Welcome to the Tuesday, October 13, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. How much federal funding does your state receive every year?
2. Register for our Oct. 15 briefing on battleground elections and vulnerable trifectas
3. Explore Georgia elections
4. Explore New York elections

How much federal funding does your state receive every year?

All state governments receive funding from the federal government, which is usually in the form of grants. In fiscal year 2018, the average percentage of total revenues that states received in federal aid was 32.5%—or about one-third of their overall revenues. That percentage increased from 26.3% in fiscal year 2000.

From 2014 to 2018, 27 states saw increases in the percentage of their total revenues that came from federal outlays, 22 states saw decreases, and one state (Missouri) stayed the same. Alaska had the largest increase in federal outlays during this period, receiving 42.3% of its total revenues from federal outlays in 2018, up from 26.9% in 2014.

In fiscal year 2018, the five states that received the largest share of their total revenues from the federal government were:

• Louisiana (45.1%)
• Montana (44.4%)
• Mississippi (42.6%)
• Alaska (42.3%)
• Wyoming (42.1%) 

The five states that received the smallest share of their total revenues were:

• Virginia (20%)
• Kansas (21.1%)
• Hawaii (21.3%)
• North Dakota (21.9%)
• Connecticut (23.6%)

Want to explore all this information yourself? Click on the link below to look at all our data.

Learn more

       

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Register for our Oct. 15 briefing on battleground elections and vulnerable trifectas 

Election Day (Nov. 3) is three weeks from today. In addition to the presidential race, there are contests for 35 U.S. Senate seats, all 435 U.S. House districts, gubernatorial races in 11 states (and two territories!), regular state legislative elections in 44 states, and of course, an assortment of elections at the local level. 

As those elections approach, Ballotpedia has identified 57 Congressional races as general election battlegrounds. We have also identified 16 states with vulnerable trifectas and seven states where new trifectas could form after the 2020 elections. 

Want to learn more about where those battleground races are and which states are most likely to change partisan control? Join David Luchs and me for a free briefing discussing this and more on Thursday—October 15—at 11 a.m. Central Time. The webinar is free, and if you can’t watch it live, we’ll send you a link to the video after it’s completed.

I hope you’ll join us—you can register using the link below.

Explore Georgia elections

We’re continuing week three of our 50 States in 25 Days series today with a look at Georgia and New York. We’re presenting states in the order they held their primaries with links to the states we’ve covered so far:

Week One: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Texas, North Carolina, Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Nebraska, and Oregon

Week Two: Montana, New Mexico, Iowa, South Dakota, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, and South Carolina

Week Three: North Dakota and West Virginia

On the ballot in Georgia

At the federal level, Georgia voters will elect 16 presidential electors, 14 U.S. Representatives, and two U.S. Senators—one in a regular election and one in a special election. At the state level, two seats on the public service commission are up for election and all 236 seats in the state legislature—56 in the state Senate and 180 in the state House—are on the ballot. Two seats on the state supreme court and five seats on the state court of appeals are up for nonpartisan election. Voters will decide on three statewide ballot measures. Ballotpedia is also tracking local elections taking place in DeKalb County, Fulton County, and five school districts.

Partisan data

• In 2016, Donald Trump (R) defeated Hillary Clinton (D) 51% to 46% in Georgia. Bill Clinton (D) was the last Democrat to win the state in a presidential election in 1992.
• Five of Georgia’s 159 counties are Pivot Counties, accounting for 0.57% of the state’s population. Pivot Counties voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and Donald Trump (R) in 2016.
• Both of Georgia’s U.S. Senators—David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler—are Republicans.
• Republicans represent eight of the state's U.S.House districts and Democrats represent four. Two districts have vacancies. A Republican previously represented the 14th District and a Democrat previously represented the Fifth District.
• Georgia’s governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all Republicans, meaning it is one of 19 states with a Republican triplex. It has held this status since 2011.
• Republicans have a 35-21 majority in the state Senate and a 105-74 majority in the state House. Because the governor is also a Republican, Georgia is one of 21 states with a Republican trifecta. Republicans gained a trifecta when they won a majority in the state House in the 2004 elections.

Battleground races

Ballotpedia has identified four battleground races in Georgia this year:

• U.S. Senate: Incumbent David Perdue (R), Jon Ossoff (D), and Shane Hazel (L) are running for a full six-year term representing Georgia in the U.S. Senate. Both the Democratic and Republican parties are targeting the seat this year.
• U.S. Senate (special): Twenty-one candidates are running for the remaining two years of former Sen. Johnny Isakson’s (R) unexpired term. Isakson resigned for health reasons in 2019. Incumbent Kelly Loeffler (R) and challengers Doug Collins (R), Matt Lieberman (D), and Raphael Warnock (D) have led in polling and fundraising. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote Nov. 3, the top two finishers will advance to a Jan. 5, 2021 runoff.
• 6th Congressional District: Incumbent Lucy McBath (D) and Karen Handel (R) are running to represent Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. The election is a rematch from 2018 when McBath defeated Handel, 50.5% to 49.5%. Handel was appointed to succeed Tom Price (R) in 2017 and defeated current U.S. Senate candidate Jon Ossoff (D) in a special election, 52% to 48%, for the remainder of Price’s term later that year.
• 7th Congressional District: Carolyn Bourdeaux (D) and Rich McCormick (R) are running to represent Georgia’s 7th Congressional District. Bourdeaux was the Democratic nominee in 2018, losing to Rob Woodall 50.1% to 49.9%—a margin of 433 votes—which was the closest U.S. House race in the country that year.

Ballot measures

• Georgia voters will decide three statewide measures on Nov. 3.
• The legislature referred two constitutional amendments to the ballot. Amendment 1 concerns the dedication of revenue from taxes and fees. Amendment 2 would waive the state's sovereign immunity and allow residents to seek declaratory relief from state or local laws.
• The legislature referred one state statute—Referendum A— to the ballot concerning a property tax exemption for property owned by charities for the purpose of building or repairing single-family homes.

Voting

• Witnesses or notaries are not required to sign absentee or mail-in ballot documents in Georgia.
• Absentee/mail-in ballots can be returned in person or by mail. The in-person return deadline is 7 p.m. on Nov. 3. If returned by mail, ballots must be received by Nov. 3. Click here to check the status of your absentee/mail-in ballot.
• In 2018, mail-in ballots made up 5.5% of the total vote.
• Georgia requires all voters to present photo identification at the polls. For more information about Georgia's voter ID requirements, click here.
• Georgia's early voting period opens on Oct. 12 and closes on Oct. 30.
• Polls in Georgia are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Georgia is in the Eastern time zone.
• Georgia election law states ballots can begin to be counted on Nov. 3 at 7 a.m. 

Explore New York elections 

On the ballot in New York

At the federal level, New York voters will elect 29 presidential electors and 27 U.S. Representatives. Both chambers of the state legislature are on the ballot, with all 63 seats up in the state Senate and all 150 state Assembly districts. Ballotpedia is also tracking a special election taking place in New York City and the county-level elections being held in Bronx County, Erie County, Kings County, New York County, Queens County, and Richmond County.

Partisan balance 

• In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) defeated Donald Trump (R) 59% to 37% in New York. Ronald Reagan (R) was the last Republican to win New York in 1984.
• New York’s had the fourth-highest number of Pivot Counties, with 18 counties voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. That accounts for 9% of the 206 Pivot Counties nationwide.
• Both of New York’s U.S. Senators—Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand—are Democrats.
• Democrats represent 21 of New York’s U.S. House districts and Republicans represent six.
• New York’s governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all Democrats, meaning it is one of 17 states with a Democratic triplex. It has held this status since the 2006 elections.
• Democrats have a 40-20 majority in the state Senate. In the state Assembly, Democrats have 103 seats, Republicans have 42, and the Independence Party has 1. Because the governor is a Democrat, New York is one of 15 states with a Democratic trifecta. Democrats gained a trifecta when they gained a majority in the state Senate following the 2018 elections.

Battleground races 

There are three battleground races in New York this year:

• New York’s 2nd Congressional District: Andrew Garbarino (R), Jackie Gordon (D), and Harry Burger (G) are running in the election. Incumbent Rep. Peter King (R), who was first elected in 1992, did not seek re-election. In 2018, King defeated Liuba Grechen Shirley (D) 53.1% to 46.9%.
• New York’s 11th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Max Rose (D) and Nicole Malliotakis (R) are running in the election. Rose has represented the district since 2019. In 2018, he defeated incumbent Daniel Donovan (R) 53% to 46.6%.
• New York’s 22nd Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D), Claudia Tenney (R), Keith Price (L), and write-in James Desira (I) are running in the election. Tenney represented the district from 2017 to 2019, winning her 2016 election 46.5% to 41.1%. This will be the second time Brindisi and Tenney face off in a general election. In 2018, Brindisi defeated Tenney 50.9% to 49.1%.

Ballot measures 

• There are no 2020 statewide measures in New York.
• The legislature referred a $3 billion bond issue for environment and climate-related projects to the ballot. On July 30, however, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that the bond measure was being pulled from the ballot, saying, "The financial situation is unstable. I don't think it would be financially prudent to do it at this time."

Voting

• In response to the coronavirus pandemic, New York extended absentee/mail-in ballot eligibility to any voter who is "unable to appear personally at the polling place of the election district in which they are a qualified voter because there is a risk of contracting or spreading a disease causing illness to the voter or to other members of the public."
• Witnesses or notaries are not required to sign absentee or mail-in ballot documents in New York. 
• Absentee/mail-in ballots can be returned in person or by mail. Ballots returned in person must be received by 9 p.m. on Nov. 3. Ballots returned in person must be postmarked on or before Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 10. 
• In 2018, mail-in ballots made up 3.6% of the total vote.
• New York does not require all voters to present ID at the polls. Select voters, however, may be required to present ID at the polls (e.g., first-time voters who registered by mail without submitting identification). For more information, see here.
• New York's early voting period opens on Oct. 24 and closes on Nov. 1.
• Polls in New York are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day. New York is in the Eastern time zone.
• New York election law states that officials cannot begin counting ballots until after the polls close.

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