Tag: state
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Over the past two weeks, four constitutional amendments were certified in Virginia, and signatures were submitted for an initiative in Alaska
As of Jan. 21, 62 statewide measures have been certified for the ballot in 31 states, eight more measures than the average number certified at this point in other even-numbered years over the past decade (2014 to 2024). Here’s an update on the latest ballot measure activity during the past two weeks: The next signature…
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On Jan. 21, 1911, New Mexico ratified its state constitution
On this day, Jan. 21, 1911, New Mexico voters ratified the state constitution. One year later, on Jan. 6, 1912, New Mexico was admitted to the Union as the 47th state. This was the longest wait between territorial organization and statehood for any U.S. state. Congress established New Mexico as a U.S. territory in 1850,…
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At least one incumbent defeated in New Jersey's state legislative primaries
New Jersey held state legislative primaries on Tuesday, June 10, the first of two states doing so this year. Virginia will hold state legislative primaries on June 17. At least one Democratic incumbent—Garnet Hall—lost, representing 1.3% of the 76 incumbents running for re-election and 2.9% of the 35 contested incumbents. With 35 incumbents (46%) in…
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Texas to become 16th state to pass universal school choice program
What's the story? The Texas State Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 2 on April 24, 2025, and Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has said on social media that he will sign it once it reaches him. Texas is the 16th state to enact a universal education savings account (ESA) program providing public funds for alternatives to…
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Protect Utah Workers submits signatures to the secretary of state for veto referendum
Protect Utah Workers submitted signatures to the secretary of state’s office on April 15 for a veto referendum that would go before voters on Nov. 3, 2026. The referendum would repeal House Bill 267 (HB 267), which is suspended until the election due to the referendum. HB 267, if enacted, would prohibit public employees, such…
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Indiana joins Kansas, Kentucky, and Wyoming in enacting laws to restrict foreign contributions to ballot measure campaigns—the highest number passed in a single year
So far, during the 2025 legislative sessions, four states—Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, and Wyoming—have enacted new laws restricting foreign contributions to ballot measure campaigns. With these additions, 13 now have laws prohibiting foreign nationals, governments, or other entities from contributing to ballot measure committees. The 13 states with such laws are California, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,…
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Thirty states have adopted English as an official language, 11 through ballot measures since 1920
President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order "[designating] English as the official language of the United States" on March 1, 2025. While the federal government had never before provided for an official national language, 30 states have designated English as their official language. Three—Alaska, Hawaii, and South Dakota—also recognize some indigenous languages as co-official…
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Fourteen bills that could make the initiative process more difficult were passed in 2024, tying with 2021 for the highest total since 2018
In the 2024 legislative sessions, 40 bills and resolutions concerning direct democracy—such as ballot initiatives, referendums, and recall petitions—were passed. This exceeded the annual average of 34 bills enacted between 2018 and 2023. In 2024, state legislatures passed 14 bills that could make the initiative process more difficult and four bills that could make it…
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62 candidates filed for federal and statewide offices last week
Sixty-two people declared candidacies for federal or state offices in the past week, the same number declared last week. All of these candidates declared before their state’s official filing deadline. Thirty-six of the 63 candidates are Democrats, while 20 are Republicans. Four candidates are running as Libertarians, and two are running without a party affiliation.…
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42 candidates filed for federal and statewide offices last week
42 people declared candidacies for federal or statewide offices in the past week, five more than last week. All of these candidates declared before their state’s official filing deadline. Twenty-four of those candidates were Democratic, while 18 were Republican. Thirty candidates are running for Congress, four for governorship, and eight for a lower state executive…