1. 99 state laws have been enacted since 2011 containing the word “Juneteenth”
2. Fifteen new ballot measures certified from May 15 through June 15
3. Bennett, Cawthorn face off in Republican primary runoff in North Carolina's 11th District June 23

99 state laws have been enacted since 2011 containing the word “Juneteenth”

Today is Juneteenth, the annual holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States. The national Juneteenth website summarizes Juneteenth as "the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery." 

On June 19, 1865, roughly two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomatox, Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, to deliver the news of the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. 

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as either an official holiday or commemorative day. Texas, where the holiday originated, became the first state to pass legislation recognizing Juneteenth in 1980.

We reached out to our friends at BillTrack50 who provided Ballotpedia with integrated data around state legislation containing the word "Juneteenth.” We broke the data down by outcome to show how many bills passed compared to how many were introduced in all 50 state legislatures. As of June 2020, 353 pieces of legislation containing the word "Juneteenth" had been introduced with 99 of them having been signed and enacted into law since 2011. This map shows where and how many bills were enacted by state, with the largest number in Texas—38:

BillTrack50 also shared the full database of legislation that we’ve embedded onto Ballotpedia for you to explore. Click the link below to dig deeper into this data and learn more about Juneteenth. 

Learn more

       

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Fifteen new ballot measures certified from May 15 through June 15 

Our Ballot Measures team published the June edition of State Ballot Measure Monthly this week, covering recent ballot measure certifications and a selection of notable ballot measure news from May 15 through June 15. Fifteen new measures were certified for 2020 ballots in Alaska, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. 

As of June 15, 94 statewide measures have been certified in 32 states. Voters have already decided four measures in Alabama, California, Maine, and Wisconsin. Voters in Oklahoma, Maine, and Missouri will decide a total of four measures between June 30 and Aug. 4. The remaining 86 measures are on Nov. 3 ballots.

Here are four highlights from this month’s issue:

• Six of the 15 statewide measures certified since May 15 were citizen initiatives put on the ballot through signature petition drives. State legislatures referred the other nine to the ballot.

• A California initiative backed by Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates qualified for the ballot. It would define app-based transportation (rideshare) and delivery drivers as independent contractors and adopt labor and wage policies specific to app-based drivers and companies.

• An initiative that would expand Medicaid coverage to those with incomes at or below 138% of the federal poverty level under the Affordable Care Act qualified for the Missouri ballot. Gov. Mike Parson (R) put it on the Aug. 4 primary election ballot rather than the default Nov. 3 general election ballot.

• Two initiatives were certified for the ballot in Alaska. One would replace partisan primaries with open top-four primaries and establish ranked-choice voting for general elections. The other would increase taxes on certain oil production fields.

Bennett, Cawthorn face off in Republican primary runoff in North Carolina's 11th District June 23

Our list of battleground elections taking place on June 23 includes the primary runoff in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. Lynda Bennett and Madison Cawthorn were the top two finishers among 12 candidates in the primary election held March 3. Bennett received 22.7% of the vote to Cawthorn's 20.4%. A candidate needed to receive more than 30% of the vote to win the primary outright.

Former U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows (R) represented this district from 2013 until he resigned March 30 to become White House chief of staff. He had announced he would not seek re-election to the House on December 19, 2019.

Bennett was endorsed by President Donald Trump (R), Meadows, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and the House Freedom Fund. Cawthorn was endorsed by four of the 12 candidates in the Republican primary. State Senator Jim Davis, who finished third in the primary with 19% of the vote, has not endorsed a candidate in the runoff.

House Freedom Action—the political action committee of the House Freedom Caucus—has spent $682,098 in support of Bennett and $194,233 in opposition to Cawthorn through June 10. Protect Freedom PAC has spent $363,215 in support of Cawthorn through that date.

On March 20, the executive director of the state board of elections announced that this runoff would be postponed from May 12 to June 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Governor Roy Cooper (D) signed legislation June 12 reducing the witness signature requirement on completed absentee ballots from two to one for all 2020 elections. 

The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball all rate the general election as Safe or Solid Republican. Use the link below to learn more about this race.

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