North Carolina court delays candidate filing for U.S. House seats

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Welcome to the weekend! We've compiled the noteworthy happenings in state and local politics below. To read the full version, follow the link below.

We won't be publishing the Tap next week, so you'll hear from us next on December 7!

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** EDWARDS DEFEATS RISPONE TO WIN RE-ELECTION AS LOUISIANA GOVERNOR
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Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) won re-election ([link removed]) on November 16. He received 51.3% of the vote to businessman Eddie Rispone’s (R) 48.7%.

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Edwards is the only Democratic governor in the Deep South and was elected to his first term in 2015. He was the first incumbent governor to run in a general election since the state adopted its all-party primary system—in which a candidate can win an election outright by receiving a majority of the primary vote—in 1975. One other incumbent advanced to a general election but conceded to his opponent ahead of the election. Of the five other incumbents who ran for re-election, two lost in primaries and three won outright in primaries.

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With Edwards’ win, the state will remain under divided government. A win from Rispone would have made Louisiana a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans would have controlled the governor’s mansion and both chambers of the state legislature. Republicans maintained majorities in both chambers in 2019. They fell two seats short of a veto-proof supermajority in the state House, while they passed that threshold in the state Senate.

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This was the final gubernatorial election of the three held in 2019. Heading into the 2019 elections, Republicans held 27 governorships to Democrats’ 23 across the country. As a result of 2019’s elections, Republicans will hold 26 governorships to Democrats’ 24. Andy Beshear (D) defeated incumbent Matt Bevin (R) in Kentucky’s gubernatorial race ([link removed]) .

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** NORTH CAROLINA COURT DELAYS CANDIDATE FILING FOR U.S. HOUSE SEATS
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A three-judge panel of North Carolina's state superior court issued an order ([link removed]) delaying the congressional candidate filing period for the 2020 election cycle pending finalization of the state's congressional district plan ([link removed])  Wednesday. The filing period had originally been set to begin on December 2, 2019, and close on December 20, 2019.

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On September 27, 2019, opponents of North Carolina's congressional district plan filed suit in state superior court, alleging that the district plan enacted by the state legislature in 2016 constituted a partisan gerrymander in violation of state law. The plaintiffs asked that the court bar the state from using the maps in the 2020 election cycle. On October 28, 2019, the court granted this request, enjoining further application of the 2016 maps. In its order, the court wrote, "The loss to Plaintiffs' fundamental rights guaranteed by the North Carolina Constitution will undoubtedly be irreparable if congressional elections are allowed to proceed under the 2016 congressional districts." The court did not issue a full decision on the merits, stating that "disruptions to the election process need not occur, nor may an expedited schedule for summary judgment or trial even be needed, should the General Assembly, on its own initiative, act immediately and with all due haste to enact new congressional districts." The same three-judge panel, comprising Judges Paul C. Ridgeway, Joseph N. Crosswhite, and Alma L. Hinton, struck down the state's legislative district plan on similar grounds on September 3, 2019.

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On November 14, 2019, the state House approved a remedial district plan (HB1029) by a vote of 55-46. The vote split along party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor of the bill and all Democrats voting against it. The state Senate approved the bill on November 15, 2019, by a vote of 24-17, also along party lines. In its November 20 order, the court scheduled a hearing for December 2, 2019, to consider both the plaintiffs' and defendants' motions for summary judgment in the case.

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** CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULES STATE LAW REQUIRING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO RELEASE INCOME TAX RETURNS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
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The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that SB 27 ([link removed]) , which requires presidential candidates to file copies of their income tax returns with the California secretary of state in order to qualify for placement on the primary ballot, violates Article II, Section 5(c) of the state constitution. Article II, Section 5(c) stipulates that "the Legislature shall provide for partisan elections for presidential candidates, and political party and party central committees, including an open presidential primary whereby the candidates on the ballot are those found by the Secretary of State to be recognized candidates throughout the nation or throughout California for the office of President of the United States, and those whose names are placed on the ballot by petition, but excluding any candidate who has withdrawn by filing an affidavit of noncandidacy." 

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Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye ([link removed]) , joined by Associate Justices Goodwin Liu ([link removed]) , Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar ([link removed]) , Carol Corrigan ([link removed]) , Leondra Kruger ([link removed]) , Ming Chin ([link removed]) , and Joshua Groban ([link removed]) , wrote the following in the court's opinion: "The Legislature may well be correct that a presidential candidate's income tax returns could provide California voters with important information. But article II, section 5(c) embeds in the state Constitution the principle that, ultimately, it is the voters who must decide whether the refusal of a 'recognized candidate throughout the nation or throughout California for the office of President of the United States' to make such information available to the public will have consequences at the ballot box."

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Enforcement of SB 27, which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on July 30, 2019, had already been enjoined by Judge Morrison England ([link removed]) of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California ([link removed]) . In his opinion, dated October 1, 2019, England wrote, "[The] Court finds that Plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits of their arguments that the Act 1) violates the Presidential Qualifications Clause contained in Article II of the United States Constitution; 2) deprives Plaintiffs of their rights to associate and/or to access the ballot, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution; 3) further violates the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause as set forth in the Fourteenth Amendment; and 5) is preempted by the provisions of [the Ethics in Government Act of 1978] in any event."

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On October 8, 2019, Padilla appealed this latter ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ([link removed]) . On November 21, in light of the state supreme court's ruling on the matter, Padilla announced he would abandon his appeal ([link removed]) to the Ninth Circuit. 

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** STATE EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE RACES DECIDED IN LOUISIANA’S GENERAL ELECTION
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Secretary of State ([link removed]) Kyle Ardoin (R) won re-election over Gwen Collins-Greenup (D), 59.1% to 40.9%. Ardoin and Collins-Greenup advanced from the state’s primary election Oct. 12. 

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Five Louisiana State Senate ([link removed]) races were decided in the general election—Districts 3, 11, 16, 35, and 36. The District 35 and District 36 races both featured Republican incumbents facing Republican challengers. In District 36, incumbent Ryan Gatti was defeated by candidate Robert Mills. As of election night, the District 35 race was too close to call, but challenger Jay Morris led incumbent James Fannin with 50.4% of the vote with all precincts reporting. The remaining races were for open seats. In District 3, two Democrats faced off and in District 11, two Republicans faced off. The District 16 was the only race featuring one Democrat and one Republican, which was won by Franklin Foil (R). All 39 state Senate seats had been on the primary ballot. 

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Twenty-four of the 105 seats in the Louisiana House of Representatives ([link removed]) advanced to the general election. All but four were races for open seats. District 105 incumbent Chris Leopold (R) was defeated by Mack Cormier (D). Incumbents in Districts 46, 62, and 94 won re-election. Of all state House general election contests, seven were guaranteed to be won by Democrats and nine were guaranteed to be won by Republicans. The remaining eight races featured candidates from two parties—of these, two were won by Democrats, five were won by Republicans, and one was won by an independent.

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The outcomes of the secretary of state race and the gubernatorial race meant that the state government would remain a divided triplex. A state government triplex ([link removed]) exists when one political party holds the office of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. State Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) won re-election in the primary. 

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In the race for a seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court, William Crain (R) defeated ([link removed]) Hans Liljeberg  (R), 57% to 43%. The seat was vacant after Justice Greg Guidry was appointed to a spot on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Ronnie Morris (R) defeated Gregory Spiers (R) in the general election ([link removed]) for a seat on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

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** OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR APPOINTS NEW STATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE 
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Oklahoma Supreme Court ([link removed]) Justice Patrick Wyrick vacated ([link removed]) his seat on the court on April 10, 2019, when he received commission to become an Article III federal judge on the United States District Court ([link removed]) for the Western District of Oklahoma. On November 20, 2019, Gov. Kevin Stitt ([link removed]) (R) appointed Dustin Rowe to succeed Wyrick on the state supreme court. Rowe was Stitt's second nominee to the nine-member supreme court.

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Selection ([link removed]) of state supreme court justices in Oklahoma following a resignation occurs through gubernatorial appointment. The governor appoints a justice from a list of three candidates provided by the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission (OJNC). The appointed justice must come from the appropriate Supreme Court judicial district. The appointee serves until the next general election, when he or she must stand for retention. At that time, a replacement is retained for a full six-year term or to serve out the unexpired term of his or her predecessor. If the governor does not choose a replacement within 60 days of the vacancy, the chief justice is responsible for appointing a successor.

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The OJNC is a commission that chooses potential nominees for appointment by the governor to judicial positions on Oklahoma's appellate courts. It consists of 15 members who join the board by election through the Oklahoma Bar Association, appointment by the governor, appointment by the president pro tempore of the state Senate and the speaker of the House, or selection by an eight-member majority of the other appointed and elected commission members. When a vacancy is announced, interested individuals may apply to fill it. The OJNC evaluates those individuals to determine if the applicant is qualified to serve as a judge in the state. When the commission is done with its evaluation, it submits in writing a list of the three top applicants to both the governor and the chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

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Rowe will serve until the next general election, which will be held in 2020. According to The Oklahoman, the three applicants for the position were Judge Mark Campbell, attorney Dustin Rowe, and Judge Jonathan Sullivan.

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At the time of his supreme court appointment, Rowe was district judge of the Chickasaw Nation District Court, a position he assumed in 2011. From 2005 to 2011, Rowe was special judge of that court. He began practicing law as an attorney in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, in 2001. Rowe was elected mayor of Tishomingo at the age of 18, becoming one of the youngest mayors in the country. At the age of 22, he became district director for the newly elected U.S. Rep. Wes Watkins.

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In 2019, there have been 22 supreme court vacancies ([link removed]) across 14 of the 29 states where replacement justices are appointed instead of elected. Retirements caused 14 of the vacancies. Two former justices took jobs in the private sector. One vacancy occurred when a justice was elevated to chief justice of the court, and four vacancies occurred when the justices were elevated to federal judicial positions.

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** PENNSYLVANIA STATE SENATOR CHANGES PARTY AFFILIATION
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Pennsylvania state Sen. John Yudichak ([link removed]) announced that he had changed his registration from Democratic to Independent. He also said that he would begin caucusing with the chamber's Republicans majority. Yudichak was first elected to represent District 14 in 2010. He won re-election unopposed at both the primary and general levels in 2014 and 2018.

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Yudichak's change leaves the Pennsylvania State Senate with a 27-21 majority, with one vacancy in the 50-member chamber. The chamber's odd-numbered districts (25 total seats) will hold elections in 2020. Yudichak's term ends in 2022.

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Yudichak is the 10th state legislator to switch parties in 2019. Of those, five were state representatives leaving the Democratic Party, four were state representatives leaving the Republican Party, and one was a state senator leaving the Republican Party. Since 1994, Ballotpedia has tracked 124 state legislators—35 state senators and 89 state representatives—who have switched parties.

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** BALLOT MEASURES UPDATE
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** 2019:
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Thirty-two statewide measures ([link removed]) were on Nov. 2019 ballots in Colorado, Kansas, Maine, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. 

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On Nov. 5, 19 statewide measures were approved, 12 were defeated, and one was approved by voters but is pending a court ruling.

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Click here ([link removed]) to view election results for all 32 Nov. 5 statewide measures.

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Four Louisiana measures were on the Oct. 12 ballot. Two were approved and two were defeated.

 
** 2020:
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Forty-three statewide measures ([link removed]) in 20 states have been certified for the 2020 ballot so far.

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Eight of the 42 certified 2020 measures are citizen-initiated measures. Thirty-four are legislative referrals. One is an automatic constitutional revision commission question.

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** SPECIAL ELECTIONS
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So far this year, 77 state legislative special elections ([link removed]) have been scheduled in 24 states. Special elections have been held for 72 seats so far; heading into those races, Democrats had previously controlled 37 of the seats while Republicans previously controlled 35. Five seats have flipped from Democratic control to Republican control. Two seats have flipped from Republican control to Democratic control. One seat has flipped from Republican control to an independent officeholder. 

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In special elections between 2011 and 2018, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of four seats nationally each year.

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An average of 91 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past four odd years (2011 ([link removed]) : 94, 2013 ([link removed]) : 84, 2015 ([link removed]) : 88, 2017 ([link removed]) : 98).

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An average of 55 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past five even years (2010 ([link removed]) : 26, 2012 ([link removed]) : 45, 2014 ([link removed]) : 40, 2016 ([link removed]) : 65, 2018 ([link removed]) : 99).

 
** UPCOMING SPECIAL ELECTIONS INCLUDE:
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December 3

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Georgia House of Representatives District 152 (general runoff) ([link removed])

December 10

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Arkansas House of Representatives District 22 (primary) ([link removed])

December 19

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Tennessee House of Representatives District 77 ([link removed])

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** STATES IN SESSION
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Three states—Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—are in regular session ([link removed]) . Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia are in recess. Forty-one states have adjourned their 2019 legislative sessions

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