1. Voters approved 79% of local ballot measures in California in 2019
2. U.S. House approves two articles of impeachment against President Trump
3. New Jersey voters to decide 2020 ballot measure on marijuana legalization

Voters approved 79% of local ballot measures in California in 2019

Voters across California decided 78 local ballot measures that Ballotpedia tracked in 2019. This was down from the number decided during the last two odd-numbered years—135 in 2017 and 114 in 2015. Voters approved 62—79%—of those 78 measures.

Just as they did with 2019’s statewide ballot measures on Wednesday, our Ballot Measures team analyzed California's local ballot questions in a year-end report. Here are five highlights that caught my attention: 

• Twenty-two of California's 58 counties had local measures on their ballots in 2019. Several counties had just a single ballot question, while Los Angeles County had 21. 

• Local ballot measures were decided on nine different dates throughout 2019. The majority of measures—45—were decided during the Nov. 5 general election.

• Of the 78 measures on local ballots in 2019, 51 of them—65%—concerned taxes. Seventeen percent were related to city governance, budget, and elections, and 15% addressed property and housing.

• Three successful ballot questions enacted various taxes on businesses that sell marijuana.

• San Francisco voters defeated Proposition C, which was designed to overturn the city’s ban on electronic cigarettes and establish rules to regulate the sale and use of vaping products. Juul Labs—which contributed over $15.5 million to the campaign in support of the measure—announced it was withdrawing its support a month before the election. 

There are even more interesting facts about California’s local ballot measures in the full report, including details about the number of measures in previous years, a breakdown of two instances where voters decided competing measures, and the four measures decided by the narrowest margins in 2019.

Learn more

       

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U.S. House approves two articles of impeachment against President Trump 

The U.S. House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump (R) on Dec. 18. The vote on the count of abuse of power was 230 in favor and 197 against. The vote on the charge of obstruction of Congress was 229 to 198.

All votes in favor of both articles of impeachment were from Democrats. Republican House members voted against the articles. Two Democrats voted against the abuse of power charge. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) voted ‘yes’ on the abuse of power article but ‘no’ on the charge of obstruction of Congress.

The impeachment process began on Sept. 24 when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced that the House would pursue an inquiry into Trump. This followed allegations that the president requested the Ukranian government investigate former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for military aid. The president denied the allegations and called the inquiry "the worst witch hunt in political history."

House Democrats introduced impeachment articles on Dec. 10. The House Judiciary Committee approved both articles on December 13. Trump is the third U.S. president to be impeached. 

Here’s a brief summary of the two historical impeachments (and Richard Nixon’s almost-impeachment).

• Andrew Johnson (Union) was impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act on Feb. 24, 1868. That law prohibited the president from removing federal officials from office without congressional approval. After the law’s passage, Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and replaced him with Ulysses S. Grant. The House voted to impeach Johnson, 126-47. The Senate voted 35-16 to acquit Johnson—one vote shy of the two-thirds majority constitutionally required to remove a president from office—on May 16, 1868. 

• Bill Clinton (D) was impeached on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on Dec. 19, 1998. The article of impeachment for perjury passed the House by a vote of 228-206, while the vote on obstruction of justice passed, 221-212. House Republicans charged Clinton with lying and having others lie to hide an affair Clinton had with a White House staff member. The Senate acquitted Clinton on both charges on Feb. 12, 1999. The perjury charge was defeated by a vote of 45-55 while the obstruction of justice charge was defeated on a tied vote of 50-50.

• The House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon (R) for obstruction of justice, misuse of power, and contempt of Congress in July 1974. The charges followed Nixon's involvement in covering up the attempted burglary and wiretapping of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel two years earlier. Nixon resigned Aug. 8, 1974, before the full House could vote on the articles of impeachment.

New Jersey voters to decide 2020 ballot measure on marijuana legalization

Next November, New Jersey voters will decide on a proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved, would legalize recreational marijuana. To date, 11 states have legalized marijuana use.

The constitutional amendment would legalize recreational marijuana (or cannabis) use for people 21 and older. Marijuana would be subject to the state sales tax of 6.625% but additional state excise taxes on marijuana sales would be prohibited. The ballot measure would authorize the legislature to allow local governments to enact an additional 2 percent excise tax on marijuana sales. 

The New Jersey Legislature can refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot in one of two ways:

• a 60% vote of both chambers during one legislative session, or 

• by a simple majority vote in each chamber during two successive legislative sessions.  

This amendment was referred to the ballot using the first path.

Both chambers of the legislature approved the proposed amendment with 60% of the vote on Dec. 16. The state Senate approved it, 24 to 16, with 23 Democrats and one Republican voting in favor and 14 Republicans and two Democrats opposed. The state Assembly approved the measure by a vote of 49 to 24. All votes in favor were by Democrats with 22 Republicans and two Democrats voting against. 

New Jersey will be the first state in the nation to ask voters to legalize recreational marijuana. All other marijuana legalization measures were put on the ballot through signature petition drives, a process not available in New Jersey. State legislatures in Illinois and Vermont legalized marijuana without ballot measures.

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