Two efforts to recall Adam Fortney from his position as sheriff of Snohomish County, Washington, have been approved to circulate petitions. The efforts began after Fortney announced on Facebook in April 2020 that his office would not enforce restrictions Gov. Jay Inslee (D) set in place in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The first…
On July 6, 2020, the campaign Decriminalize Nature D.C. reported filing 36,249 signatures with the D.C. Board of Elections for a ballot initiative on entheogenic plants and fungi. In Washington, D.C., the number of signatures required for a ballot initiative is equal to 5 percent of the district’s registered voters. As of May 31, there…
Citizens of Washington may initiate legislation as either a direct state statute—called Initiative to the People (ITP) in Washington—or indirect state statute—called Initiative to the Legislature (ITL) in Washington. In Washington, citizens also have the power to repeal legislation via veto referendum. Citizens may not initiate constitutional amendments. As of July 1, 2020, 229 ITPs…
On June 24, the Washington Secretary of State’s office found that Parents for Safe Schools, proponents of Referendum 90, had submitted enough valid signatures to qualify the measure for the 2020 ballot. Referendum 90 asks voters to approve or reject Washington Senate Bill 5395, which was designed to require comprehensive sexual health education in public…
Parents for Safe Schools, sponsors of Referendum 90, submitted 266,000 signatures to the Washington Secretary of State’s office on Wednesday. To qualify the referendum for the November ballot,129,811 of the signatures must be valid. Referendum 90 petitioners seek to repeal Senate Bill 5395, which was signed by Governor Jay Inslee (D) on March 27, 2020. Senate…
A new state legislative special election has been added to our list. The special election is for the District 54 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives on July 11, 2020. There is no primary, and the filing deadline was on May 22. A new state legislative special election has been added to our list.…
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)— the federal agency tasked with regulating the transportation of oil and other hazardous materials—issued an order on May 11 that blocked a Washington state law that would have placed restrictions on crude oil transportation beyond those required by federal law. The Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Law (HMTA)…
The Snohomish County Council made a state legislative appointment to each chamber of the Washington State Legislature May 13. The council appointed June Robinson (D) to represent District 38 in the Washington State Senate, following the resignation of former Sen. John McCoy (D) from the chamber last month. Robinson previously represented the District 38-Position 1…
Wisconsin State Senator Jennifer Shilling (D) submitted her resignation from the legislature on May 15, effective immediately. Shilling had previously announced she would not seek another term and did not file to run for re-election. Shilling said that she was resigning to explore unspecified employment opportunities. Wisconsin state law prohibits legislators and other public officials…
On May 15, the statewide filing deadline passed to run for elected office in Washington state. Candidates filed for the following state-level offices: State Executive Governor Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Commissioner of Public Lands Treasurer Auditor Commissioner of Insurance State Legislative Washington State Senate (25 seats) Washington House…