the last gubernatorial election to 5% of voter turnout in the last general election. 

• Arkansas SB277: This law lowers the petition signature requirement for new political parties from 3% of the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election to 10,000 signatures (38% of the former requirement as of the 2022 election). The law also lengthens the time parties may collect signatures.
  

In 2022, we tracked 29 ballot access bills, three of which were enacted. Two made ballot access easier for political parties, while one made minor administrative changes. Of the bills that were introduced in 2022, we determined that 17 would have eased ballot access requirements. Three bills, a set of companion bills in Iowa, would have increased requirements for non-party political organizations (political organizations not meeting the conditions to be a political party) to nominate a candidate at a convention. The other bills would either have had no effect on ballot access difficulty or their effects were unclear. 

To view the current status of ballot access for political parties in each state, click here.

We cover stories like these in even greater detail in the Ballot Bulletin, our weekly newsletter on legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news in election policy. Click here to subscribe.  

Our comprehensive Election Administration Legislation Tracker is the basis for the data and analysis in this report. This user-friendly tracker covers thousands of election-related bills in state legislatures, and organizes them by topic with neutral, expert analysis from Ballotpedia’s election administration researchers.

Explore the tracker for yourself at the link below!

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Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis join Republican presidential primary field 

The 2024 race to the White House is speeding up—and adding a few new names to the roster. Let’s check in on the latest presidential election news. 

This week, two new noteworthy candidates announced campaigns for the 2024 presidential election—Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Scott announced May 22, while DeSantis announced May 24. That brings our tally of noteworthy presidential candidates to 11 candidates—three Democrats and eight Republicans. That’s less than half the 26 candidates who were running at this time four years ago.  

Below is a summary of each candidate’s campaign activity from May 19 to May 26.

• Joe Biden (D) spoke about firearms policy at a memorial for the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting in Washington, D.C., on May 24. That day, Biden also released an online ad criticizing DeSantis.
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (D) spoke at the Bitcoin 2023 conference on May 19.
• Marianne Williamson (D) released the text of her economic policy, titled “An Economic Bill of Rights: A Vision for a Moral Economy,” on May 23. Williamson’s campaign manager, Peter Daou, and deputy campaign manager, Jason Call, resigned from her campaign on May 20 and May 19 respectively.
• Ron DeSantis (R) announced his presidential candidacy on May 24 in a live-streamed conversation with Elon Musk and David Sacks on Twitter.
• Larry Elder (R) published an op-ed in The Washington Times titled “President Biden at Howard University: The great White savior” on May 22.
• Nikki Haley (R) campaigned in Iowa on May 19, and in New Hampshire on May 23 and May 24 respectively. Haley wrote an op-ed for Seacoastonline titled “Nikki Haley: Force Congress to fix veterans’ healthcare” on May 24.
• Asa Hutchinson (R) campaigned in South Carolina from May 22 to May 23.
• Vivek Ramaswamy (R) held campaign events in Chicago, Illinois, on May 19. He also spoke at the Bitcoin 2023 conference on May 20. Ramaswamy is scheduled to campaign in Iowa today. 
• Tim Scott (R) announced his presidential candidacy on May 22 at a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina. On May 23, Scott began a $5.5 million ad campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire. Scott campaigned in Iowa on May 24, and in New Hampshire on May 25.

• Donald Trump (R) was endorsed by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) on May 22. Trump released an online ad on May 24 criticizing DeSantis.

We did not identify any specific campaign activity from Corey Stapleton (R) during this time frame.

At this point in the 2020 cycle, 26 noteworthy candidates were running for president. Twenty-four were seeking the Democratic nomination, and two (Trump and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld) were seeking the Republican nomination.

Notable stories at the time included eight Democratic presidential candidates appearing at demonstrations opposing anti-abortion laws in Alabama and Georgia on May 21, 2019, and reporting that said Trump had spent $5 million on Facebook ads targeting older Americans and women from January to May 2019. 

In the 2016 election, eight noteworthy candidates had announced their campaigns as of May 26, 2015. There were two Democrats (Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders) and five Republicans. 

Keep up to date with the latest 2024 presidential election news at the link below.

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A look at the age demographics of Oklahoma school board candidates 

In case you missed it, the Wednesday and Thursday Brew issues this week focused on in-depth analysis of Wisconsin and Oklahoma school board elections. As we’ve scoured local government websites, mined candidate filing lists and voter files, and combed through mountains of local news stories and social media posts to bring you this coverage, we’ve also unearthed some unique demographic data about the school board candidates themselves.

Let’s take a look at one fun example from Oklahoma—school board candidate ages. We gathered this data from filing lists and publicly-available voter files.

Here’s what we found.

• Both the average school board candidate and average election winner were 50 years old.
• The average incumbent who ran for re-election was 51 years old.
• The average non-incumbent was 46 years old. 
• The youngest candidates were 20 years old. There were two of them, and they both lost in their respective primaries. 
• The oldest candidates were 86 years old. There were also two of them, and they both lost in general elections.
• The youngest election winner was 27. The oldest was 84.

The chart below shows the age range of election winners and losers.  

You can find more demographic data on Oklahoma candidates at the link below. 

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Editor’s note: a previous version of this story erroneously stated that Arkansas SB277 was the only enacted ballot access bill that eases access requirements. This story has been updated to reflect that MN HF1830 passed on May 24.