Iowa enacted new congressional and state legislative maps, and Massachusetts enacted new state legislative maps, on Nov. 4. Nationwide, legislative redistricting has been completed for 444 of 1,972 state Senate seats (22.5%) and 1,243 of 5,411 state House seats (23.0%). In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed new congressional and state legislative maps into law…
A special election primary is being held on Nov. 2 for the 4th Essex District of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Darcyll Dale and Jamie Zahlaway Belsito are running in the Democratic primary. Lisa-Marie Cashman and Robert Snow are competing for the Republican nomination. The general election will take place on Nov. 30, and the…
A special election has been called to fill the vacant Massachusetts State Senate seat in the First Suffolk & Middlesex District. The seat became vacant on Sept. 9 when former state Sen. Joseph Boncore (D) resigned to become CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio). The special general election is set for Jan. 11, 2022,…
Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George advanced from Boston’s mayoral primary election Tuesday night. As of Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EST, Wu received 33.4% of the vote to Essaibi George’s 22.5%. Eight candidates were on the ballot. Wu and Essaibi George are both at-large city councilors. They defeated fellow city councilors Andrea Campbell and Kim…
On September 1, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) announced that 17 ballot initiatives of the 30 filed were cleared for signature gathering. The 17 initiatives included 16 initiated state statutes aiming for the 2022 ballot and one initiated constitutional amendment that would appear on the 2024 ballot. The initiatives cleared for signature gathering address:…
On August 4, Massachusetts Coalition for Independent Work filed two versions of a ballot initiative with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office that would classify app-based transportation (rideshare) and delivery drivers as independent contractors. It would also adopt labor and wage policies specific to app-based drivers and companies. The initiative is similar to California’s Proposition 22…
On June 9, the Massachusetts General Court convened a joint session and passed Senate Bill 5 (SB 5) by a vote of 159-41, which sent an increase in the state’s income tax for top earners to state voters in 2022. SB 5 is a constitutional amendment that would create an additional 4% income tax on…
Two states ended statewide public mask requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated people between May 29 and June 4. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) ended the statewide mask mandate on May 29, along with other COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and individuals. The state will still require masks in state offices open to the public, schools and…
Kim Janey was sworn in as the nonpartisan acting mayor of Boston on March 22. Janey became acting mayor after former Mayor Martin Walsh was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the secretary of labor in President Joe Biden’s (D) administration. Janey is the first Black person and the first woman to serve as Boston…
A special election is being held on March 30 for the 19th Suffolk District of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Jeffrey Turco (D), Paul Caruccio (R), and Richard Fucillo (ind.) are running in the general election. Turco advanced to the general election after defeating Juan Jaramillo, Alicia DelVento, and Valentino Capobianco in the March 2…