Tag: weekly brew

30 states have adopted English as an official language—11 through ballot measures—since 1920 On March 1, President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order "[designating] English as the official language of the United States." While the federal government had never established an official national language before, 30 states have designated English as their official language.…

Total partisan composition of state legislatures changed by less than one percentage point in 2024 As lawmakers around the country meet in the 2025 legislative sessions, we’re continuing our analysis of the elections that brought them there. In Monday’s Brew, we looked at the seats that changed party hands. In the Nov. 5 elections:  That…

Republican-led election policy bills advance in Kansas legislative session  State lawmakers have introduced more than 2,300 election administration bills so far this year. In Tuesday’s Brew, we looked at an example of what lawmakers in Kansas are doing in this policy area. As of Feb. 12, Kansas lawmakers had introduced 26 election-related bills, four of…

A comprehensive look at 178 years of ballot measures in Wisconsin  Ballotpedia's Historical Ballot Measure Factbook will document nearly 200 years of direct democracy in the United States. This ongoing research effort will provide an unparalleled resource for researchers, reporters, and the public on how ballot measures have evolved, the issues they have covered, and…

A crash course on the budget reconciliation process Congress is expected to seek to pass key elements of President Donald Trump's (R) policy agenda through the budget reconciliation process. Budget reconciliation is a term for the legislative process that bypasses the filibuster to approve a package of legislation in Congress that changes spending, revenues, or…

Donald Trump (R) sworn-in as the 47th president On Monday, President Donald Trump (R) took the oath of office as the 47th president. Trump's inauguration marks the second time in U.S. history that a president has served a second, non-consecutive term. The only other time this happened was in 1883, when President Grover Cleveland (D)…

77 officials were recalled in 2024—higher than the 10-year average Seventy-seven officials were removed from office through recall elections in 2024. Ballotpedia followed 246 recall efforts, targeting 383 officials in 2024. The 77 officials  removed from office through recall elections represent about 20% of those targeted. This is the third-highest percentage of officials removed since…