Boston city council election decided by a single vote

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Thank you for joining us this weekend! _Brew_ readers will have seen our holiday cookie ranked-choice voting election. If you missed it, read up on the cookies and see the final tally here ([link removed]) .

Read the full Tap online ([link removed])

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** HOUSTON VOTERS TO DECIDE RUNOFF ELECTION FOR MAYOR
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* Today, Houston will hold a mayoral runoff race ([link removed]) to elect a mayor for the next four years. Voters must choose between incumbent Mayor Sylvester Turner ([link removed]) , who advanced from the 12-candidate general election ([link removed]) field with 46.9% of the vote, and former Texas A&M Board of Regents member Tony Buzbee ([link removed]) , who advanced from the general with 28.4% of the vote.

* Early voting in Houston’s runoff elections ended Tuesday with 115,204 voters casting their ballot early in person or by mail. By comparison, only 109,044 Houston voters ([link removed]) cast early and absentee ballots in the general election.

* In 2015 ([link removed]) , Turner won the runoff election against Bill King ([link removed]) by 678 votes or about a 0.4% margin.

* Houston’s mayor serves as the city’s chief executive and is responsible for proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors, and overseeing the city’s day-to-day operations. He or she also presides over the city council with voting privileges.

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** STATE TAKEOVER LOOMS OVER RUNOFF ELECTIONS FOR TWO SEATS ON HOUSTON SCHOOL BOARD
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* Runoff elections for the District II and District IV open seats on the Houston Independent School District (HISD) school board will be held Saturday. The runoffs are taking place because no candidate won a majority of the vote in the November 5 general election. Each runoff will be contested by the top two finishers in November—Katherine Blueford-Daniels and John Gibbs Sr. in District II and Patricia Allen and Matthew Barnes in District IV.

* On November 6, the day after the general election, Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath notified the district of his decision to appoint a board of managers to replace the elected school board. Morath cited a Texas Education Agency investigation into the board and a record of poor academic performance at one of the district’s high schools. A state-appointed board would take over governance of the district with the elected board functioning as non-voting members.

* As of December 6, each of the runoff candidates other than Blueford-Daniels had either applied or said they would apply for a spot on the state-appointed board.

* According to the _Houston Chronicle_, around 115,000 ballots were cast in Harris County during early voting for Houston’s runoff elections, compared to around 109,000 during early voting for the general election. Other elections on the ballot included mayoral, city council, and community college board runoff elections.

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** BOSTON'S NOV. 5 ELECTION FOR AT-LARGE CITY COUNCIL SEAT DECIDED BY ONE VOTE AFTER RECOUNT
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* After a three-day recount, the Boston Election Commission announced on December 9 that the fourth at-large seat on the Boston City Council ([link removed]) was won by Julia Mejia ([link removed]) by a margin of one vote. The recount found that Mejia received 22,492 votes, and Alejandra St. Guillen received 22,491 votes.

* In the November 5 general election, unofficial results showed Mejia had received 10 more votes than St. Guillen. At-large incumbents Michael Flaherty, Annissa Essaibi George, and Michelle Wu were all re-elected in the general election. At-large incumbent Althea Garrison was defeated in the general election.

* Mejia, a community activist, will take office in January. She will be the first Latina to serve on the city council.

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** CANDIDATE FILING PERIOD FOR GOVERNOR, STATE EXECUTIVE, STATE LEGISLATIVE, AND JUDICIAL OFFICES TO END IN NORTH CAROLINA
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* The statewide filing deadline will pass to run for elected office in North Carolina ([link removed]) . In North Carolina, prospective candidates may file for the following offices:

* Governor
* Lieutenant Governor
* Attorney General
* Secretary of State
* Treasurer
* Superintendent of Public Instruction
* Auditor
* Commissioner of Agriculture
* Commissioner of Labor
* Commissioner of Insurance
* State Senate - 50 seats
* State House - 120 seats
* State Supreme Court - three seats
* Court of Appeals - five seats
 

* The primary is scheduled for March 3, and the general election is scheduled for November 3, 2020.
 
* North Carolina’s statewide filing deadline is the seventh to take place in the 2020 election cycle. The next statewide filing deadline is on January 10, 2020, in Mississippi.
 
* North Carolina has a divided government. A state government trifecta ([link removed]) exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.

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** INITIATIVE REQUIRING CITIZENSHIP TO VOTE MAKES 2020 BALLOT IN COLORADO 
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* In 2020, Coloradans will vote on a ballot initiative to amend the Colorado Constitution to state that “Only a citizen of the United States… shall be qualified to vote at all elections.” Currently, the Colorado Constitution reads, “Every citizen of the United States… shall be qualified to vote at all elections.” The ballot initiative was designed to specify that only U.S. citizens may vote in state or local elections. 

* Proponents submitted around 200,000 signatures on November 12. At least 124,632 signatures needed to be valid. On December 12, the secretary of state’s office announced that 137,362 signatures were valid, giving the initiative a spot on the general election ballot.

* The 501(c)(4) organization Citizen Voters, Inc. ([link removed]) , which is based in Florida, is supporting the ballot initiative, as well as similar measures in Florida and Alabama.

* John Loudon, national chairman of Citizen Voters, Inc., said that these measures are necessary because most states have constitutional language stating who can vote but not who cannnot vote.

* According to the most recent available campaign finance reports, Citizen Voters, Inc. has given $1.4 million to the committee Colorado Citizen Voters to support the measure. The group has also given Florida Citizen Voters $8.3 million to support their initiative.

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** CANDIDATE FILING PERIOD FOR LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE, JUDICIAL, AND LOCAL OFFICES ENDS IN TEXAS
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* The major-party filing deadline passed to run for elected office in Texas ([link removed])  on Monday. Candidates filed for the following offices:

* Texas Railroad Commissioner

* Incumbent Ryan Sitton (R) filed for re-election.

* Texas State Board of Education - eight seats

* The incumbent did not file to run for re-election in board of education districts 5, 6, 8, and 15.

* Texas State Senate - 16 seats
* Texas House of Representatives - 150 seats
* Texas Supreme Court - four seats
* Texas Court of Criminal Appeals - four seats
* Texas Court of Appeals - 24 seats
* Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in the following areas:

* 13 counties
* Eight cities
* 73 school districts

* The primary is scheduled for March 3, and the general election is scheduled for November 3, 2020.

* Texas’ statewide filing deadline was the fifth to take place in the 2020 election cycle. The next statewide filing deadline is on December 18 in Ohio.

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** CANDIDATE FILING PERIOD FOR LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND LOCAL OFFICES TO END IN OHIO
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* The statewide filing deadline will pass to run for elected office in Ohio ([link removed])  next Wednesday. The deadline for independent candidates is March 16, 2020. In Ohio, prospective candidates may file for the following offices:

* State Board of Education - six seats
* State Senate - 16 seats
* State House - 99 seats
* State Supreme Court - two seats
* District Courts of Appeals - 21 seats
* Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, and Lucas counties
 

* The primary is scheduled for March 17, and the general election is scheduled for November 3, 2020.
 
* Ohio’s statewide filing deadline is the sixth to take place in the 2020 election cycle. The next statewide filing deadline is December 20 in North Carolina.
 
* Ohio has a Republican trifecta. A state government trifecta ([link removed]) exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.

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

* Ten of the 45 certified 2020 measures are citizen-initiated measures. Thirty-four are legislative referrals. One is an automatic constitutional revision commission question.

* Two citizen initiatives were certified for the ballot last week:

* Florida Amendment 3 ([link removed]) , which would establish a top-two open primary system in primary elections for state legislators, the governor, and cabinet members in Florida.
* An initiative in Colorado ([link removed]) to state in the constitution that only citizens of the United States are qualified electors in Colorado. Currently, the constitution states that “every citizen of the United States” is a qualified elector in Colorado.

* Proponents of 12 additional ballot initiatives ([link removed]) in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Dakota submitted signatures, which are pending verification by state officials.

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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 73 seats so far; heading into those races, Democrats had previously controlled 37 of the seats while Republicans previously controlled 36. 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.

* Another 13 state legislative special elections ([link removed]) have been scheduled for 2020 in nine states.

* In special elections between 2011 and 2018, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of four seats nationally each year.
* 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).
* 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 19

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

JANUARY 7

* Michigan House of Representatives District 34 (primary) ([link removed])

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

[link removed]
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The Lucy Burns Institute, publisher of Ballotpedia, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Donations to the Lucy Burns Institute or Ballotpedia do not support any candidates or campaigns.
 

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