Welcome to the Wednesday, September 23, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. We’re tracking changes to election procedures ahead of the general election
2. Campaigns associated with Illinois graduated income tax amendment have raised more than $80 million
3. Receive politics updates in your social media feed: follow us on Twitter

We’re tracking changes to election procedures ahead of the general election

Thirty-eight states—those shaded in blue in the map below—have made changes to their general election procedures. This includes changes to ballot return deadlines, processes for requesting or receiving absentee or mail-in ballots, and ways voters can take to correct errors in their returned ballot (known as ballot curing). 

The changes have been fast-paced. In the past week alone our team has tracked changes in seven states.

Here are the eight changes to election procedures we’ve tracked in just the last week (organized by state, alphabetically):

Louisiana—Sept. 16: Chief Judge Shelly Deckert Dick of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana ordered election officials to make available the same COVID-19 absentee ballot application used in the state’s summer elections. This application allowed voters to select COVID-19-specific reasons for requesting an absentee ballot.

Michigan—Sept. 18: Judge Cynthia Stephens of the Michigan Court of Claims extended Michigan's absentee/mail-in ballot receipt deadline to November 17 for ballots postmarked on or before November 2. Stephens also authorized voters to allow anyone of their choosing to return their ballots between 5:01 p.m. on October 30 and the close of polls on November 3.

New York—Sep. 18: The League of Women Voters and New York election officials reached a settlement agreement regarding ballot curing provisions for the general election.

Ohio—Sept. 16: Judge Richard A. Frye of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas ordered Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) to stop directing counties to provide no more than one absentee/mail-in ballot drop box per county. However, Frye immediately stayed his order in anticipation that LaRose would appeal, leaving the limit in place.

Pennsylvania—Sept. 17: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court extended the mail-in ballot receipt deadline and authorized the use of drop boxes for returning mail-in ballots in the November 3 general election.

South Carolina—Sept. 16: South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed legislation extending absentee voting eligibility to all qualified electors in the November 3 general election. The legislation also established October 5 as the start date for in-person absentee voting (i.e., early voting).

South Carolina—Sept. 18: Judge J. Michelle Childs of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina issued a preliminary injunction barring election officials from enforcing the state's witness requirement for absentee ballots in the general election.

Wisconsin—Sept. 21: Judge William M. Conley of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin issued an order extending the absentee/mail-in ballot receipt deadline to November 9 for ballots postmarked on or before Election Day. Conley immediately stayed his ruling, giving the defendants seven days to file an emergency appeal.

Learn more about all of the changes here. You can also find out the various mail-in voting return deadlines in your state from this page.

Learn more

       

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Campaigns associated with Illinois graduated income tax amendment have raised more than $80 million 

Last week in the Brew we wrote about this year’s most expensive ballot measure campaign - California’s App-Based Drivers as Contractors and Labor Policies Initiative (which doubles as the most expensive measure in California history). Today, let’s take a look at the second-most-expensive campaign of 2020—the Illinois Allow for Graduated Income Tax Amendment. 

The amendment would repeal the requirement that the state's personal income tax be a flat rate across income levels and would allow the legislature to enact a graduated income tax. Campaign contributions both for and against the amendment have exceeded $80 million through September 18. 

Campaigns supporting the measure raised $59 million. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), who advocated for a graduated income tax structure during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, contributed $56.5 million of that amount, or 96% of supporters’ total funds.

Amendment opponents have organized four political action committees (PACs) that raised $21.65 million through Sept. 18. Kenneth Griffin, CEO of the investment firm Citadel, contributed $20 million to one of those PACs.

The amendment doesn't impose new tax rates. Instead, it enables the state to adopt a graduated income tax, which the legislature did earlier this year. The legislation would change Illinois’ income tax from a flat rate of 4.95% to six graduated rates from 4.75% to 7.99%, beginning on Jan. 1, 2021. 

Forty-three states levy a tax on personal income. Eleven of those have a flat income tax rate, meaning a constant rate is applied to residents’ income before deductions and exemptions. These rates range from 2.00% in Tennessee to 5.25% in North Carolina. Thirty-two of 50 states have a graduated income tax, with different rates applied to different levels of income.

Receive politics updates in your social media feed: follow us on Twitter

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