TagState Legislature

At least 28 state legislators have been expelled since 2000

By Juan Garcia de Paredes
In State
May 25, 2023 at 2:58 PM

Last month, three elected officials were expelled from state legislatures: Reps. Liz Harris (R-Ariz.), Justin Jones (D-Tenn.), and Justin Pearson (D-Tenn.). 

Local officials later re-appointed Jones and Pearson to their seats. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Julie Willoughby (R) to Harris’ seat on May 5. 

In order to determine how often lawmakers are expelled, we have been digging into the historical data.

Including the three recent expulsions in Arizona and Tennessee, we have found 28 cases of elected officials expelled from state legislatures since 2000. For 20, the chambers voted to expel them, and eight were removed automatically following criminal convictions under state law.

Of those 28, 22 expelled legislators were members of their chamber’s majority party, and six were minority party members, shown below:

Looking further back, we have found 79 expulsions, in total, between 1813 and 2023. This includes 39 Democrats, 29 Republicans, and six members of the Socialist Party.

Some noteworthy cases include:

  • John Wilson (D), former Speaker of the Arkansas House, was expelled in 1837 after killing a colleague during a knife fight on the chamber floor;
  • John P. Slough (D), a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, was expelled in 1857 after punching a colleague during an argument on the floor;
  • E.L. Alford (R), a member of the Texas State Senate, was expelled in 1870 for resisting arrest by the body’s sergeant-at-arms;
  • Frank Raguse, a Wisconsin state senator and a member of the Socialist Party, was expelled in 1917 for alleged disloyalty to the United States;
  • Dean Skelos (R), former New York Senate Majority Leader, was automatically expelled in 2015 after being convicted on federal corruption charges; and,
  • Sheldon Silver (D), former Speaker of the New York Assembly, was automatically expelled in 2015 after being convicted of federal corruption charges.


More absentee ballot drop box legislation introduced in 2023 than 2022

By Ethan Rice
In State, Uncategorized
May 24, 2023 at 8:19 PM

State legislators have introduced more legislation regulating the availability and security of absentee ballot drop boxes this year than in 2022. Legislators have introduced 34 bills related to ballot drop boxes in 2023. Three (9%) of these bills have become law. At this point in 2022, legislators had introduced 26 bills, and two (8%) had been enacted. 

These bills can generally fit into two subcategories: drop box availability and drop box security. Bills concerning drop box availability regulate the allowance, availability, or placement of ballot drop boxes. Drop box security bills contain set or alter requirements for the physical security of drop boxes, such as requiring security cameras or in-person staffing.

Democrats have introduced more drop box availability bills overall, sponsoring 38 bills since the start of 2022 compared to Republicans’ 31. Republicans have introduced more drop box security bills, sponsoring 19 compared to Democrats’ 13. Republicans sponsored all seven bills introduced during this time to prohibit drop boxes entirely.

Drop box availability

State legislatures have considered five more bills dealing with drop-box availability this year (29 bills) than at this point in 2022 (23 bills). Two states have enacted drop box availability bills so far in 2023, the same number as this point in 2022. Nine drop box availability bills were enacted in 2022.

Of the two drop box availability bills enacted this year, Arkansas’ Republican-sponsored bill, SB258, prohibits election officials from establishing or using a drop box to collect absentee ballots. New Mexico’s Democratic-sponsored bill, SB180, prohibits anyone other than the secretary of state or the county clerk from providing or operating a drop box. In 2022, Utah (HB0313) and Washington (HB1716) had each enacted a bill on the topic. Republicans sponsored the Utah bill, which required election officials to designate at least one ballot drop box in each municipality and reservation located in the jurisdiction to which the election relates. Democrats sponsored the Washington bill, which required county auditors to open a voting center with a ballot drop box for any special elections the county may hold. 

Drop box security

Eighteen of the bills introduced this year deal with drop box security compared with eight bills at this time last year and 21 introduced throughout 2022. Two bills introduced this year have been enacted, two bills had also been enacted at this point in 2022, and three bills on the topic were enacted throughout all of 2022. 

Republicans and Democrats each enacted one drop box security bill in both 2022 and 2023. Utah has enacted one Republican-sponsored bill so far this year. HB0347 makes it a third-degree felony to tamper, destroy, or remove a drop box or its contents. New Mexico enacted the Democrat-sponsored SB180, which in addition to regulating drop box availability, also makes the unlawful operation of absentee ballot drop boxes a fourth-degree felony.

The two drop-box security bills enacted by this point in 2022 were Republican-sponsored Utah HB0313, which required drop boxes to be monitored by recorded video surveillance at all times, and Washington HB1716, which prohibited interfering with voters or disrupting the administration of a voting center, including ballot drop boxes. Ohio later enacted Republican-sponsored HB458, requiring drop boxes to be monitored by recorded video surveillance. 

Ballotpedia’s 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.

Image link: https://www.datawrapper.de/_/6Mg47/



Election legislation roundup: Wisconsin State Senate

By Mercedes Yanora
In State
May 23, 2023 at 8:02 PM

As of May 21, Ballotpedia has tracked nine election-related bills in the Wisconsin State Senate since the beginning of the year. Of the nine, Ballotpedia tracked three from May 15-21. A bipartisan group of legislators sponsored two bills, while Republicans sponsored one. The three bills are below:   

  • WI SB278: Aids to counties and municipalities for certain special election costs and making an appropriation, Reps. Marisabel Cabrera (D), Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D), Lisa Subeck (D), Elijah Behnke (R), Janel Brandtjen (R), James Edming (R), Scott Krug (R), Gae Magnafici (R), David Murphy (R), Shae Sortwell (R), and David Steffen (R) and Sens. Mark Spreitzer (D), Lena Taylor (D), and Andre Jacque (R).
    • As introduced, this bill provides that the commission will reimburse counties and municipalities the costs incurred in administering certain special primaries or special elections for state office.
  • WI SB286: The number of signatures on nomination papers, Reps. Clinton Anderson (D), Deb Andraca (D), Marisabel Cabrera (D), Sue Conley (D), Alex Joers (D), Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D), Christine Sinicki (D), Shelia Stubbs (D), Lisa Subeck (D), Scott Allen (R), Ty Bodden (R), Janel Brandtjen (R), Rick Gundrum (R), Nate Gustafson (R), David Murphy (R), Shae Sortwell (R), and Paul Tittl (R) and Sens. Tim Carpenter (D), Mark Spreitzer (D), Lena Taylor (D), Joan Ballweg (R), Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R), Jesse James (R), and Cory Tomczyk (R).
    • As introduced, this bill directs election officials to examine all signatures on nomination papers, including beyond the number of required signatures, to determine if the candidate has sufficient signatures to be on the ballot.
  • WI SB292: Filing a complaint with the Elections Commission, Reps. Scott Allen (R), David Armstrong (R), Elijah Behnke (R), Ty Bodden (R), Janel Brandtjen (R), Nate Gustafson (R), Dave Maxey (R), and David Murphy (R) and Sens. Joan Ballweg (R), Andre Jacque (R), Stephen Nass (R), Romaine Quinn (R), and Duey Stroebel (R). 
    • As introduced, this bill allows the adult child or parent of a voter, in addition to the voter him or herself, to file a complaint with the commission regarding an election official taking action inconsistent with the law.

During the week of May 15-21, Ballotpedia tracked 26 Senate election-related bills nationally. As of May 21, Ballotpedia has tracked 963 Senate bills nationally. Ballotpedia tracked the most Senate bills this year in the New York State Senate with 147, while Ballotpedia tracked the fewest Senate bills in the Massachusetts State Senate with zero.

As of May 21, Ballotpedia has tracked 447 Senate bills in Democratic trifectas and 398 Senate bills in Republican trifectas. A trifecta is when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Ballotpedia has tracked 118 Senate bills in states where neither party holds trifecta control.

The Wisconsin Senate is scheduled to be in session from Jan. 3 to Dec. 31 this year. In 2022, Ballotpedia tracked 37 Senate bills related to election administration. Two of these bills passed both chambers and both were enacted into law. Wisconsin is a divided government, meaning neither party holds trifecta control.

Additional reading: 



Wisconsin Assembly passes unemployment insurance indexing bill

By James McAllister
In State
May 2, 2023 at 9:51 AM

Wisconsin lawmakers on April 25 passed several bills related to unemployment insurance, including one that would index the length of unemployment insurance benefits to the state’s unemployment rate. Assembly Bill 153 would reduce the maximum number of benefit weeks to 14 during times when the unemployment rate is at or below 3.5%. The bill also proposes capping the maximum benefit length at 26 weeks during times when the unemployment rate is more than 9%.

Wisconsin’s current maximum benefit length is 26 weeks, and the state’s unemployment rate in February was 2.7%, according to preliminary data from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD). The maximum weekly benefit would fall by 12 weeks (from 26 weeks to 14 weeks) if the bill becomes law and the unemployment rate remains stable.

The other bills in the package include provisions that propose:

  • Broadening the definition of employment misconduct that would disqualify a fired person from claiming unemployment benefits.
  • Requiring the DWD to create a process through which employers can disclose any known information about unemployment claimants that might disqualify them from benefits eligibility.
  • Changing language referring to unemployment insurance to read reemployment assistance in all relevant state statutes and requiring drug testing for certain claimants.
  • Requiring claimants to prove their identities when filing initial unemployment insurance claims.

The package of bills now advances to the state Senate for consideration. The legislation is similar to a package that Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) vetoed in the previous legislative session.

Unemployment insurance is a joint federal and state program that provides temporary monetary benefits to eligible laid-off workers who are actively seeking new employment. Qualifying individuals receive unemployment compensation as a percentage of their lost wages in the form of weekly cash benefits while they search for new employment.

The federal government oversees the general administration of state unemployment insurance programs. The states control the specific features of their unemployment insurance programs, such as eligibility requirements and length of benefits.

For information about unemployment insurance programs across the country, click here.

Additional reading:



Newcomers will represent at least 32% of Virginia’s state legislative districts next year

By Douglas Kronaizl
In 2023 elections
May 1, 2023 at 10:12 AM

Forty-five state legislative districts holding elections in Virginia this year are open, meaning no incumbents filed to run. This represents 32% of the state’s General Assembly, a decade-high rate of open districts, and a marked increase from previous election cycles.

Newcomers are guaranteed to win all open districts since no incumbents are running for them.

This is Virginia’s first election under new state legislative maps following the 2020 redistricting cycle. The number of open districts tends to increase after redistricting.

Incumbents may opt against running for re-election because they now live in a district with a different partisan makeup than the one they previously represented or because they now live in a district with another incumbent.

Almost all of the 45 open districts are due to retiring incumbents: 22 Democrats and 21 Republicans are not running for re-election to their current districts. Virginia does not have state legislative term limits.

But redistricting can also result in open districts when an incumbent does run for re-election, but in a new district against another incumbent, leaving their old district open.

Two districts are holding incumbent v. incumbent primaries this year:

  • House District 47, with a Republican primary between Reps. Marie March (R) and Wren Williams (R); and,
  • Senate District 18, with a Democratic primary between Sens. Louise Lucas (D) and Lionell Spruill (D).

In addition to the increase in open districts, other competitiveness metrics—like the number of contested primaries—increased compared to previous election cycles.

A contested primary is one where more candidates are running than available nominations, meaning at least one candidate must lose.

This year, there are 47 contested primaries, representing 20.9% of all possible primaries, up 6.5 percentage points from 2021.

Ballotpedia calculates a legislature’s contested primaries percentage by dividing the number of contested primaries by the number of possible primaries. Typically there are two possible primaries per district, one for Democrats and one for Republicans.

But Virginia is unique in that it is the only state where parties can decide not to hold a primary and select their candidates via nominating contests like conventions instead.

Ballotpedia does not count non-primary nominating contests when calculating total or possible primaries, so the more non-primary nominating contests held, the fewer possible primaries there are.

This year, Ballotpedia has identified 55 districts holding non-primary nominating contests, all for Republicans.

Since all 100 House and 40 Senate districts are up for election this year, there could be 280 possible primaries. But, with those 55 non-primary nominating contests, that total drops to 225.

Overall, 279 major party candidates are running for state legislative offices: 154 Democrats and 125 Republicans.

Virginia has had a divided government since Republicans won the governorship and the House in 2021. Republicans currently hold a 51-46 majority in the House with three vacancies. Democrats hold a 22-18 majority in the Senate.

Virginia will hold its state legislative primaries on June 20, the second state legislative primary date of the 2023 election cycle.

Additional reading:



North Dakota Legacy Fund amendment to be decided by voters in 2024

By Nicole Fisher
In Ballot measures
April 28, 2023 at 4:52 PM

North Dakota voters will decide on an amendment to decrease the amount of money lawmakers can spend from the state legacy fund. The amendment is set to appear on the Nov. 5, 2024, ballot.

The amendment, House Concurrent Resolution 3033, passed the North Dakota House of Representatives on April 25, 2023. It was introduced in the House on Feb. 21, 2023, and then passed the House for the first time on March 14 by a vote of 67-24. The North Dakota State Senate amended the measure and passed it on April 10 by 45-1, and returned it to the House to be approved again.

The North Dakota Legacy Fund is a sovereign wealth fund that was established in 2010 when voters approved Constitutional Measure 1 by 63%-36%.

The fund was established to receive 30% of tax revenue from oil and gas production. At the end of each two-year period, the funds accrued earnings are transferred to the state general fund.

Currently, lawmakers can spend up to 15% of the principal of the fund over a period of two years, with a vote of two-thirds of each chamber of the state legislature approving. This amendment, if approved by voters, would decrease this amount to 5%. This amendment would also provide the state treasurer to make a distribution from the state legacy fund to a legacy earnings fund rather than distributing accrued earnings to the state general fund every two-year period.

Rep. Corey Mock (D) is one of the sponsors of the amendment. He said, “Give generations well into the future a chance to reap some benefit off of North Dakota’s mineral resources. The wealth under our feet is something our legislators here 20, 30, 40 years ago never dreamed of.”

As of Feb. 28, 2023, the fund value is at $8.8 billion. Since 2017, $1.3 billion of the fund’s earnings were transferred to the state general fund.

The constitutional amendment is the third certified for the 2024 ballot in North Dakota.

Additional reading:

North Dakota 2024 ballot measures



Newcomers will represent at least 23% of New Jersey’s state legislative seats next year

By Douglas Kronaizl
In 2023 elections
April 28, 2023 at 4:36 PM

Twenty-eight state legislative seats up for election in New Jersey this year are open, meaning no incumbents filed to run. This represents 23% of the state’s legislature, a decade-high rate of open seats, and a marked increase from previous election cycles.

Newcomers are guaranteed to win all open seats since no incumbents are running for them.

This is New Jersey’s first election under new state legislative maps following the 2020 redistricting cycle.

The number of open seats tends to increase after redistricting. 

Incumbents may opt against running for re-election because they now live in a district with a different partisan makeup than the one they previously represented or because they now live in a district with another incumbent.

Additionally, an incumbent might run for re-election in a new district, leaving their old seat open.

In New Jersey, three incumbents are running for re-election in new districts. 

In the General Assembly, Assms. Brian Bergen (R) and Christian Barranco (R) effectively swapped districts, with Bergen moving from District 25 to District 26 and vice versa for Barranco.

In the Senate, Sen. Nia Gill (D) is running in District 27, leaving her current District 34 seat open. Gill will face incumbent District 27 Sen. Richard Codey (D) in a Democratic primary.

This year, 255 major party candidates filed to run for the state’s 80 General Assembly and 40 Senate seats: 134 Democrats and 121 Republicans.

New Jersey has had a Democratic trifecta since the party won the governorship in 2017. Democrats hold a 45-34 majority in the General Assembly, with one vacancy, and a 25-15 majority in the Senate.

New Jersey will hold its state legislative primaries on June 6, the first state legislative primary date of the 2023 election cycle.

Additional reading:



Florida state legislature approves constitutional amendment to make school board elections partisan

By Jackie Mitchell
In Ballot measures
April 21, 2023 at 9:59 AM

The Florida State Senate gave final approval to House Joint Resolution 31, a constitutional amendment to make school board elections partisan.

School board members in Florida are elected by the voters of the county and serve four-year terms. Currently, voters elect five or more members in a nonpartisan election. Each county makes up a school district, unless two neighboring counties have voted to combine school districts.

The school board controls school property, establishes, organizes, and operates the schools of the district, including establishing schools, adopting enrollment plans, providing for school elimination and consolidation, cooperating with school boards of adjoining districts in maintaining schools, maintaining the school year schedule, and other more specific duties as outlined in Florida statutes.

The Senate voted 29-11 in favor of the bill. All 28 Republican senators voted in favor and 11 of the 12 Democratic senators voted against. Sen. Linda Stewart (D) was the only Democrat to vote in favor of the bill. The Florida House of Representatives approved HJR 31 on March 31 by a vote of 79-34 along party lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed.

Florida has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of the governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

State Rep. Spencer Roach (R), the sponsor of the amendment, said, “This is not about, at least for me, advancing the cause of one political party over another. But for me it’s about transparency, and I simply believe that we have an obligation to give voters as much information about a candidate as possible, and let them make a decision about vetting a candidate. I would tell folks, if they truly want to vote for nonpartisan candidates, those candidates in Florida who are NPAs that don’t have a philosophical association with either of the two major parties and they (voters) viewed them as sort of purist NPAs — right now in Florida, the law prevents you from doing that, because you don’t know who that candidate is.”

State Rep. Angie Nixon (D), said, “I believe this bill is not about transparency at all. This bill is about making our school-board elections and our school boards more contentious, more like D.C., which [Republicans] honestly always try to oppose.”

Ballotpedia analyzed state laws concerning partisan school board elections and found that in 41 states and the District of Columbia, state law requires nonpartisan elections for school boards. The law in four states—Alabama, Connecticut, Louisiana, and, with some exceptions, Pennsylvania—automatically allows partisan school board elections or party labels to appear on the ballot. These four states have a combined 878 school districts and 7,652 elected school board members. Laws in at least five states—Georgia, Rhode Island, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina—either explicitly allow for partisan or nonpartisan elections or gives local authorities enough control over elections to effectively allow the option. These five states have a combined 554 school districts and 3,342 elected school board members.

To be approved by voters, a 60% vote is required. If approved, the amendment would take effect during the 2026 school board elections.



North Dakota Senate sustains Gov. Burgum’s (R) veto of HB1273

By Joseph Greaney
In State
April 20, 2023 at 2:13 PM

The North Dakota State Senate voted to sustain Gov. Doug Burgum’s (R) veto of HB1273 on April 19, 2023. The bill would have prohibited the use of approval or ranked-choice voting methods in the state. Twenty-eight Senators voted to override the veto while 19 voted to sustain. In the North Dakota Senate, a two-thirds majority of the 47 member chamber is required to override a veto. The North Dakota House of Representatives previously voted 71 to 17 to override the veto on April 10, 2023.

The bill banning approval or ranked-choice voting originally advanced out of the North Dakota Legislature on March 30, 2023, after a 30 to 13 vote for passage in the state Senate. Gov. Burgum then vetoed the bill on April 6, calling the bill an example of state overreach and saying it “blatantly infringes on local control.” North Dakota House Majority Leader Mike Lefor (R) said of the effort to override Gov. Burgum’s veto: “The legislature properly exercised its authority to regulate the way elections are conducted… It’s a matter of statewide concern.”

North Dakota would have become the fifth state to enact bans on ranked-choice voting methods had the veto override been successful. Both Idaho and South Dakota enacted prohibitions this year, joining Florida and Tennessee who did so in 2022. Several other states are considering similar legislation in 2023 legislative sessions.



At least 27 state legislators have been expelled since 2000

By Juan Garcia de Paredes
In State
April 20, 2023 at 2:08 PM

Over the past month, three elected officials were expelled from state legislatures: Reps. Liz Harris (R-Ariz.), Justin Jones (D-Tenn.), and Justin Pearson (D-Tenn.). 

Local officials later re-appointed Jones and Pearson to their seats. For Harris, local Republican committee members gave the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors three names—including Harris’—to choose from on April 18.

In order to determine how often lawmakers are expelled, we have been digging into the historical data.

Including the three recent expulsions in Arizona and Tennessee, we have found 27 cases of elected officials expelled from state legislatures since 2000. For 19, the chambers voted to expel them, and eight were removed automatically following criminal convictions under state law.

Of those 27, 21 expelled legislators were members of their chamber’s majority party, and six were minority party members, as shown below:

Looking further back, we have found 61 expulsions, in total, between 1837 and 2023. This includes 35 Democrats, 20 Republicans, and six members of the Socialist Party.

Some noteworthy cases include:

  • John Wilson (D), former speaker of the Arkansas House, was expelled in 1837 after killing a colleague during a knife fight on the chamber floor.
  • New York Assemblymen August Claessens, Louis Waldman, Charles Solomon, Samuel Orr, and Samuel DeWitt, all members of the Socialist Party, were expelled in 1920 for alleged disloyalty to the United States. All five were re-elected in special elections, after which the Assembly expelled Claessens, Solomon, and Waldman again.
  • Sheldon Silver (D), former speaker of the New York Assembly, was automatically expelled in 2015 after being convicted of federal corruption charges.
  • Larry Householder (R), former speaker of the Ohio House, was expelled in 2021 after being charged with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering scheme.