Increased ballot initiative signatures due to turnout
Welcome to the Thursday, Dec. 17, Brew.
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- 2020's voter turnout increased ballot initiative signature requirements in 10 states
- Summary of this year's state appeals court elections: Democrats gain seats in Texas, Republicans gain in North Carolina
- Local Roundup
- Who made it to the Official Holiday Cookie Election Runoff?
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2020's voter turnout increased ballot initiative signature requirements in 10 states
Every election cycle impacts future elections. For instance, higher voter turnout in one cycle will increase signature requirements in future election cycles. The number of votes cast changes the number of signatures ballot initiative proponents must collect. Voter turnout in 2020 changed the number of valid signatures required in 10 of the 26 states with at least one form of statewide initiative or referendum.
Below are some of the changes to ballot measure signature requirements caused by 2020’s voter turnout:
- Ballot measure signature requirement increases varied from 7.4% to 44.2% among the 10 states.
- Signature requirements in the four states that base requirements on either presidential election turnout or gubernatorial election turnout in presidential election years increased by between 7.4% and 25%.
- Signature requirements for the four states that base requirements on general election turnout increased by between 26.8% and 44.2%.
- In those four states, turnout was higher than in 2016 as well, causing between 7.6% and 25.1% higher signature requirements than following the last presidential election.
- Signature requirements in the two states that base requirements on voter registration increased by 18% and 18.6%, respectively.
- Washington's initiative signature requirement increased by 25% to 324,516 for 2021 through 2024. Since at least 2008, when the requirement was 224,880, Washington's requirement has increased every four years by between 2% and 7%.
Signature requirements are determined differently in each state. In 2022, the number of required signatures will vary from 16,961 for initiated statutes in South Dakota to 997,139 for initiated amendments in California. Here is how the 26 states with citizen-initiated measures determine their signature requirements:
- Sixteen states use the number of votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election.
- Four states base their signature requirements on total ballots cast in the preceding general election.
- Three states base requirements on registered or active voters,
- One state bases requirements on votes cast for presidential candidates,
- One state bases requirements on votes cast for secretary of state candidates, and
- One state bases requirements on the state population.
In the 2014 general election, voter turnout was the lowest since World War II, which caused signature requirements to drop by an average of 10.5% in the 15 states that based their requirements on the 2014 general election. In 2016, citizen initiatives and veto referendums made up 76 out of the 162 measures that were on the ballot. This compares to 35 citizen initiatives certified for the ballot in 2014.
Summary of this year's state appeals court elections: Democrats gain seats in Texas, Republicans gain in North Carolina
Judicial selection varies depending on the state. At the federal level, judges are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. At the state level, selection processes vary across the country, and even within the state between the various court levels.
Thirty-three states elect intermediate appellate court judges. These courts hear appeals of rulings from trial courts. Forty-one states have at least one intermediate appellate court.
In 2020, 30 states held intermediate appellate court elections. Six states held partisan general elections, 11 states held nonpartisan general elections, and 15 states held retention elections. Two states —Illinois and New Mexico—held both partisan and retention elections. There were 201 judgeships up for election out of 976 seats on intermediate appellate courts nationwide.
Two states saw changes in the party affiliation of intermediate appeals court judges in partisan elections this year:
- Democrats won eight of the 24 seats up for election this year in Texas' intermediate appellate courts. Republican judges held all 24 seats heading into the election. Democratic challengers defeated six Republican incumbents and won two open seats. Republicans won 11 uncontested races.
- Republicans won all five intermediate appellate court seats up for election this year in North Carolina, four of which were previously held by Democratic or Democratic-aligned justices. Republican candidates defeated two incumbents and won both open seats held by judges who were appointed by a Democratic governor but had not stood for partisan election.
The only state where incumbent intermediate appellate judges lost nonpartisan elections was Ohio, where 5 of 16 incumbents were defeated. While Ohio appellate court general elections are technically nonpartisan, candidates run in partisan primaries to make the general election ballot. Four Democrats defeated Republican incumbent judges, and one Republican defeated a Democratic incumbent.
Local Roundup
In the last week, voters decided the last two mayoral elections held this year in the 100 largest cities in the U.S. Here’s a summary of those results:
Mayoral election in El Paso, Texas
Oscar Leeser defeated incumbent Donald Margo on Dec. 12 in the mayoral runoff in El Paso, Texas. Leeser received 79.5% of the vote, while Margo received 20.5%. Leeser was the mayor of El Paso from 2013 to 2017, and Margo was elected mayor in 2017 after Leeser did not run for re-election.
Although mayoral elections in El Paso are officially nonpartisan, The Texas Tribune reported that Leeser identifies as a Democrat. Margo served in the Texas House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 as a Republican.
Leeser and Margo advanced from the general election on Nov. 3 after neither candidate received a majority of the vote to win outright. Leeser received 42.6%, while Margo received 24.6%.
Mayoral election in Corpus Christi, Texas
Paulette Guajardo defeated incumbent Joe McComb, 56% to 44%, to win the mayoral runoff election in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Dec. 15. McComb was elected mayor in 2016, and Guajardo is an at-large member of the Corpus Christi City Council.
McComb and Guajardo received 33.0% and 32.2%, respectively, in the nine-candidate general election on Nov. 3. Although municipal elections in Corpus Christi are officially nonpartisan, The Washington Post and KIII-TV (Corpus Christi) have described McComb as a Republican.
Mayoral elections were held in 29 of the 100 largest U.S. cities this year. Although most municipal races are officially nonpartisan, Ballotpedia has determined that the mayor’s partisan affiliation changed in seven of those cities this year. Republicans lost five offices, and Democrats lost two. Democrats picked up three offices, independents picked up two, and Republicans picked up one. Ballotpedia has not identified Corpus Christi mayor-elect Guajardo's partisan affiliation.
Chocolate Chip, Sugar Cookies head to runoff
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