By Josh Altic

Most of today’s local ballot measures are being decided in Illinois, where there are over a hundred propositions waiting for the voters’ decision in towns, cities, counties and school districts across the state.

Addison Township in Illinois is requesting that voters authorize switching the responsibility for the pension costs of the local school district from the state of Illinois to the property tax payers of the district. Also waiting the decision of the voters is over $112 million in requested school bond money.

In California, there are only seven measures, three of which are recall elections for the Coastside Fire Protection District in San Mateo County. The remaining four measures deal with parcel taxes, business taxes and utility taxes in different cities of Los Angeles county.

Florida’s election features six ballot measures across three counties. Four measures are city charter amendments dealing with term limits and city governance. One measure seeks to authorize an electric franchise and the remaining measure asks Defuniak Springs voters if they want to abolish the right of the Mayor to decide tie votes in city council meetings.

Below is a break down of the elections:

California

There are seven measures, three of which are recall votes. The other four measures deal with parcel taxes, business taxes and utility taxes in different cities of Los Angeles county:

• Measure K: City of Vernon Business License Tax Increase
• Measure L: City of Vernon Parcel Tax on Commercial Properties
• Measure M: City of Vernon Utility Users Tax
• Measure S: City of Burbank Parcel Tax for Sewer/Refuse
• Coastside Fire Protection District: Michael Alifano recall
• Coastside Fire Protection District: Douglas Mackintosh recall
• Coastside Fire Protection District: Gary Riddell recall

See full election coverage here.

Florida

Only 6 measures are being decided in this election.

• 4 charter amendments dealing with term limits and city governance
• 1 electrical franchise permission measure
• 1 measure changing the power of a city Mayor to vote in certain council meeting situations

Below is a list of articles giving details about each measure:

• Cottondale City Charter Amendment Proposition (April 2013)
• Marianna City Electric Franchise Referendum Proposition (April 2013)
• Zephyrhills City Council Term Limits Amendment Proposition (April 2013)
• Zephyrhills City Vice President Presiding Amendment Proposition (April 2013)
• Zephyrhills City Mayor Term Limits Amendment Proposition (April 2013)
• Defuniak Springs City Mayor’s Right To Vote Removal Proposition (April 2013)

See full election coverage here.

Illinois

There are well over a hundred measures on the ballots in Illinois elections. One measure looks for pension reform to make the local school district pension costs independent of the state. Other measures feature over $112 million in requested bond money and many school tax measures. Four video gambling measures and one measure prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages will also be decided.

Notable measures:

• Bethany Village Alcohol Prohibition Proposition (April 2013)
• Addison Township School Pension Costs Question (April 2013)

See full election coverage here.

By Josh Altic

Local ballot measures are being decided in four states today. Measures on the ballot include two pension reform measures in Phoenix that could save tax payers almost $600 million dollars by 2037. In Arizona, Florida, California and Oregon, voters will directly decide 83 different measures, including key issues such as pension reform, taxes and salaries of local officials.

To read more about these ballot measures and to see the outcome of each race follow Ballotpedia’s coverage of the elections in Arizona, California, Florida and Oregon.

Election results for the Phoenix Pension reform measures will be reported here as soon as they become available when polls close tonight.

Below is a break down of the election in each state.

Arizona

There are 17 measures on the ballots in this election.

• 6 measures seek authorization for Alternative Expenditures in various towns and cities.
• 2 measures seek city pension plan reform in Phoenix.
• 1 measure concerns a sales tax increase.
• 1 measure would authorize a home rule charter for the Town of Hayden.
• The remaining measures concern jurisdiction changes and administration of government.

Notable measures:

• 2 measures in Phoenix City seek pension reform for city employees. According to a City Council report, this pension reform could save the tax payers nearly $600 million over the next 23 years. Early voting on this issues began on February 23.

California

There are only two measures on the ballots in California for this election, which is the second date in 2013 upon which local ballot measure elections were scheduled to take place in California. These two measures seek to authorize parcel taxes for the San Marino Unified School District and the South Pasadena Unified School District

The previous election date was March 5, 2013 on which day 16 ballot measures, six mayoral races and three Los Angeles Unified School Board races were decided.

Ballot measures:

• San Marino Unified School District parcel tax, Measure R (March 2013)
• South Pasadena Unified District parcel tax, Measure S (March 2013)

Florida

There are 58 measures on the ballots in this Florida election.

• 51 of these measures were city charter amendments

12 amendments dealt with election, voting and campaigns laws.

8 amendments dealt with term limits for elected officials.

The remaining charter amendments dealt with various other city governance issues such as salaries of officials and local energy issues.

• The 7 measures that were not charter amendments dealt with building codes, residence density regulation, utilities and tax exemption.

Notable measures:

• There are six measures in Delray Beach City in Palm Beach County. One measure removes charter protection against the reduction of the city manager salary. Another measure would allow for property tax exemptions to be granted to new and expanding businesses in an effort to motivate job growth.
• There are four measures in Boynton Beach City, which is also in Palm Beach County. One measure seeks to require at least six months residency in the city before running for city office.

Oregon

There are 6 local measures on the ballots today.

• 2 city charter amendments
• 2 property tax renewal measures; 1 for a school district and 1 for a fire district.
• 1 business incentive zoning measure
• 1 out-door lighting ordinance

Notable measures:

• Albany City voters in Benton and Linn Counties will be deciding on two charter amendments on March 12. The first amendment seeks to require voter approval for the creation of alteration of urban renewal districts. The second amendment seeks to establish more severe credit limitations for the city in order to cut down the amount of money borrowed by the city.

Edited by Greg Janetka
This week’s tracker features news about a failed recall attempt in Louisiana.

Note: This is an abridged version of the Tracker. For the full report, click here.

Weekly highlight

State legislative recalls in Wisconsin made national headlines in 2011 as voters in Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin successfully used the process to remove a total of three senators and one representative from office. The trend continued in 2012 as Wisconsin once again saw recalls make the ballot, resulting in the removal of one senator.

Alongside those successes, however, most recall efforts fizzled out long before going to a vote. The latest recall to fail took place last week in Louisiana. In March of this year, recall organizers started circulating petitions to recall Republican Speaker of the House Charles “Chuck” Kleckley from office.

The efforts, led by a group of teachers, began largely as a result of public education reforms backed by Kleckley and Gov. Bobby Jindal (R). Organizers had to collect signatures equal to one-third of the registered voters of Kleckley’s district, which came out to roughly 9,000, by September 19.^[1] The recall effort failed to collect enough signatures by the deadline and the signatures that were collected were never turned in as organizers were worried about reprisals against those who had signed. The effort against Jindal also failed.^[2]

Three other recall campaigns are continuing on in the state as organizers have also targeted three other Republican legislators – Kevin Pearson, George Cromer and Ray Garofalo. It appears unlikely that any of them will succeed.

While the most recent round of Wisconsin recalls have been over for several months, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, the agency that oversees elections, released a new report this month detailing the cost of those elections. Their findings? Local governments spent approximately $13.5 million on the recalls, most of which ultimately falls to local taxpayers. In a statement GAB director Kevin Kennedy said, “Instead of conducting two primaries and two elections this year, Wisconsin election officials will be conducting six elections, which added approximately $13.5 million in unbudgeted costs. These unplanned elections also put significant stress on Wisconsin’s clerks, who have many other duties beyond elections.”^[3]

Currently, 18 states permit the recall of state officials. Between 1913 and 2008, there were just 20 state legislative recall elections in five states. Of the 20 state legislative recall elections, 13 out of 20 resulted in the state legislator being recalled. Since 2011, there have been 15 state legislative recalls in three states, five of which resulted in the legislator being recalled.

Sessions

This week 4 out of 50 state legislatures – Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania – are meeting in regular session, while Massachusetts is meeting in informal session, which it will continue to do throughout the rest of the year. As of May 16, all states had convened their 2012 sessions.

Forty states have adjourned for the year, while four states – Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas – were not scheduled to hold regular sessions in 2012.

Regular sessions

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions

Click here to see a chart of each state’s 2012 session information.

Although most states have concluded 2012 business, some states have already begun 2013 action. Drafting for 2013 has begun in Montana and North Dakota, while prefiling of legislation is going on in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia.^[4]

Special sessions

In 2011, special sessions were a widespread occurrence in state legislatures. This was largely due to states’ having to complete the redistricting process for legislative and congressional districts. Overall in 2011, there were 45 special sessions in 28 states.

Since the beginning of 2012, there have been 20 special sessions in 16 states. There are no special sessions currently scheduled.

In recess

As of today, September 24, 4 state’s sessions are currently in recess:

• California – In recess from September 1, 2012 to November 29, 2012.^[5]
• Illinois – In recess from August 17, 2012 to November 27, 2012.^[6]
• New York – In recess from June 22, 2012 to January 7, 2013.^[5]
• Wisconsin – In recess from March 17 to December 31, 2012.^[5]

2012 Legislative Elections

See also: State legislative elections, 2012 and State legislative elections results, 2012

A total of 86 of the 99 chambers will hold state legislative elections on November 6, 2012.

1,301 (65.97%) of the country’s 1,972 state senate seats are up for election in November 2012, and 4,714 (87.12%) of the country’s 5,411 state house seats are up for election. Altogether, 6,015 (81.47%) of the country’s 7,383 state legislative seats will be up for election during the presidential election year.

• 43 of the 50 state senates are holding elections.
• 43 of the 49 state houses are holding elections.

The 6,015 seats up for election is 110 fewer than the 6,125 that were contested in 2010.

 Filing deadlines

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2012 state government elections and 2012 Elections preview: Comparing state legislative filing deadlines

As of July 12, all signature filing deadlines had passed.

Primaries

See also: 2012 election dates

The 2012 state legislative primary session began on March 6 in Ohio and wrapped up for the year in New York on September 13.

A total of 197 state legislative incumbents were defeated in a primary – 123 Republicans and 74 Democrats.

Primaries took place in 44 states in 2012. For a review of what happened, click on the state below:

Edited by Greg Janetka
This week’s tracker features news about techonology that will allow voters greater access to legislative district maps.

Note: This is an abridged version of the Tracker. For the full report, click here.

Weekly highlight

Today Ballotpedia announced a new partnership with Moonshadow Mobile, Inc. Using proprietary technology and data supplied by Labels and Lists, Inc., Moonshadow has created maps comparing districts before and after the redistricting process, showing the old (2001) and new (2011) lines for state legislative districts, as well as U.S. Congressional districts.

Ballotpedia has incorporated these maps into their coverage of the statewide elections in Arizona. Maps have already been generated for Arizona’s 30 legislative districts and nine congressional districts. Over the next two months, the organizations will work to add similarly detailed maps to Ballotpedia’s election pages for the other 49 states.

Moonshadow Mobile, Inc., based in Eugene, Oregon, has developed Internet technology to instantly visualize “Big Data” inside of Bing Maps or Google Maps. With Moonshadow’s patent-pending technology databases with hundreds of millions of records can be visualized within seconds in the cloud. Moonshadow’s technology can visualize close to 100 million records per second per processor core which is roughly 100 times faster than traditional databases. It is Moonshadow’s mission to change the way people access, understand, analyze and work with data.

Redistricting was a major issue in most states in 2010-2011. While some legislative districts remained largely or wholly unchanged, many across the country were dramatically altered, often leading to confusion as to what district voters are in for the 2012 elections. Ease of access to maps and how districts changed aims to reduce this confusion.

Sessions

This week 4 out of 50 state legislatures – New Jersey, Ohio and California are meeting in regular session, while Massachusetts is meeting in informal session, which it will continue to do throughout the rest of the year. As of May 16, all states had convened their 2012 sessions. California is projected to adjourn this week.

Thirty-nine states have adjourned for the year, while four states – Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas – did not hold regular sessions in 2012.

Regular sessions

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions

Click here to see a chart of each state’s 2012 session information.

Although most states have concluded 2012 business, some states have already begun 2013 action. Drafting for 2013 has begun in Montana and North Dakota, while prefiling of legislation is going on in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia.^[1]

Special sessions

In 2011, special sessions were a widespread occurrence in state legislatures. This was largely due to states’ having to complete the redistricting process for legislative and congressional districts. Overall in 2011, there were 45 special sessions in 28 states.

Since the beginning of 2012, there have been 19 special sessions in 15 states. There are no special sessions currently ongoing.

2012 Legislative Sessions

See also: State legislative elections, 2012 and State legislative elections results, 2012

A total of 86 of the 99 chambers will hold state legislative elections on November 6, 2012.

1,301 (65.97%) of the country’s 1,972 state senate seats are up for election in November 2012, and 4,714 (87.12%) of the country’s 5,411 state house seats are up for election. Altogether, 6,015 (81.47%) of the country’s 7,383 state legislative seats will be up for election during the presidential election year.

• 43 of the 50 state senates are holding elections.
• 43 of the 49 state houses are holding elections.

The 6,015 seats up for election is 110 fewer than the 6,125 that were contested in 2010.

Filing deadlines

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2012 state government elections and 2012 Elections preview: Comparing state legislative filing deadlines

As of July 12, all signature filing deadlines have passed.

Primaries

See also: 2012 election dates

There are state legislative primaries taking place this week in three states – Alaska, Arizona, and Vermont.

A total of 156 state legislative incumbents have been defeated in a primary – 99 Republicans and 57 Democrats.

So far, primaries have taken place in 36 states.

Special elections

See also: State legislative special elections, 2012

So far in 2012 there have been 30 special elections in 12 states.

There are no special elections scheduled to take place this week.

Looking ahead

Upcoming special elections include:

• September 4: Virginia Senate District 5, Virginia House of Delegates District 45

By Ballotpedia’s Congressional and State legislative teams

The primary season continued yesterday with elections in Michigan.

Here’s a recap of what happened in Michigan, where elections were held for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and State House.

Congress

U.S. Senate

United States Senate elections in Michigan, 2012

Incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow won her primary with no opposition. Pete Hoekstra defeated Clark Durant, Gary Glenn, and Randy Hekman to secure the Republican nomination.

U.S. House

United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2012

Michigan had a total of 14 seats on the ballot in 2012. A total of 56 candidates filed to run, made up of 20 Democratic challengers, 14 Republican challengers, 13 incumbents and 9 third-party candidates. A total of 353 U.S. House seats have held primaries. Thus far, 57.51% of possible primaries have been contested. Michigan‘s contested figure of 46.43% (13 out of 28 possible party primaries) is less competitive than the national average.

Six incumbents ran unopposed in their primary yesterday: Dan Benishek (R) of District 1, Bill Huizenga (R) of District 2, Justin Amash (R) of District 3, Dave Camp (R) of District 4, Sander Levin (D) of District 9, and Candice Miller (R) of District 10.

One incumbent was defeated by another in District 14. Incumbent Gary Peters defeated fellow incumbent Hansen Clarke and challengers Brenda Lawrence, Bob Costello, and Mary Waters in the Republican primary election.

The remaining five incumbents won their primary battles convincingly.

District 6: Incumbent Fred Upton defeated former state representative Jack Hoogendyk.

District 7: Incumbent Tim Walberg easily defeated Dan Davis, receiving 76% of the vote.

District 8: Incumbent Mike Rogers won his primary battle with Vernon Molnar and Brian Hetrick, garnering a whopping 86% of the vote.

District 12: Incumbent John D. Dingell, Jr. received nearly 80% of the vote to defeat Daniel Marcin.

District 13: Incumbent John Conyers, Jr. defeated his four primary opponents, securing 55% of the vote.

In Michigan‘s 11th district, Kerry Bentivolio successfully staved off Nancy Cassis‘s write-in campaign. He will now face Syed Taj (D) in the general election.

State legislature

See also Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2012

There were 110 total legislative seats with elections – Only the House is holding elections in 2012.

There were 51 (46%) contested Democratic primaries and 36 (33%) contested Republican primaries. Thus, there were 87 races with at least two candidates on the ballot. The 87 major party primaries represented 40% of possible primaries. This figure was higher than the national contested average of 19.38% for states that have had filing deadlines.

Five incumbents were defeated in the Michigan State Legislature yesterday.

The defeated incumbents were:

• Tim Bledsoe (D), District 2
• Jimmy Womack (D), District 3
• Maureen Stapleton (D), District 6
• Lesia Liss (D), District 28
• Kurt E. Damrow (R), District 84

House

Other races of note in the House:

District 4: Rose Mary Robinson beat out ten other challengers in the Democratic primary.

District 40: Michael D. McCready narrowly won with only 32% of the vote, with runners-up David W. Potts and David Wolkinson each garnering 30%.

District 83: Republican incumbent Paul Muxlow escaped with a tight victory in one of the most anticipated races of the night, beating challenger Bob Eick 5,198 to 5,066.^[1]

District 88: In an exceptionally close race for this open seat, Roger Victory defeated Amanda Sue Van Essen by 88 votes, among more than 12,000 cast in the district.^[1]

District 107: In a race that has yet to be officially called, Suzanne Shumway (D) leads Jim Martin by 27 votes.^[1]

By Eric Veram

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri: The primary election in Missouri is tomorrow, August 7, and voters will be deciding on one ballot measure, Amendment 2.

If passed, the would alter the state constitution by expanding the general constitutional right to religious freedom. The measure specifies that citizens have the right to express their religious beliefs through worship “in private or public settings, on government premises, on public property, and in all public schools.” The measure mandates that public schools display the U.S. Bill of Rights.

Measure challenged in court

On July 7, 2011 the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Eastern Missouri and the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri filed a lawsuit, known as Madeline Coburn et al v. Robert N. Mayer et al., challenging the wording of the ballot summary. According to reports, the legal challenge calls for the summary to be rewritten or for the measure to be removed from the 2012 statewide ballot.^[1]

Specifically the lawsuit challenges that the summary is misleading because it does not mention that students could use the proposed amendment to avoid homework assignments or that the measure would “remove any state constitutional protection of religious expression or liberty for prisoners in state or local custody.”^[2]

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a minister in the United Methodist Church who is a spiritual adviser to inmates in the Missouri Department of Corrections and an associate professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.^[2]

On March 29, Missouri Judge Pat Joyce upheld the prayer amendment’s summary, allowing the measure to remain on the ballot.^[3]

What will appear on the ballot

According to the Missouri Secretary of State‘s website, the official ballot language reads:^[4]

A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to provide that neither the state nor political subdivisions shall establish any official religion. The amendment further provides that a citizen’s right to express their religious beliefs regardless of their religion shall not be infringed and that the right to worship includes prayer in private or public settings, on government premises, on public property, and in all public schools. The amendment also requires public schools to display the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution.

A “no” vote will not change the current constitutional provisions protecting freedom of religion.

By Ballotpedia’s state executive team

SPRINGFIELD, Missouri: There are five state executive seats up for election this year in Missouri: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer. In the race for treasurer, there are no contested primaries.

A total of 36 candidates are running for state executive office. Four of the five incumbents are seeking re-election; Robin Carnahan, the current secretary of state, is retiring from office. Third party candidates are making a strong showing this year: the Libertarian Party has a candidate in each of the five races and the Constitution Party has candidates in the elections for governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state.

Candidates are listed below in the order in which they will appear on tomorrow’s ballot. In Missouri, candidates who filed on the first day of filing (February 28, 2012) “selected a number by random drawing to determine their placement on the primary ballot. After the first day, all candidates are placed on the ballot in order of their filing.”^[1]

Read more here.

By Geoff Pallay

MADISON, Wisconsin: An early look at the 2012 legislative primary results indicates a growing number of primary challengers are defeating incumbent state legislators than in previous years.

A new report released today by Ballotpedia, Primary Change: Anti-Incumbency Voting Patterns in State Legislative Primaries, finds that 76 incumbent state legislators have lost in primaries so far in 2012.

There will be 6,015 state legislative seats up for election in 2012. Thus far, a total of 2,930 seats have held primaries, which accounts for 48.7 percent of the seats that will be up for election this presidential year.

Of the 76 incumbents that have lost a primary in 2012, 22 are Democratic incumbents and 54 are Republican incumbents.

Main results

Figure 1

For this study, Ballotpedia staff analyzed the races that have been held through July 26, 2012. We tracked how many incumbents ran for re-election, then explored how many faced a primary opponent; and finally, how many were ultimately defeated in the primary. This process was a sub-study within the larger Ballotpedia project, the Competitiveness Index.

2012 results

• 2,301 incumbents have sought re-election so far in 2012
• 513 of them (22.29 percent) have faced a primary opponent
• 76 incumbents have lost in a primary (14.8 percent)

2010 results

• 4,985 incumbents sought re-election
• 1,133 incumbents faced a primary (22.7 percent)
• 95 incumbents were defeated. (8.38 percent)

2012 vs. 2010

• The 14.8 percent of incumbents who have lost a primary in 2012 is 76.7 percent higher than the 8.38 percent in 2010.
• Twelve of the 76 incumbents defeated this year lost to a fellow incumbent in districts whose boundaries were changed through redistricting. Even subtracting these incumbents, the rate of defeats in 2012 is higher than in 2010.

Further analysis

As the remaining primaries unfold, Ballotpedia staff will be tracking to see how the ultimate total figures shape up to the 2010 levels. If the early trends continue, at least 150 incumbents could lose in a primary in 2012.

Full study

• Primary Change: Anti-Incumbency Voting Patterns in State Legislative Primaries

Edited by Greg Janetka
This week’s tracker features a look at signature filing deadlines for candidates wishing to run in 2012 legislative races, which have now passed in all states.

Note: This is an abridged version of the Tracker, for the full report click here.

Weekly highlight

Candidates for the New York State Legislature had until last Thursday to file to be on the September 13 primary ballot. With the passing of that deadline, major party candidates have now filed in all states and it is worth while looking at requirements and deadlines across the country, which are not created equal. This year 44 states will hold state legislative elections. While each state holds a primary, the amount of time between the signature filing deadline and the primary differs widely from 60 days in North Dakota all the way to 158 days in Connecticut. What this essentially means is that candidates in Connecticut have 98 days more days to campaign than those in North Dakota.

• 10 states have between 60-69 days. These account for 1,468 seats.
• 8 states with 70-79 days. These account for 1,082 seats.
• 15 states with 80-89 days. These account for 1,927 seats.
• 11 states with 90 or more days. These account for 1,502 seats.

Another major factor is what it takes to get on to the ballot. First, there are filing fees. Some states, such as Tennessee and Vermont, do not require filing fees, while in others it shoots way up. In Arkansas, for example, individual parties set the filing fees – Democrats must pay $4,500 (Senate) and $3,000 (House) while Republicans must pay $7,500 (Senate) and $3,000 (House). Another factor is the number of signatures necessary. Again, some states, including Montana and Nebraska, do not require any signatures, only fees. At the other end of the spectrum is Illinois, where major party candidates must obtain 1,000 (Senate) and 500 (House) signatures. New party and independent candidates must obtain 3,000 (Senate) and 1,500 (House) signatures.

The one thing all states have in common is candidates willing to jump through all of the required hoops in the hope of making it through to the general election and then on to the state house.

Sessions

This week 2 out of 50 state legislatures – Ohio and Massachusetts – are meeting in regular session. As of May 16, all states had convened their 2012 sessions. No states are projected to adjourn this week.

Thirty-eight states have adjourned for the year, while four states – Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas – will not hold regular sessions in 2012.

Special sessions

In 2011, special sessions were a widespread occurrence in state legislatures. This was largely due to states’ having to complete the redistricting process for legislative and congressional districts. Overall in 2011, there were 45 special sessions in 28 states.

Since the beginning of 2012, there have been 15 special sessions in 13 states. There are no special sessions currently ongoing.

Minnesota

After meeting with legislative leaders last Wednesday, Governor Mark Dayton (D) announced there will be a special session to address flood relief. Tentatively scheduled for late August, a date has not yet been scheduled as state and local officials are waiting to hear how much the federal government will cover.^[1]

The special session may also address previous disasters, such as the Verso Paper Mill, which was destroyed by a fire in May, and the 2010 tornado that damaged public facilities in Wadena. Dayton has made it clear from the beginning, however, that he only wants the session to address disaster relief, something the legislature has historically come together on. That hasn’t stopped some from trying to interject divisive, partisan issues into the session.^[2]

2012 Legislative Elections

A total of 86 of the 99 chambers will hold state legislative elections on November 6, 2012.

1,301 (65.97%) of the country’s 1,972 state senate seats are up for election in November 2012, and 4,714 (87.12%) of the country’s 5,411 state house seats are up for election. Altogether, 6,015 (81.47%) of the country’s 7,383 state legislative seats will be up for election during the presidential election year.

• 43 of the 50 state senates are holding elections.
• 43 of the 49 state houses are holding elections.

The 6,015 seats up for election is 110 fewer than the 6,125 that were contested in 2010.

As of July 12, all signature filing deadlines have passed. There are no state legislative primaries taking place this week. So far, primaries have taken place in 24 states.

A total of 75 state legislative incumbents have been defeated in a primary – 53 Republicans and 22 Democrats.

Special Elections

See also: State legislative special elections, 2012

So far in 2012 there have been 27 special elections in 11 states.

There is one special election scheduled to take place this week in South Carolina.

Glenn McConnell (R) succeeded to the office of Lieutenant Governor after Ken Ard resigned the post amid a campaign spending scandal. A special election to fill his state Senate seat will take place tomorrow. A special Republican primary was held on May 29.

The contest is between Walter Hundley (R), Paul Tinkler (D), and Sue Edward (G).

Edited by Greg Janetka

Today’s tracker features a partisan count update and spotlight on Pennsylvania, where the legislature saw a flurry of activity before recessing for the summer.

This is an abridged version of our weekly Tracker report. For the full report click here.

Weekly highlight

The Pennsylvania General Assembly currently sits in summer recess and is not scheduled to get back to work until August 23.^[1] Its last days before going on break were busy ones, highlighted by Gov. Tom Corbett (R) signing the new budget into law fifteen minutes before the new fiscal year was to begin and legislation passed after the Legislature’s own deadline.^[2]

Back in 2005, lawmakers ignited a firestorm of controversy when they passed legislative pay raises in the early morning hours. The raise, which was eventually declared unconstitutional by the courts, led to a number of reforms, including a rule that sessions have to end by 11 p.m..^[3] Legislators suspended that ruled this year in order to pass about a dozen bills, including HB 254 which extends Philadelphia’s red-light camera program and allows Pittsburgh and 14 suburban Philadelphia municipalities to begin such programs.^[2]

The amendment expanding the use of red-light cameras was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R) on June 28 and adopted without debate, discussion or a public hearing. The final vote on the bill did not occur until 1:10 a.m. on July 1, when it passed the House by a margin of 113-72. Rep. Greg Vitali (D) rallied against the bill, arguing that 1 a.m. was not an appropriate time to pass it and that it should be shelved. Others objected to it because of privacy concerns and conflicting evidence whether red-light cameras reduce crashes or not. Their effort, however, was in vain as it passed the House by a margin of 113-72.^[4]

Tim Potts, co-director of Democracy Rising PA, a nonprofit seeking government reform, addressed the situation, stating:

“No one who pays attention can excuse the way this place operates. Every deadline crisis is a manufactured crisis designed to…keep citizens as completely in the dark as much as possible. And so we continue to push these issues because they will result in more accountability, lower costs to taxpayers, greater transparency and the restoration of people’s confidence in their government.”^[3]

Partisan breakdown

As of today, July 9, 2012, the following figures represent the cumulative partisan breakdown of the 50 state senates and 49 state houses. In the 50 states, Republicans currently control 53.6% of all seats while Democrats hold 44.8%. All told, Republicans control 58 chambers while Democrats are the majority in 36 chambers. Four chambers are tied, while one is non-partisan.

The totals represent a loss of 7 Republican legislators from the June 4 Tracker.

The partisan composition of state houses refers to which party holds the majority of seats in the state house or the lower level of each state legislature. Altogether, in the 49 state houses, there are 5,413 state representatives.

See also: Partisan composition of state houses

As of July 9, 2012, the breakdown of chamber control by party is as follows:

• 18 chambers
• 30 chambers
• 1 chamber (Oregon)

The partisan composition of state senates refers to which political party holds the majority of seats in the state senate. Altogether, in the 50 state senates, there are 1,971 state senators.

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

As of July 9, 2012, the breakdown of chamber control by party is as follows:

• 18 chambers
• 28 chambers
• 3 chambers (Alaska), (Virginia), (Wisconsin)
• 1 chamber (Nebraska)

Sessions

This week 2 out of 50 state legislatures – Ohio and Massachusetts – are meeting in regular session. As of May 16, all states had convened their 2012 sessions. No states are projected to adjourn this week.

Thirty-eight states have adjourned for the year, while four states – Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas – will not hold regular sessions in 2012.

Special Sessions:

In 2011, special sessions were a widespread occurrence in state legislatures. This was largely due to states’ having to complete the redistricting process for legislative and congressional districts. Overall in 2011, there were 45 special sessions in 28 states.

Since the beginning of 2012, there have been 15 special sessions in 13 states. There are no special sessions currently ongoing.

2012 Legislative Elections

A total of 86 of the 99 chambers will hold state legislative elections on November 6, 2012.

1,301 (65.97%) of the country’s 1,972 state senate seats are up for election in November 2012, and 4,714 (87.12%) of the country’s 5,411 state house seats are up for election. Altogether, 6,015 (81.47%) of the country’s 7,383 state legislative seats will be up for election during the presidential election year.

• 43 of the 50 state senates are holding elections.
• 43 of the 49 state houses are holding elections.

The 6,015 seats up for election is 110 fewer than the 6,125 that were contested in 2010.

Filing deadlines

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2012 state government elections and 2012 Elections preview: Comparing state legislative filing deadlines

No states have signature filing deadlines this week.

So far, deadlines have passed in 42 states. The final two remaining states have deadlines this week.

States with upcoming deadlines:

• July 10: Delaware
• July 12: New York

Primaries

See also: 2012 election dates

There are no state legislative primaries taking place this week.

So far, primaries have taken place in 24 states.

A total of 75 state legislative incumbents have been defeated in a primary – 53 Republicans and 22 Democrats.

States with upcoming primaries:

• July 31: Georgia
• August 2: Tennessee
• August 7: Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Washington
• August 11: Hawaii

Recalls

Wisconsin

See also: Timeline of events of the recall of Wisconsin State Senators in 2012

Recalls against four Republican state senators took place on June 5.^[11] Going into the recalls the Senate was tied, meaning if the Democrats could win one of the recalls they would take control of the chamber.^[12]

Incumbents Scott Fitzgerald (R) and Terry Moulton (R) won easy victories. Republican Jerry Petrowski easily won Pam Galloway‘s (R) former seat. Unofficial results showed John Lehman (D) defeated Van Wanggaard (R) by 779 votes and he declared victory. Wanggaard considered a recount – the county’s board of canvassars had until June 15 to submit final vote totals. ^[13] With the official canvass showing Lehman winning by 834 votes, Wanggaard called for a recount on June 15.^[14]

The recount began on June 20 and concluded July 2.^[15] Final tallies released show Lehman won by 819 votes – 36,358 to 35,539.^[16] Wanggaard was looking at possible legal challenges. If none are filed the results will be certified on Wednesday.^[17]

There have been a number of allegations of voter fraud in the recall, with Assemblyman Robin Vos (R) among the loudest voices. PolitiFact invested the claims, ultimately rating them “False” as based on the information currently available. According to the report, “The Racine County Sheriff’s Department is investigating issues regarding election procedures and paperwork, but a top official told us they do not suspect fraud. What’s more, Vos acknowledges he has no direct evidence of fraud.”^[18]