North Carolina attorney general projected to win re-election
Welcome to the State and Local Tap
November 21, 2020
Welcome to Ballotpedia’s State and Local Tap, a day-by-day summary of important state and local political events through both the past and upcoming weeks.
Two runoff elections in Georgia for US Senate will determine which party controls the Senate beginning in 2021. Follow these important elections by signing up for Ballotpedia’s daily Runoff Report.
In observance of the holiday, there will be no State and Local Tap on November 28, 2020. We’ll see you on December 5!
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State Politics: The Week in Review
Ballot Measures Update
- There were 120 statewide measures on the ballot in 32 states on Nov. 3. As of Nov. 20 at 11:00 pm, Ballotpedia had called 88 measures as approved and 30 as defeated. The remaining two were uncalled.
- Click here to see all ballot measure election results, including highlighted measures.
- Including the eight measures on the ballot earlier this year and one measure on the ballot in December, a total of 129 statewide ballot measures were certified for the 2020 ballot in 34 states.
- Forty-three of the certified measures were citizen-initiated measures. Eighty-one were legislative referrals. One was an automatic constitutional revision commission question. Four were advisory measures in Washington.
Tuesday, November 17
Iowa, New Hampshire, North Dakota issue statewide mask requirements
- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) announced an indoor face-covering requirement, effective Nov. 17, for all individuals over the age of two in public spaces where social distancing isn’t possible. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) also issued an order, effective Nov. 14, requiring face coverings in indoor public spaces and outdoors when social distancing is not possible. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) issued an order, effective Nov. 20, requiring masks in all public spaces where social distancing cannot be maintained.
- North Dakota, Iowa, and New Hampshire are the 35th, 36th, and 37th states to issue statewide orders requiring individuals to wear masks in indoor or outdoor public spaces. All 24 states with a Democratic governor have statewide mask orders, while thirteen out of 26 Republican states require face coverings.
Clark County, Nevada, candidate sues to stop special election
- On Nov. 17, Clark County Commission candidate Ross Miller (D) sued the commission over its decision to conduct a special election for the District C seat. Preliminary general election returns showed Miller leading Stavros Anthony (R) by 10 votes out of 153,162 total votes cast.
- On Nov. 16, the commission declined to certify the results for the District C seat after Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria reported 139 ballot discrepancies in the district. Instead, the commission decided to conduct a special election for the seat, asking Gloria to present a plan for the special election at the commission's first December meeting.
- A ballot discrepancy occurs when the number of voter check-ins at a polling site does not match the number of votes recorded as having been cast at that site. Clerical error is the source of most discrepancies. They can also occur when a voter attempts to vote in person after having already cast an absentee/mail-in ballot.
- Miller's attorneys allege the commission has taken "the unprecedented and unlawful step of wiping clean all votes from the record in their entirety," breaking from the "legislatively mandated process to go forward, which permits the unsuccessful election opponent to seek a recount and/or judicially challenge the outcome." Miller is asking the Clark County District Court to order the commission to cancel the special election and certify the results of the general election.
- To date, Ballotpedia has tracked 43 lawsuits across eight states disputing election outcomes. For more information, click here.
Wednesday, November 18
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Keith Blackwell retires
- Georgia Supreme Court Justice Keith Blackwell retired on Nov. 18, 2020, citing family obligations and a desire to return to private practice. Gov. Nathan Deal (R) appointed Blackwell to the court in June 2012 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of George H. Carley. Prior to serving on the state supreme court, Blackwell served on the Georgia Court of Appeals from 2010 to 2012.
- Blackwell's term was initially set to expire on Dec. 31, 2020. Following Blackwell’s announcement of his retirement, the Georgia Supreme Court announced that the governor would appoint Blackwell's replacement. The appointment was challenged in court, and the state supreme court ruled in a 6-2 opinion on May 14, 2020, that the secretary of state could not be compelled to hold the election.
- On March 27, 2020, the Georgia JNC recommended four candidates to the governor to fill the vacancy. Three of the candidates are superior court justices; one is a justice on the Georgia Court of Appeals. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) will select Blackwell’s replacement from this list. This will be his second appointment to the supreme court.
- In 2020, there have been 22 supreme court vacancies in 16 of the 29 states where replacement justices are appointed instead of elected. One vacancy occurred when a chief justice died, and 21 vacancies were caused by retirements.
States issue gathering, travel restrictions due to pandemic
- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) announced new coronavirus restrictions, including a halt on indoor dining and the closure of indoor fitness centers, theaters, and bowling alleys. The order also prohibits families from holding gatherings with members of separate households. The order takes effect Nov. 20 and lasts until Dec. 18.
- Before the order was issued, indoor and outdoor private gatherings were limited to 10 people from a maximum of three households. Bars and restaurants were limited to 50% capacity.
- On Nov. 17, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine issued an order requiring out-of-state travelers and returning residents to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival unless they can show evidence of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of entering the state. The quarantine requirement does not apply to people coming to Pennsylvania for work or medical purposes.
- The order took effect Nov. 20.
- On Nov. 19, Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) announced that travelers would need to upload their negative COVID-19 test results prior to departure beginning Nov. 24. Travelers who do not have their test results before arriving on the island will need to quarantine for 14 days, even if they receive a negative result after they arrive.
- Hawaii’s travel policy had previously allowed travelers to upload their test results after arrival, permitting them to skip a 14-day quarantine.
- Also on Nov. 19, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) instituted a ban on socializing gatherings with individuals outside of a person's household, effective immediately. She also announced two-weeks of new closures, beginning Nov. 30, that will affect gyms, colleges, offices, bars, and recreational venues.
North Carolina attorney general re-elected, partisan control of Alaska state House still undetermined
- Here’s a summary of key state-level election results since our last edition Nov. 14.
- North Carolina’s attorney general Josh Stein (D) was projected to win re-election this week, which preserves the state’s Democratic triplex. A state government triplex occurs when the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state of a given state are all members of the same party. Heading into the election, there were 19 Republican triplexes and 17 Democratic triplexes. Republicans gained a triplex in Montana, while Democrats gained one in Oregon. Neither party lost any triplexes this year.
- Final partisan control of the Alaska House of Representatives remains too close to call, leaving open the possibility of Republicans gaining a trifecta in Alaska. A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. There were 21 Republican trifectas and 15 Democratic trifectas heading into the election. Republicans gained trifectas in Montana and New Hampshire and stand to potentially gain one more in Alaska. Democrats neither gained nor lost trifectas.
- The 38 trifectas (39 if Republicans gain a trifecta in Alaska) is the most nationwide since at least 1992.
Special Elections
- Fifty-nine state legislative special elections have been scheduled in 27 states so far this year, with 56 elections having taken place already. Heading into those races, Democrats had previously controlled 20 of the seats, while Republicans previously controlled 36. One seat flipped from Democratic control to Republican control, and six seats flipped from Republican control to Democratic control.
- In special elections between 2011 and 2019, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of four seats nationally each year.
- An average of 56 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past five even years (2010: 30, 2012: 46, 2014: 40, 2016: 66, 2018: 99).
- An average of 88 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past five odd years (2011: 94, 2013: 84, 2015: 88, 2017: 98, 2019: 77).
- Upcoming special elections include:
State Politics: What's on Tap Next Week
Tuesday, November 24
Voters to decide runoff election in Mississippi state House district
- A special general runoff election will be held on Nov. 24 for District 87 in the Mississippi House of Representatives. The special general election took place on Nov. 3, with the top two candidates advancing to the runoff. Candidates in Mississippi state legislative special elections run without party labels on the ballot.
- Matthew Conoly and Joseph Tubb are running in the general runoff election. The seat became vacant after the resignation of William Andrews (R) on March 31, 2020. Andrews said that he resigned from the House in order to receive the pension that he earned while serving as a county judge. He had represented the district since Jan. 7, 2020.
- Mississippi legislators are elected to four-year terms, and elections are held in odd-numbered years. All seats in the state Senate and state House are up for regular election on Nov. 7, 2023.
- Mississippi has a Republican state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers. Republicans control the state Senate by a 36-16 margin and the state House by a 74-46 margin with one independent member and one vacancy.
- As of November, 59 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2020 in 27 states. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.
States in Session
Six states—Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania—are in regular session.
Local Politics: The Week in Review
- In 2020, Ballotpedia is providing comprehensive coverage of elections in America's 100 largest cities by population. This encompasses every office on the ballot in these cities, including their municipal elections, trial court elections, school board elections, and local ballot measures. Ballotpedia is also covering all local recall elections as well as all local ballot measures in California.
- In 2020, Ballotpedia is covering local measures that appear on the ballot for voters within the top 100 largest cities in the U.S. Ballotpedia is also covering all statewide ballot measures as well as all local measures in California.
- There were over 400 local ballot measures on the ballot in California on Nov. 3.
- Ballotpedia covered over 140 local ballot measures for voters in the largest cities in 22 states on Nov. 3:
- Ballotpedia covered 20 notable police-related ballot measures.
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