In this month’s state supreme court vacancy update, Ballotpedia tracked announced retirements, nominations, appointments, confirmations, and the swearing-in of justices from October 1, 2024, to November 1, 2024. Ballotpedia tracks court vacancies in all 52 state supreme courts. Announced retirements: In October 2024, one justice resigned. Robert Brutinel stepped down from the Arizona Supreme Court…
On Nov. 5, 2024, voters will decide on two sets of competing ballot measures: two in Nebraska related to abortion, and two in Arizona related to electoral systems. Two or more initiatives may qualify for the same ballot but conflict with one another. Constitutional amendments affect statutory measures but not vice-versa. When both are statutes,…
Incumbent Deb Fischer (R) and Dan Osborn (Independent) are running in the general election for U.S. Senate in Nebraska on Nov. 5, 2024. Fischer was first elected in 2012. No Democratic candidate filed to run. According to Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb, the party decided not to run a candidate after talks with Osborn.…
For 2024, 160 statewide ballot measures have been certified for the ballot in 41 states, which is two above the average (158) for this point in the election cycle from 2012 to 2022. The average number of statewide ballot measures certified for an even-numbered year during this period was 157. The final average, 157, is…
The Nebraska Secretary of State announced on Sept. 13 that two ballot initiatives to legalize and regulate medical marijuana were certified for the November ballot. The measures are initiated state statutes that needed valid signatures from 5% of the registered voters (86,499 signatures) in each of two-fifths (38) of Nebraska’s 93 counties. The secretary of state…
Voters in Nebraska will decide on a veto referendum regarding a private education scholarship program on Nov. 5, 2024. On Sept. 5, 2024, Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) announced that the referendum had qualified for the ballot. The veto referendum campaign, Support Our Schools, submitted 86,603 signatures on July 17. At least 61,308 signatures…
Incumbent Don Bacon (R) and Tony Vargas (D) are running in the general election for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District on November 5, 2024. The election is a rematch from 2022, when Bacon defeated Vargas 51.3% to 48.7%. The Guardian wrote that it was “not difficult to imagine a scenario in which the [presidential] race does…
A ballot initiative in Nebraska to require employers to provide earned paid sick leave to employees was certified for the ballot by the secretary of state on Aug. 13. Businesses with 20 or more employees would be required to provide seven days of paid sick leave annually, and businesses with fewer than 20 employees would…
Voters in eight states—Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Nevada, and South Dakota—will decide on abortion-related ballot measures in Nov. 2024. This is the most on record for a single year. Initiatives are pending signature verification in three additional states—Arkansas, Montana, and Nebraska. Measures were most recently certified in Arizona and Missouri. On Aug.…
On July 17, 2024, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) issued a formal opinion that said that only the Nebraska Pardons Board—which consists of the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state—and not the legislature, has the authority to restore voting rights or shorten the waiting period for the restoration of voting rights for individuals…