Cleveland.com: Citizens behind an effort to abolish “qualified immunity” – a legal doctrine that can shield police from liability amid accusations of excessive use of force – are suing Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, alleging he’s illegally blocking them from… Continue reading

AP: Legislative efforts in Missouri and Mississippi are attempting to prevent voters from having a say over abortion rights, building on anti-abortion strategies seen in other states, including last year in Ohio. Democrats and abortion rights advocates say the… Continue reading

Derek Clinger: The past year saw a continued trend of increased interest in direct democracy, with the highest number of statewide ballot measures for an odd-numbered election year in over 15 years. These measures, which came from both state legislatures… Continue reading

Columbus Dispatch: Issue 1 was projected to fail on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, dealing a blow to Ohio Republicans who wanted to hamstring a November ballot question on abortion rights. Decision Desk HQ, an election results reporting agency… Continue reading

Murray and Shaw NYT Oped: In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court justified its decision overruling Roe with an appeal to democracy. In the Dobbs majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the conclusion in Roe… Continue reading

See this complaint (via Martin Austermuhle).

John Matsusaka has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Direct democracy backsliding occurs when a state alters its laws to hinder the use of initiatives and referendums. This study quantifies the prevalence of direct democracy backsliding over… Continue reading

Politico: “National Democrats had all but written off Florida as a lost cause — a former purple state turned solid red by the MAGA movement and Gov. Ron DeSantis. But key party leaders in the state, desperate to turn… Continue reading

Cleveland.com: After an abortion rights amendment qualified to appear on the November ballot in Ohio, a new lawsuit from Republicans asks the Ohio Supreme Court to block the measure. Filed on Friday, the challenge argues that the abortion rights… Continue reading

Marin Independent Journal reports: AB 1416, which became effective in January, requires that the supporters and opponents of statewide and local measures be listed on ballots. However, the law allows counties to opt out of participating. On Tuesday, Marin County… Continue reading