January 15, 2013

By Geoff Pallay

COLUMBIA, South Carolina: Former South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford announced she would not run in the special election to fill a vacancy in the 1st congressional district.^[1]

The vacancy was created when former representative Tim Scott (R) was appointed by Governor Nikki Haley (R) to the United States Senate.

The filing deadline for candidates is January 28, 2013. A primary will be held on March 19, with the general election to follow on May 7, 2013.

Other candidates who have been rumored to run for the seat include:

 Keith Blandford, former Libertarian canidate^[2]

 Larry Grooms, state senator^[3][4][5]

 Larry Kobrovsky, Charleston County School Board member^[4]

 Chip Limehouse, state representative^[3][4][5]

 Peter McCoy, state representative^[3][4]

 James Merrill, state representative^[3]

 Mark Sanford, former South Carolina Governor^[6]

 Elliot Summey, Charleston County Councilman^[4][5]

 Paul Thurmond, state senator^[3][4][5]

Former Governor Sanford is considered a front-runner in part due to his campaign war chest, which has $120,000 from prior campaigns.^[7]

By Ballotpedia’s Congressional team

MADISON, Wisconsin: South Carolina had seven U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2012. Due to population increases the state received an additional congressional seat in this year’s election. The six prior incumbents all ran for and won re-election on November 6, 2012.

None of the incumbents faced any serious opposition in the general election. The newly created district was won by Tom Rice (R). The closest race was separated by 11 percentage points.

Here are the candidates who won election.

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
1st	Bobbie Rose  Timothy Scott Keith Blandford	Tim Scott	Timothy Scott	No
2nd	Joe Wilson	Joe Wilson	Joe Wilson	No
3rd	Brian Doyle  Jeff Duncan	Jeff Duncan	Jeff Duncan	No
4th	Deb Morrow  Trey Gowdy  Jeff Sumerel	Trey Gowdy	Trey Gowdy	No
5th	Joyce Knott  Mick Mulvaney	Mick Mulvaney	Mick Mulvaney	No
6th	James Clyburn Nammu Y Muhammad	Jim Clyburn	James Clyburn	No
7th	Gloria Bromell Tinubu  Tom Rice	New District	Tom Rice	N/A

Margin of victory for winners

There were a total of 7 seats up for election in 2012 in South Carolina. The following table shows the margin of victory for each district winner, which is calculated by examining the percentage difference between the top-two vote getters. If the race was uncontested, the margin of victory is listed as 100%.

District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Vote	Top Opponent
South Carolina, District 1	Timothy Scott	26.3%	290,013	Bobbie Rose
South Carolina, District 2	Joe Wilson	92.5%	203,718	Write-In
South Carolina, District 3	Jeff Duncan	33.3%	254,763	Brian Doyle
South Carolina, District 4	Trey Gowdy	31.2%	266,884	Deb Morrow
South Carolina, District 5	Mick Mulvaney	11.1%	278,003	Joyce Knott
South Carolina, District 6	James Clyburn	88.1%	233,615	Nammu Y Muhammad
South Carolina, District 7	Tom Rice	11.1%	275,738	Gloria Bromell Tinubu

National picture

Both chambers of the United States Congress remain split after the November 6, 2012 election. Democrats increased their majority in the U.S. Senate while cutting into the Republicans majority in theU.S. House.

Of the 435 candidates who won election to the U.S. House, 85 of them were challengers, which represents 19.5 percent of U.S. House members. Of those 85, 50 are Democratic and 35 are Republican. A total of 27 incumbents were defeated — 10 Democratic and 17 Republican.

November 19, 2012

Edited by Greg Janetka
This week’s tracker features a breakdown of when state legislators will be sworn into office and a look at 2013 elections.

Weekly highlight

See also: Swearing-in dates of state legislators elected on November 6, 2012 and When state legislators assume office after a general electionWhen legislators are sworn in

While votes are still being counted in many areas, some newly elected and re-elected state legislators have already been sworn into office. The 6,015 candidates who won seats on November 6 will progressively be sworn-in from now until February.

In 34 of the 44 states that held elections this year, legislators who are elected in November don’t assume office until 2013, while in 10 states, legislators assume office before December 31.

Three states - Hawaii, Indiana, and South Carolina - have already sworn in their new legislators. Florida will join the party tomorrow, with Oklahoma on Wednesday. Another five states - North Dakota, Idaho, California, New Hampshire, and Maine - will swear in legislators-elect between December 1 and December 5.

Thirty-three states will swear-in legislators between January 1 and January 28. Nevada legislators-elect have the longest wait to officially be sworn into office. While their terms begin on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in November (the day after election day), legislators are not officially sworn in until the first Monday in February following the election. Per the Nevada constitution, the term of the incumbent leaving office ends on the day after the election. Thus they won’t officially be sworn-in until February 4, 2013.

[edit]2013 elections preview

See also: State legislative elections, 2013

As an election-fatigued nation bids adieu to the 2012 elections, take heart – next year will be a quiet one, at least as far as state legislatures are concerned. While 86 of the country’s 99 legislative chambers were up for election in 2012, only 3 chambers will be up in 2013 – the New Jersey State Senate, New Jersey General Assembly, and Virginia House of Delegates. Virginia will not hold anystate senate elections in 2013.

Louisiana and Mississippi also typically hold elections in odd years. However, legislators are elected to 4-year terms in those states and those will not be up for election again until 2015.

40 of the country’s 1,972 state senate seats are up for re-election in November 2013, and 180 of the country’s 5,411 state house seats are up for re-election. Altogether, 220 of the country’s 7,383 state legislative seats are up for re-election on November 5, 2013.

[edit]

• Sessions
• Redistricting
• Special Elections

 

This week 3 out of 50 state legislatures are meeting - New Jersey and Ohio are meeting in regular session, while Massachusetts is meeting in informal session, which it will continue to do throughout the rest of the year.

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. The first 2013 session is scheduled to begin on December 3 in California.

[edit]Regular sessions

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions and Dates of 2013 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, Nevada, North Dakota and Wyoming, while prefiling of legislation is going on inAlabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas.^[1]

[edit]Special sessions

Snapshot of State Legislatures: Monday, November 19, 2012
There are 7,383 Total State Legislators
Total Democratic state legislators	3,301 (44.7%)
Total Republican state legislators	3,947 (53.5%)
There are 99 Total State Legislative Chambers
Total Democratic Party-controlled chambers	37
Total Republican Party-controlled chambers	58
Total tied or non-partisan chambers	4
2012 Session Information
Total Special Elections	39
Total Special Sessions	20

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

During 2012, there have been 20 special sessions in 16 states. There are no special sessions currently scheduled.

[edit]In recess

As of today, November 19, 6 state’s sessions are currently in recess:

• California - In recess from September 1, 2012 to November 29, 2012.^[2]
• Illinois - In recess from August 17, 2012 to November 27, 2012.^[3]
• Michigan - In recess November 9, 2012 to November 26, 2012.^[2]
• New York - In recess from June 22, 2012 to January 8, 2013.^[2]
• Pennsylvania - In recess until November 30, 2012.^[2]
• Wisconsin - In recess from March 17 to December 31, 2012.^[2]

November 2, 2012

Edited by Eric Veram

Editor’s note:This is the fifth in a seven part series. The Regional Breakdown series will be published every Wednesday and Friday leading up to the November 6 general election.

Southeast region, UNITED STATES:

Originally started in 2010, when 184 measures graced statewide ballots in 38 states, the breakdown series reviews ballot measures by region. This year, there are 188 ballot measures on the ballot in 38 states, with 176 of those measures set to be decided on November 6 in 38 states.

Ballotpedia divided the nation up into six regions in 2012: Northwest, Southwest, South Central, Midwest, Northeast and Southeast. In each report you will find what measures are on your state’s ballot, and what proposed amendments or statutes your surrounding area will vote on, which may or may not have an impact on future ballots in your state or area.

Below is a breakdown of how many statewide measures are on the ballot in the Southeast and how that compares to 2008 and 2010, followed by summaries of each state.

Last Regional Breakdown: Midwest regionNext Regional Breakdown – Northeast region

Overview

Florida

This year voters will see eleven measure on their ballot. All of these measures are legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, despite the fact that numerous citizen initiatives tried to make the ballot. Voters may notice that the final measure on the ballot is Amendment 12, this is because Amendment 7 was removed due an error in the measure language and then placed back the ballot as Amendment 8.

Several measures are worth highlighting due to either their relation to national issues or the amount of buzz they have stirred up in the state. The first is Amendment 1, an amendment that seeks to lessen the impact of the Affordable Care Act in the state by counteracting the individual mandate and other provisions of the law. Even if the amendment passes, however, it may prove to be merely a symbolic act due to the supremacy of federal law.

Amendment 6 is another highly debated measure, one that would prohibit public funds from being spent on any abortion procedure or health-benefits coverage that includes the coverage of abortions except as required by federal law and to save the mother’s life. Supporters of the amendment include a lengthy list of state politicians and religious organizations who argue that using public money to pay for abortion operations is morally wrong because not all taxpayers support the practice as a legal medical procedure. Opponents argue that the amendment intrudes on the private life of Florida citizens. They argue that public employees should be allowed to have the same health insurance coverage as everyone else, not coverage dictated by the legislature’s moral values.

The following are quick facts about Florida state ballot measure information:

• Initiative and referendum state: Yes

• Last ballot measure election: November 2, 2010, during the general election

• Ballot measure approval rating since 2000: 84%

Ballot measure notes

• In order to pass, amendments in Florida require a 60% majority approval.
• Florida voters have decided on ballot measures every even year since 2000.

The ballot lineup

November 6, 2012 ballot measures Amendment 1 - Prevents penalties for not purchasing health care coverage in order to comply with federal health care reforms. Amendment 2 - Allows for property tax discounts for disabled veterans. Amendment 3 - Replaces existing revenue limits with a new limitation based on inflation and population changes. Amendment 4 - mends commercial and non-homestead property taxes. Amendment 5 - Gives the Legislature increased control over the judicial branch. Amendment 6 - Prohibits public funds for abortions. Amendment 8 - Repeals ban of public dollars for religious funding. Amendment 9 - Authorizes the legislature to totally or partially exempt surviving spouses of military veterans or first responders who died in the line of duty from paying property taxes. Amendment 10 - Would make it a felony to maliciously harm a cat, dog, or horse, with exemptions for people with occupations involving animals. Amendment 11 - Authorizes counties and municipalities to offer additional tax exemptions on homes of low-income seniors. Amendment 12 - Revises selection process for student member of Board of Governors of State University System.

What people are saying

Alabama

A grand total of eleven constitutional amendments will appear for approval or rejection by Alabama voters this year. Since the state is not an initiative and referendum state, each one of the measures was placed on the ballot by the state legislature. The proposed amendments cover a broad array of topics, including the federal health car mandate, union voting, and legislative salaries. One amendment, however, is particularly interesting because it seeks to address the state’s past and its reputation to some people.

This amendment appears as number four on the ballot and is known as the Segregation Reference Ban. If passed, the measure would remove language from the Alabama Constitution that references segregation by race in schools. The measure would also repeal Section 259, which relates to poll taxes. Though supporters see the amendment as a step forward in addressing Alabama’s history as a slave state, opponents say there are issues not with what the amendment removes form the constitution, but with what it doesn’t remove. Charles Miller, of the Secular Coalition for Alabama, says the amendment should be opposed because it leaves the following line int he state constitution: “…but nothing in this Constitution shall be construed as creating or recognizing any right to education or training at public expense…” This line, he says, should be repealed as well because it could be used to end public education outright in the state.

The following are quick facts about Alabama state ballot measure information:

• Initiative and referendum state: No

• Last ballot measure election: September 18, 2012, during a special election

• Ballot measure approval rating since 2000: 67%

Ballot measure notes

• This year marks the most measures to appear on an Alabama ballot since the 2000 general election, in which there were fourteen.
• In Alabama, a state constitutional amendment is required to pass any local county laws.

The ballot lineup

November 6, 2012 ballot measures Amendment 1 - Extend payments made to the Forever Wild Land Trust for a 20-year period. Amendment 2 - Aims to allow issuance of general obligation bonds of no more than $750 million. Amendment 3 - Would define the Stockton Landmark District within Baldwin County. Amendment 4 - To remove references to segregation of schools in the state constitution. Amendment 5 - Transfer liabilities to Mobile Area Water and Sewer System. Amendment 6 - Would prohibit mandatory participation in any health care system. Amendment 7 - Would allow for the use of secret ballots in union votes. Amendment 8 - Provide that the compensation paid to legislators do not increased during term of office. Amendment 9 - Allows legislature to implement business privilege tax on corporations. Amendment 10 - Relating to authority of state legislature and banking in the state. Amendment 11 - Prohibit any municipality outside of Lawrence County from imposing any municipal ordinance.

What people are saying

Georgia

This fall Georgia has two legislatively-referred constitutional amendments on the ballot, and, unlike the vote in July, both are fully statewide. Both amendments focus on granting additional powers to the state legislature, but one in particular has attracted a fair amount media attention.

That measure, Amendment 1 on the ballot, allows the state to approve charter school requests that have been denied by local school boards. This measure is a legislative response to a 2011 Georgia Supreme Court ruling declaring that the Georgia Charter School Commission was unconstitutional. It is because of this ruling that supporters say the amendment is necessary. In addition, supporters say that charters are good for the education system because it provides competition for traditional public schools. Opponents, however, say that another bureaucratic board that transfers local control of education to the state level is unhealthy for the public education system.

The following are quick facts about Georgia state ballot measure information:

• Initiative and referendum state: No

• Last ballot measure election: July 31, 2012, during a special election

• Ballot measure approval rating since 2000: 77%

Ballot measure notes

• This year marks the shortest Georgia ballot, in terms of statewide questions, since 2004 when there were also only two.
• Georgia voters have answered ballot question every even year since 2000.

The ballot lineup

November 6, 2012 ballot measures Amendment 1 - Regarding the establishment of public charter schools. Amendment 2 - Gives the State Properties Commission the authority to enter into multiyear lease agreements.

What people are saying

Kentucky

Voters in Kentucky will have to answer only a single ballot question next week. That measure, House Bill 1, is actually one of a number of measures across the country related to hunting rights.

The measure, placed on the ballot by the state legislature, would add the personal right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife, to the state constitution. Like supporters of similar measures in other states, people and groups in favor of the amendment say it is necessary to safeguard against possible future threats by animal rights groups. Opponents argue that there is no current threat to hunting rights in the state, some even go further to suggest that the amendment, and others like it, is being used by groups such as the NRA to solidify their political position.

The following are quick facts about Kentucky state ballot measure information:

• Initiative and referendum state: No

• Last ballot measure election: November 2004 during the general election

• Ballot measure approval rating since 2000: 100%

Ballot measure notes

• One of the most interesting measures to not make the ballot this year was an amendment allowing non-violent ex-felons to vote.
• Kentucky residents have voted on only five measures since 2000, all of which passed.

The ballot lineup

November 6, 2012 ballot measures House Bill 1 - Would protect the right of residents to hunt and fish in the state.

What people are saying

South Carolina

Amendment 1 is the sole statewide ballot question appearing before voters in South Carolina this year. Though the measure has not received much press, it would make some interesting changes to the state’s executive branch. Primarily, the measure requires that candidates for the office of governor choose a running mate for the office of lieutenant governor, this differs form the current system where they are elected separately. The measure would also make it so that the lieutenant governor no longer presided as president of the state senate. The senate would then elect its own president. If approved, these changes would not take effect until 2018.
The following are quick facts about South Carolina state ballot measure information:

• Initiative and referendum state: No

• Last ballot measure election: November 2, 2010, during the general election

• Ballot measure approval rating since 2000: 80%

Ballot measure notes

• A constitutional amendment that would allow initiative and referendum in the state was actually proposed by the legislature but failed to make the ballot.
• This year marks the fewest ballot questions South Carolina residents have seen on a ballot this century.

The ballot lineup

November 6, 2012 ballot measures Amendment 1 - Require governor to select running mate for lieutenant governor.

Virginia

This year two measures were passed on to the ballot by the Virginia State Legislature. One of these measure is a relatively low impact amendment regarding legislative sessions, but the other, having to do with eminent domain, is receiving a fair amount of press.

This amendment, which appears on the ballot as Question 1, would prohibit eminent domain from being used for private enterprise, job creation, tax revenue generation or economic development, thereby restricting it to only being invoked to take private land for public use. Supporters, which include the Virginia Farm Bureau, say the amendment helps define what public use is and, as a result, makes sure that more land is not taken from existing businesses than is necessary. Opponents, which include a number of local governmental bodies, say the amendment severely limits their ability to approve projects that would improve life for their counties and townships.

The following are quick facts about Virginia state ballot measure information:

• Initiative and referendum state: No

• Last ballot measure election: November 2004 during the general election

• Ballot measure approval rating since 2000: 100%

Ballot measure notes

• Since 2000, Virginians have considered 14 ballot measures, all of which have passed.
• The only election year this century in which the state did not see ballot questions was 2008.

The ballot lineup

November 6, 2012 ballot measures Question 1 - Would limit instances when private property could be taken for public use Question 2 - Allows the legislature to delay the start of its veto session by up to one week.

What people are saying

August 31, 2012

By George Sousouris

Columbia, South Carolina: 36 candidates that had previously been removed from the ballot have been reinstated through successful petitions to the state Election Commission. Wednesday August 15 was the last day for verification to occur, so that ballot is now set for the November 6 elections.^[1]

Many of the newly minted candidates were in Lexington county, but most were running in local County Council races. One Senate candidate, Katrina Shealy (R), was immediately endorsed by Republicans upon her certification. She will face incumbent Jake Knotts (R) who has recently come under fire from his party for his role in the ballot controversy.^[2][3]

Controversy has surrounded this years state legislative elections in South Carolina since a Court decision in May kicked-off nearly 150 candidates. These candidates were unable to participate in the June 12 primay, and many have since attempted to get on the general election ballot through through petitions, a process that normally only attracts one or two candidates in most elections cycles.^[1]

Eight petitions were deemed invalid, and those candidates will not be listed on the ballot.^[1]

By Tyler King

MADISON, Wisconsin: South Carolina’s legislative elections in 2012 are less competitive than most of the country, based on Ballotpedia’s Competitiveness index which captures the extent of electoral competitiveness exhibited in state legislative elections.

About the Competitiveness index:
The Ballotpedia state legislative competitive index looks at three factors: is the incumbent running for re-election in a district; if so, does he or she draw a primary challenge; and are there two major party candidates in the general election.

Ballotpedia’s index is created by summing the three percentages and then dividing by three. Each state is given 1 point for each percentage. Then, the points are added up and divided by three to establish the index rating. 1 is least competitive and 100 equals most competitive.

The comprehensive 2012 state legislative competitive index will be released following the completion of the primaries in all 44 states with 2012 state legislative elections. It will examine all 6,015 state legislative seats that are up for election on November 6, 2012.

Once a state releases official primary candidate lists, Ballotpedia staff analyzes the data to determine primary competitiveness. Just one state remains that has passed their filing deadline, but has not been analyzed by Ballotpedia staff — New York.

South Carolina in 2012:
South Carolina’s filing deadline was on March 30, 2012. It was the 22nd state to be analyzed by Ballotpedia staff and the inclusion of its data brought the national index to 38.04 in 2012.

In South Carolina, there are 170 total state legislative seats with elections in 2012 and most current incumbents are seeking re-election.

Of those 170, 46 are State Senate seats and 124 are State House seats. A total of 146 incumbents (85.9%) are seeking re-election this year. Just 37 (25.3%) incumbents running for re-election face primary opposition. Additionally, there are 24 (14.1%) districts where an incumbent is not seeking re-election within that district. For November’s general elections, there will be 51 (30.0%) seats where more than one major party candidate will appear on the ballot.

Comparison to 2010:
In 2010, South Carolina ranked 41st in overall competitiveness.

• 8.9% of Districts were open seats, increasing to 14.1% in 2012.
• 23% of incumbents faced primary opposition, increasing to 25.3% in 2012.
• 29.8% of Districts had more than one major party candidate in the general election, compared to 30.0% in 2012.
• South Carolina’s 2010 competitiveness index was 20.6, compared to 23.1 in 2012.

By Ballotpedia’s Congressional and State Legislative teams

With primary season in full swing across the country, Virgina voters went to the polls yesterday to advance candidates to the general election.

Here’s what happened in congressional and legislative primaries.

Congress

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2012

South Carolina saw congressional primary races in seven different districts. Of the 14 possible primaries, just five were contested. Nationally, 60.56% of the congressional primaries so far have been contested, making South Carolina’s 35.7% of contesed primaries well below the national average. Only one of the six incumbents – Republican Rep. Joe Wilson - was challenged in the primary, though he won easily. In the 3rd district Democratic primary, broadcaster Brian Doyle beat businessman Cason Gaither. In the 4th district, Deb Morrow won over Democratic primary challenger Jimmy Tobias.^[1]

The district to watch was the newly-created 7th district. Four Democrats and 9 Republicans competed in the primary. Former Lt. Governor Andre Bauer and Tom Rice won the district and will face each other in a runoff election. Jay Jordan came in third place with 22% of the vote. On the Democratic side, Gloria Bromell Tinubu beat local attorney Preston Brittain, garnering 52% of the vote to Brittain’s 39%.^[1]

State legislature

South Carolina State Senate elections, 2012 and South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2012

There were 170 total legislative seats with elections in 2012 – 46 Senate seats and 124 House seats.

There were 10 (6%) contested Democratic primaries, 26 (15%) contested Republican primaries. Thus, there were 36 races with at least to candidates on the ballot. The 36 major party primaries represented 11% of possible primaries. This figure is less than half of the current national contested average of 24.18% for states that have had filing deadlines.

A total of 6 incumbents were defeated.

Impact of candidate disqualifications

At least part of the exceptionally low number of contested primaries (11%) can be attributed to the filing confusion surrounding each candidate’s “statement of economic interest” form. On May 2, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that any candidate who had not filed the necessary statement of economic interest would be ineligible to run, and subsequently ordered the political parties to remove candidates from the primary ballots if they had not properly filed the paperwork. Many incumbents found themselves unopposed, and some districts were left vacant altogether. According to state law, parties were unable to reopen filing for the seats.^[2]

After several failed lawsuits from parties and challengers attempting to halt the primary or get some candidates back on the ballot, it ultimately went forward on June 12 as planned with well over 200 candidates disqualified statewide. Several candidates were removed from the ballot as late as June 7, just 5 days before the primary.^[3][4]

In Anderson county, 15 of 23 challengers were deemed ineligible for the primary. Oconee County saw 11 of 13 challengers declared ineligible, which prompted local Republican party leaders to cancel the primary there.^[5]

Senate

In the Senate, 2 incumbents were defeated.

 District 8: Incumbent David Thomas is was defeated by Ross Turner and Joseph Swann, who will go on to face each other in a runoff election.

 District 38: Incumbent Mike Rose was defeated by Sean Bennett.

House

In the House, there were a total of 4 were incumbents defeated.

 District 3: Republican incumbent B.R. Skelton was defeated by Ed J. Harris.

 District 37: Republican incumbent Steve Parker lost his seat to Donna Wood.

 District 62: Democrats Denny Neilson and Robert Williams faced off, with Williams coming out the victor.

 District 122: Democrat Curtis Brantley was defeated by Bill Bowers.

June 5, 2012

Newsletter Signup

Edited by Al Ortiz

The Tuesday Count erupted this week into a full-flowing barrage of legislatively-referred constitutional amendments. These ballot measure certifications were found in four states this past week, all from state legislatures. Florida chipped in four, Maryland and Louisiana added two each, and South Carolina kicked in one measure.

Now that the dust has settled, the total stands at 111 measures on the ballot in 33 states.

Florida added the bulk of the measures with four proposals being sent to the November 2012 general election ballot. The four measures were passed by the state legislature, giving Florida residents a final grand total of 11 statewide measures to decide. This makes the state’s ballot measure total the biggest of any state this year, so far.

The freshly-added measures to the ballot were: Amendment 9, which would authorize the legislature to exempt surviving spouses of military veterans or first responders who died in the line of duty from paying property taxes; Amendment 10, a proposal to provide an exemption from ad valorem taxes levied by local governments on tangible personal property with a value greater than $25,000 but less than $50,000; Amendment 11, which would authorize counties and municipalities to offer additional tax exemptions on homes of low-income seniors; and Amendment 12, an amendment to revise the selection process for the student member of the Board of Governors of State University System.

The 11 legislative referrals in Florida in 2012 is the largest number of such measures on the state ballot in the past twenty years, according to Ballotpedia’s database of Florida ballot measures.

Maryland ushered in a pair of its own ballot measures for November 2012, with both measures also coming from the states’ legislature. One measure would provide conditions under which an elected official convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors would be removed from office, while the other would require judges of the Orphans’ Court for Baltimore County to have been admitted to practice law in Maryland and be in good standing with the Maryland Bar.

Louisiana mirrored Maryland by legislatively referring two of its own statewide questions this past week. Legislative session is now over in the state, but before state legislators went their separate ways, they rounded out the November ballot by adding a property tax exemption amendment and a right to bear arms question for voters to chime in on.

Finally, South Carolina cemented a single measure to the ballot last week, proposing a state constitutional amendment that would require that candidates for governor to select their running mates forlieutenant governor.

[edit]How did these measures make the ballot?

Below is a quick rundown of how the four state legislatures qualified this week’s legislatively-referred constitutional amendments for the ballot:

• Florida: In order to qualify for the November 2012 ballot, a proposed amendment required approval by a minimum of 60% in both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida State Senate.

• Louisiana: A legislatively-referred constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote from members of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature to be placed on the statewide ballot.

• Maryland: Placing a proposed amendment on the ballot requires a 60% vote of each chamber of the Maryland State Legislature.

• South Carolina: Section 1 of Article XVI of the South Carolina Constitution says that a legislatively-referred amendment can go on the ballot if approved by a 2/3rds vote of each house of the South Carolina State Legislature.

[edit]Quick hits

• Reports reveal huge spending disparity in fight over same-sex marriage in Maine: According to financial reports filed with the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, supporters of the Maine Same-Sex Marriage Question have raised nearly 36 times the amount of money raised by opponents. Mainers United for Marriage have reportedly about $359,000 while amendment opponents Protect Marriage Maine have raised nearly $10,000.^[1]

• Massachusetts moves to oppose a challenge to the Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Initiative: On Friday, June 1, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a motion to dismiss a petition to the Massachusetts Supreme Court asking that the measure be removed from the ballot. The petition was filed by the Massachusetts Prevention Alliance and claims that the current wording of the measure hides major parts of the proposed law. The attorney’s general office has challenged the petition saying it failed to provide some way for the court to grant its request, such as by proposing another way to write the ballot question.^[2]

• Same-sex marriage opponents in Washington prepare to file referendum signatures: According to the Preserve Marriage Washington website, supporters have collected over 200,00 signatures, well over the number required to place Referendum 74 on the ballot. Supporters have until Wednesday, June 6, to submit at least 120,577 valid signatures.^[3]

SPOTLIGHT:Detroit residents will get asked about marijuana, two years later
In Detroit, Michigan, the State Supreme Court ruled recently that a proposed marijuana legalization petition which had first gained enough signatures two years ago, must be placed on the ballot for voter consideration.

Proponents of the measure had circulated a petition and gained the required amount of signatures to place the issue on the ballot, but the city refused and the proposal ended up in court. The measure had been halted from going to a vote because election officials said that it went against state laws in regards to marijuana possession. The measure was first taken to the circuit court where they ruled with the city. An appeal was then made to the Court of Appeals which sided with the petitioners. The city then in turn appealed to the Supreme Court which denied that appeal, meaning the circuit ruling stood. Though the election date is not set, it likely will end up on the November ballot, according to reports.

The measure seeks to soften marijuana possession laws, meaning that if a person over 21 is caught with 1 ounce or less of marijuana, then they would not be in violation of the law and therefore could not be given a citation. Law enforcement officials could still arrest people in possession of marijuana, but they could not be given a citation, taking away any financial incentive for arresting those citizens. ^[4]

Also today, June 5, there are local elections in California, Wisconsin and Missouri. In California, 27 counties will decide local issues but in the other two states, just one county each has local issues on their ballots.

How many statewide questions are on the California primary election on June 5? Click here to find out!

BALLOT LAW UPDATE

Washington 2/3 requirement ruling: On May 30, Judge Bruce Heller ruled Washington Initiative 1053 unconstitutional. The initiative was approved in 2010, by a 64% to 36% margin. It required the legislature to approve tax increases by a two-thirds supermajority vote. Under the initiative, tax increases could also be approved by a simple majority of voters, and spending in excess of the expenditure limit was automatically referred to the ballot.

Heller found Initiative 1053, a statutory initiative, to be in conflict with Article II, Section 22 of the state constitution which requires only a simple majority for the passage of bills. In addition, Heller found the automatic referral process to be in conflict with Article II, Section 1(b) which requires a petition drive for referendums.

The state plans to appeal the decision. The lawsuit against Initiative 1053 was filed by the state teacher’s union (WEA) and the League of Education Voters along with several taxpayers and Democratic legislators.^[5]

• The full decision can be found here.

En banc re-hearing denied for Prop 8: Today, the 9th Circuit refused to re-hear the case against California Proposition 8 (2008). In May, a panel of the 9th Circuit ruled the law unconstitutional. Given the court’s refusal, the case will now be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. For the time being, the law will remain in effect as the case continues.^[6]

• The court’s order can be found here.

A new update will be released by the end of this month. Click here for past Ballot Law Update reports!

Edited by Geoff Pallay

Note: Next week’s roundup, March 30, will be the final edition of the Redistricting Roundup. Ballotpedia staff will still cover redistricting news, with updates being added to the State Legislative Tracker, which is published on Monday afternoons.

Acting with a sense of urgency, a three-judge federal panel approved new congressional districts for New York on Monday–the day before candidates could begin collecting signatures to qualify for the ballot. The map is nearly identical to the one proposed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann, who was appointed to act as special redistricting master. The panel noted that Mann was able to provide the court with a map in two weeks’ time – something the legislature has unable to do for over a year.

The new map reduces the number of congressional seats from 29 to 27, eliminating the mid-Hudson Valley seat held by retiring Democrat Maurice Hinchey and the Queens district held by Republican Bob Turner. Turner, in response, is now running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand (D). According to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, six of the seven GOP-held U.S. House seats will be less safe for incumbents, while at least four Democratic incumbents will face less friendly districts.

New legislative districts were approved by the legislature last week and signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). The districts still need to be approved by the Justice Department to ensure that they comply with the Voting Rights Act. Additionally, a court case brought by Democrats against the addition of a 63rd seat in the Senate is pending. They argue that the new seat is nothing but an attempt by the GOP to retain their majority in the chamber, while Republicans argue it is required by the state Constitution.

Meanwhile, it is appearing more likely that New York will have two different primary dates for state legislative and congressional primaries. A judge has moved the congressional primary to June 26. While the Democrat-controlled Assembly favors moving the legislative primary to June 26 as well, the Republican-controlled Senate prefers to keep the primary on September 11, so as not to disrupt the legislative calendar.

State news

Alaska

After the Alaska Supreme Court remanded the redistricting challenge to the superior court, Judge McConahy set an April 2 deadline for submitting new plans and an April 13 deadline for review and adoption by the Board. Opponents were also invited to file their own map submissions by April 2 or file objections to the adopted plan by April 23. The board was given until April 27 to respond to any objections. McConahy set a May 7 court date for revisiting the plans.

Although the Alaska Redistricting Board had already scheduled meetings to make the necessary revisions, it questioned McConahy’s authority to establish the timeline. On March 16, attorneys for the Board asked McConahy vacate the order establishing the deadlines. On March 21, McConahy agreed to vacate the order. The board now plans to complete the revised map by June 1–Alaska’s filing deadline for legislative candidates. The board will hold a series of meetings each day next week to begin work on the new map. Citizens unable to attend the meetings in person may participate via streaming video or teleconference.

• Dates and other information on the meetings can be found here.

Arizona

On Wednesday, the Arizona State Senate approved an additional $700,000 appropriation to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. The Senate voted 18-9 to approve the measure which had been sent to its chamber by the House. The commission had sought an extra $1.1 million.

Meanwhile, House speaker Andy Tobin (R) is considering whether the Legislature will sue to attempt to block the legislative and congressional redistricting maps.

Florida

Yesterday, the Florida State Senate passed a revised chamber map, seeking to comply with changes mandated by the Florida Supreme Court. On March 10, the state’s High Court rejected the original maps, finding eight districts unconstitutional and ruling that district numbers had been assigned as to favor particular incumbents over others. Ultimately, 24 districts were modified to accommodate the changes to the eight rejected by the court. The revised numbers were picked using Bingo machines.

Despite these modifications, Democratic leaders maintain that the revised maps still violate the 2010 “Fair Districts amendment by favoring incumbents. The plan was approved 31-6 with five Democratic senators supporting the plan. The House is expected to pass the plan.

• The overturned plan can be found here.
• The revised plan can be found here.

Meanwhile, court challenges are pending against Florida’s new congressional districts. Last Friday, a state circuit court judge said he will likely begin hearing the challenges next month. The challenges were filed by a collection of voter groups and the Florida Democratic Party. Florida’s petition filing deadline is in May and the candidate qualifying deadline is in June.

Kansas

This week, the Kansas House of Representatives rejected two competing redistricting plans, sending lawmakers back to the drawing board. The committee map, approved on March 14, floundered in the House until it was replaced by Rep. Tom Arpke (R). The replacement map passed 70-51 in a preliminary vote on Tuesday. However, House Speaker Mike O’Neal (R), an advocate of the original map, sharply criticized the map and the House promptly voted it down on Wednesday, 48-76. It now appears that neither map is destined for passage. Another, Senate-drawn congressional map appears doomed as well.

As House lawmakers begin drafting a consensus map, it appears likely that parts of Shawnee County will be used to bolster the 1st Congressional District. The now-dead committee bill moved a portion of Wyandotte County–home to Democratic-leaning Kansas City–into the conservative 1st Congressional District of Kansas. The Senate chose a bipartisan map that kept Wyandotte in the 3rd Congressional District of Kansas, drawing population for District 1 from Riley County.

Meanwhile, a Kansas State Senate panel approved a chamber map on Monday, protecting three incumbent Republicans from conservative challengers. The changes would protect Carolyn McGinn, Tim Owens, and Jean Schodorf.

Maryland

Maryland’s redistricting process was marked by rampant criticism and several lawsuits, but in the end, congressional and legislative maps were passed without great incident. Some of the greatest anger came toward the legislative maps, which became law without having hearings in the General Assembly. Lawmakers put forth a number of alternative plans, but none of them saw hearings either. With new districts in place and anger subsided, a slate of bills have been proposed to reform the next round of redistricting.

Nine bills in total have been heard by committees, but so far no votes have been taken. Most legislators don’t appear optimistic at their chances of passing. Suggested reforms include creating task forces to study redistricting, increasing the time for public comment, and creating a bipartisan commission to draw the districts and remove political considerations from the process.

Mississippi

In 2011, Mississippi lawmakers failed to redraw their legislative boundaries. As a result, the 2011 elections were held using the map from the 2000 Census. Republicans ultimately took control of both the Senate and House. Now, legislators must once again attempt to draw new districts using the 2010 Census. The legislature will be accepting public input through mid-April before embarking on another attempt at completing the constitutionally-mandated redistricting process.

Missouri

The Missouri Supreme Court has missed a scheduled hand-down day as candidates wait for it to rule on challenges to the state’s congressional and state House districts. The court could release the ruling on a special day, but some are concerned that the Court could now miss the state’s March 27 filing deadline.

South Carolina

Earlier in March, a three-judge federal panel dismissed a lawsuit that alleged racial discrimination in South Carolina’s new districts. This week, six voters have appealed that ruling up to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court has not yet decided if it will take up the case.

Tennessee

Last Friday, March 16, Democrats filed a lawsuit against the Republican-drawn Tennessee State Senate redistricting maps. The suit argues that the Tennessee State Senate map unnecessarily splits too many counties. The implemented map splits eight counties while a map drawn by the General Assembly Black Caucus map would split five.

West Virginia

On January 20, the US Supreme Court stayed a federal court ruling requiring West Virginia lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional redistricting map. The state has until March 27 to file a brief with the Supreme Court or seek an extension on the stay. If the case does not go before the Court, the lower court’s ruling will take effect and the maps will be redrawn. The court will likely make a decision on whether to consider the appeal by this fall.

Wisconsin

Yesterday, a three-judge federal panel upheld Wisconsin’s new congressional and State Senate districts, but ordered two Milwaukee-area Assembly districts to be redrawn for violating the Voting Rights Act. The panel held that the map unfairly diluted Latino voting power and ordered the map back to the legislature, mandating that lawmakers redraw Districts 8 and 9 without affecting any other districts. In the meantime, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has been barred from implementing the new map.

Although the judges upheld the great majority of the districts drawn by Republicans, they harshly criticized the process, calling it “needlessly secret” and stating that every effort was undertaken in order to complete the work out of the public eye. The legislature recently adjourned their 2012 session and it is unclear how they will take up the task, especially since the state Senate is evenly divided following Republican Pam Galloway‘s resignation on March 17.

The court challenge was first filed back in June 2011, prior to the passage of maps. Throughout the process the panel criticized Republicans for unnecessary secrecy, ordering them to release documents numerous times. Among these were agreements signed by nearly all Republican legislators stating they would not discuss the maps while they were in progress. Still, with the ruling, state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen (R) called it a win for GOP leaders.

Edited by Al Ortiz

As of today, February 28, the Tuesday Count crawled up by two more ballot measures. We are now up to 68 proposals. A new state has also jumped into the mix as momentum is picking up for ballot question certifications.

Colorado is the new addition to the states with measures on the ballot, as persistent efforts to put marijuana legalization up for public vote came to fruition. The proposal will be on the November 6, 2012 ballot in Colorado as an initiated constitutional amendment. The measure would legalize marijuana in the state, asking whether or not to legalize the use and possession of, at most, an ounce of marijuana for residents who are 21 and older.

The road was bumpy for organizers of the effort, as the initiative was filed eight different times with the Colorado Attorney General around the date of May 20, 2011, hoping for circulation approval of one of them. The proposal was filed multiple times, with some differences, in order increase the chances of passing the Title Setting Review Board, and allowing for circulation of petitions.

Supporters submitted more than 155,000 signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State‘s office on January 4, but on February 3, the Colorado Secretary of State announced that the initiative effort had fallen short about 2,500 signatures. Sponsors then had until February 15 to submit the additional signatures required to make the ballot. Petitions with the additional signatures were then turned in around that date.

On February 27, the Colorado Secretary of State verified the signatures, placing the measure on the 2012 ballot.

A similar measure was on the 2006 ballot in the state, where it was defeated.

Since 2008, a grand total of 30 statewide ballot measures relating to the issue of marijuana have been proposed for or have been on the ballot in 15 states. The last statewide vote on marijuana to take place was on Arizona’s Proposition 203, which was approved.

The second of the pair of ballot certifications comes from California, which dives into the ever-present issue of legislative redistricting. The measure is an attempt to use California‘s veto referendum process to nullify the California State Senate redistricting plan approved by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Sponsors of the initiative needed to collect 504,760 signatures by November 13, 2011 to qualify the measure for the ballot. Its supporters turned in 710,924 signatures in 57 of California’s 58 counties by the deadline.

On February 24 the California Secretary of State‘s office announced that the measure had qualified for the ballot.

In other state legislature-related ballot measure news, Nebraska and South Carolina lawmakers saw ballot proposals introduced recently about term limits for state legislators. However, one state proposal deals with expanding term limits, while two others are about shrinking them.

The latter two proposals were found in South Carolina, where one measure would ask if State Representatives‘ terms should be at most eight two-year terms, while the other would ask if State Senators‘ terms should be at most four four-year terms. According to reports, the measure was introduced by State Representative Bakari Sellers.

A legislatively-referred amendment can go on the ballot if approved by a 2/3rds vote of each house of the South Carolina State Legislature.

In Nebraska, the proposed term limit amendment would raise state legislative term limits to three consecutive terms, whereas the current limit is two. The proposal was introduced by state Senator Tom Carlson.

In order to qualify a proposed measure to the statewide ballot, 60% of the members of the Nebraska State Legislature must vote in approval.

On Thursday, February 23, the state legislature passed the amendment through it’s first round of debate on a 30-12 vote.

Quick hits

• Lawsuit filed against Nevada mining tax cap amendment: The Nevada Mining Association filed a lawsuit in state court in Carson City during late-February 2012, attempting to block the measure from the ballot. The association stated that the Mining Tax Cap Amendment was misleading and failed to describe the consequences to Nevada’s overall tax structure if enacted by voters.^[1]

• New poll shows Ohio voters in favor of election law referendum: A poll was released by Lake Research Partners showing a slight opposition to the election law targeted by a veto referendum. It was concluded that 54% of respondents were opposed to the law, therefore favored repealing it. The margin of error of the poll was +/- 3.7 percentage points.^[2]

• Bill legalizing gay marriage in Maryland to be signed this week: After the bill’s passage last week in the Maryland State Senate it was sent to Governor Martin O’Malley, who has vowed to sign it. The legislation is scheduled to be signed by the governor on Thursday, March 1. A day after the senate approved the bill, opponents began the petition process to get a veto referendum on this year’s ballot.^[3]

SPOTLIGHT:Ohio voters to decide on taxes, electrical aggregation and more
On March 6 residents in Ohio will have their chance to head to the polls to decide on a wide variety of local issues. Nearly all 88 counties in Ohio will have issues to be decided, from school bonds and taxes to city income taxes and electrical aggregation questions. Several school districts are asking for tax renewals or bond approvals, including the Parma & Strongville school districts, which are asking for renewals of their local property taxes and the Wyoming and Ridgemont school districts that are asking for bond money to help with renovating and adding on to school facilities. Counties are also asking for continued levies for Senior and Health programs, including in Clinton County where both a Senior and Health levy are up for renewal which would cost residents $0.65 per $1.00 of assessed value combined for an additional five years. These levies help continue county services for those who are unable to afford the services on their own, according to reports.

Also, on February 28, Michigan is having its primary election with several local issues also being decided by voters. Take a look at the measures here and stay tuned for results.

The Texas primary was originally delayed from March 6 to April 3, but with that date now looking highly unlikely, party officials are discussing dates in what month? Click here to find out!

BALLOT LAW UPDATE

Georgia signer ID requirement: Last Wednesday, a Georgia bill (SB 377) died in committee. The bill would have required citizens to show a state-issued ID upon signing a candidate petition. Georgia does not have statewide initiative and referendum.^[4]

Walker to let recall count stand: After unsuccessfully seeking a second extension to the signature review period, Wisconsin GovernorScott Walker (R) has announced that he will not challenge the recall signatures filed against him. Walker contends that the first, 20-day extension did not provide his team enough time to review the signatures. Wisconsin does not have a central voter registration database. More than 1 million signatures were submitted.^[5]

However, Walker’s legal team won a victory in early January that forced the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board to examine recall signatures more thoroughly.^[6] In a press release, Walker’s campaign expressed confidence that this ruling would guide the GAB in verifying the signatures.

A new update will be released on February 29, 2012. Click here for past Ballot Law Update reports!