“Why Voters Rejected Election Reform”
Russell Berman digs in to the reform measures on the 2024 ballot, in The Atlantic.
Category Archives: direct democracy
“The new question ballot-measure pollsters have to ask”
Politico highlights something California voters saw for the first time this year: 5 supporters and 5 opponents for each ballot measure, right on the ballot.
6th Circuit Issues Decision in Brown v. Yost
The Sixth Circuit (with one concurrence) has ended the appeal of the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction on grounds of mootness.
Background from the opinion, “This appeal arises from a ballot proposal initiated by Cynthia Brown. In February… Continue reading
“Arizonans Defeat Three GOP Measures That Would Have Restricted Their Voting Power”
Bolts:
Republican lawmakers in Arizona placed a slew of constitutional amendments on the ballot this fall to limit the recourse available to voters to hold politicians and courts accountable and to take matters into their own hands. Arizonans on Tuesday… Continue reading
“Anti-Gerrymandering Groups Warn That Ohio’s Ballot Language Is Misleading Voters”
New at Bolts.
Federal District Court Issues TRO Barring the State of Florida from Threatening TV Stations That Air Advertising Supporting Abortion Rights Amendment
Order:
By threatening criminal proceedings for broadcasting a “political advertisement claiming that current Florida law does not allow physicians to perform abortions necessary to preserve the lives and health of pregnant women,” ECF No. 1-1 at 2, Defendant has engaged… Continue reading
“Missouri High Court Restores Abortion Measure to Ballot”
NYT:
The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a bid to strike a question on the November ballot that will ask voters whether to establish a right to abortion in the State Constitution.
The seven-member court handed down its one-page… Continue reading
“Police are questioning Florida voters about signing an abortion rights ballot petition”
AP:
State police are showing up at Florida voters’ homes to question them about signing a petition to get an abortion rights amendment on the ballot in November, and a state health care agency has launched a website targeting the… Continue reading
“They didn’t submit a photocopy that wasn’t required; Why abortion won’t be on the Arkansas ballot in November”
I missed this from Adam Unikowsky back on Aug. 25:
On August 22, 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court held, by a 4-3 vote, that an abortion-rights ballot initiative would not appear on the 2024 ballot. Why? It’s a confusing… Continue reading
“Morning Digest: The Utah GOP wants the power to overturn citizens’ ballot initiatives”
The Downballot:
Utah’s Republican-dominated legislature voted on Wednesday to place a constitutional amendment on the general election ballot that would explicitly allow lawmakers to amend or repeal voter-approved initiatives―including a 2018 measure that could put an end to partisan gerrymandering.… Continue reading
“Direct Democracy Scores a Win in Michigan’s High Court. Can It Survive November?”
Bolts Magazine: Michigan’s Republican legislature’s seemingly duplicitous strategy to get around progressive ballot measures struck down by the state’s high court.
“Michigan progressives gathered enough signatures in 2018 to put two labor measures on the ballot: one to raise… Continue reading
“Legal fight continues with appeals over proposed immigration initiative for Arizona Nov. 5 ballot”
AP:
The fight to keep a proposed border initiative off Arizona’s Nov. 5 ballot is not over yet.
Immigrant advocates kept the issue alive this week by filing notice to the state Supreme Court that they will appeal the… Continue reading
“Alaska election officials to recalculate signatures for ranked vote repeal measure after court order”
AP:
A state court judge on Friday disqualified numerous booklets used to gather signatures for an initiative that aims to repeal Alaska’s ranked choice voting system and gave elections officials a deadline to determine if the measure still had… Continue reading
Utah Supreme Court Rules for League of Women Voters in Case to Reinstate Nonpartisan Redistricting Initiative
Here’s the opinion in League of Women Voters v. Utah State Legislature (h/t Ballot Access News). A key excerpt:
The novel question before us asks: what happens when Utahns use their initiative power to exercise their “right to alter… Continue reading