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Good morning! Your weekly review of the week in state and local politics is here! As always, click the button below to find a complete review of the week and a preview of the week ahead by launching the full edition.
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New Jersey voters to decide 2020 constitutional amendment on marijuana legalization
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The New Jersey State Legislature passed a resolution placing a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana on the ballot for November 3, 2020. New Jersey would be the 12th state and the first Mid-Atlantic state to legalize marijuana.
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In New Jersey, there are two avenues for the state Legislature to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. First, the legislature can refer an amendment to the ballot through a 60 percent vote of both chambers during one legislative session. Second, the legislature can refer an amendment through a simple majority vote (50%+1) in each legislative chamber during two successive legislative sessions.
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Legislators took the first path, with 60 percent of legislators in each chamber approving the resolution. In the state Senate, the vote was 24-16. In the state Assembly, the vote was 49-24. The vote made the New Jersey State Legislature the first in the country 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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The constitutional amendment would legalize the recreational use of marijuana, also known as cannabis, for persons age 21 and older. Marijuana would be subject to the state sales tax (6.625 percent), 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 state Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) would be responsible for regulating the cultivation, processing, and sale of marijuana. The ballot measure would not provide additional specifics; rather, the legislature and CRC would need to enact additional laws and regulations.
- While the New Jersey constitutional amendment is the first legalization measure to make the 2020 ballot, it may not be the last. There could be marijuana legalization ballot measures in several states, including Arizona and South Dakota. The measure in Arizona would be a second attempt for legalization proponents, as an initiative was defeated in 2016. Signatures were submitted for a South Dakota ballot initiative at the beginning of November and are in the process of being verified.
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Turner re-elected as Houston mayor in runoff
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Incumbent Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner won re-election Saturday. He received 56% of the vote to former Texas A&M Board of Regents member Tony Buzbee’s 44% with 100% of precincts reporting.
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Turner was first elected in 2015. In 2019, he campaigned on what he said were the accomplishments of his first term, including balancing the city’s budget, leading the recovery effort after Hurricane Harvey, reforming the city’s pension system, easing traffic congestion, filling potholes, creating jobs, and strengthening the economy. Buzbee accused Turner’s administration of corruption and proposed independent financial audits, process audits, and zero-based budgeting to improve the efficiency and transparency of the city’s resource allocation.
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Houston’s mayoral race was one of 31 mayoral elections held in America’s 100 largest cities in 2019.
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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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Kansas governor appoints new supreme court justice
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D) appointed Judge Evelyn Wilson to succeed Justice Lee Johnson on the Kansas Supreme Court. Johnson retired on September 8, 2019. Wilson is Kelly's first nominee to the seven-member supreme court. At the time of her supreme court appointment, Wilson was the chief judge for the Third Judicial District in Shawnee County, Kansas.
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In the event of a vacancy on the Kansas Supreme Court, the governor selects a replacement from a list of three individuals submitted by the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission. Newly appointed justices serve for at least one year, after which they must run for retention in the next general election. Subsequent terms last for six years.
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The Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission is a nine-member independent body created by the Kansas Constitution. The commission has nine members: four non-attorneys appointed by the governor and four attorneys selected by members of the bar in each of the state's four congressional districts. The chair of the commission, the ninth member, is a lawyer chosen in a statewide vote of attorneys who are members of the Kansas Bar Association.
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Founded in 1861, the Kansas Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. As of December 2019, four judges on the court were appointed by a Democratic governor and three judges were appointed by a Republican governor. There is one vacancy on the court.
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In 2019, there have been 22 supreme court vacancies 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, one occurred when a chief justice died, and four vacancies occurred when the justices were appointed to federal judicial positions.
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Candidate filing period for governor, state executive, state legislative, and judicial offices ends in North Carolina
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The major-party filing deadline passed to run for elected office in North Carolina. Candidates filed for governor (incumbent Roy Cooper is running for re-election), lieutenant governor (incumbent Dan Forest is running for governor), attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, auditor, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of labor, commissioner of insurance, state Senate (all 50 seats), state House (all 120 seats), state Supreme Court (three judgeships), and state appellate court (five judgeships).
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Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, Forsyth, Durham, and Winston-Salem counties, and Guilford County Schools and Johnston County Schools.
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The primary is scheduled for March 3, and the general election is scheduled for November 3.
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North Carolina’s statewide filing deadline was the seventh to take place in the 2020 election cycle. The next statewide filing deadline is on January 10 in Mississippi.
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North Carolina has a divided government, and no political party holds a state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers.
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Houston school board runoff elections decided amidst threat of state takeover
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Runoff elections for the District II and District IV open seats on the Houston Independent School District (HISD) school board were held Saturday, Dec. 14, since no candidate in those districts received more than 50% of the vote during the Nov. 5 general election. Katherine Blueford-Daniels defeated John Gibbs Sr. in District II, and Patricia Allen defeated Matthew Barnes in District IV.
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In the general election, incumbents Sergio Lira (District III) and Diana Davila (District VIII) lost their re-election bids outright to Daniela Hernandez and Judith Cruz, respectively.
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On Nov. 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.
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Prior to Morath’s announcement, HISD lawyers filed a request for a preliminary injunction, asking the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to prevent state intervention. Judge Lee Yeakel denied the request on Dec. 18 and remanded the case to a Travis County court. According to the Houston Chronicle, "For now, Yeakel’s ruling means TEA officials can continue moving ahead with their plans to temporarily strip power from elected trustees," although "the ruling does not definitively clear the way for TEA to oust the district’s school board."
- Three out of the four newly elected board members either applied or planned to apply to the board of managers. However, Morath informed the Houston Chronicle’s editorial board earlier this week that elected board members cannot serve on the appointed board.
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Candidate filing period for legislative, judicial, and local offices ends in Ohio
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The major-party filing deadline passed to run for elected office in Ohio. Candidates filed for:
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Six seats on the State Board of Education;
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Sixteen seats in the Ohio State Senate;
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99 seats in the Ohio State House;
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Two Ohio Supreme Court justices; and
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21 Ohio District Courts of Appeals justices.
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Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in Franklin, Cuyahoga, and Lucas counties; Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo; and multiple school board elections.
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The primary is scheduled for March 17, and the general election is scheduled for November 3, 2020. Ohio’s statewide filing deadline was the sixth filing deadline to take place in the 2020 election cycle. The next statewide filing deadline was on December 20 in North Carolina.
- Entering the 2020 election, the state Senate has nine Democrats, 23 Republicans, and one vacancy. Sixteen seats are up for election. A majority in the chamber requires 17 seats. Entering the 2020 election, the state House has 38 Democrats and 60 Republicans. All 99 seats are up for election. A majority in the chamber requires 50 seats. Ohio has a Republican trifecta status. A state government trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.
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Ballot measures update
2020:
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State legislative special elections
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So far this year, 77 state legislative special elections have been scheduled in 24 states. Special elections have been held for 74 seats so far; heading into those races, Democrats had previously controlled 37 of the seats while Republicans previously controlled 37. 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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Another 18 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2020 in 11 states.
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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: 94, 2013: 84, 2015: 88, 2017: 98).
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An average of 55 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past five even years (2010: 26, 2012: 45, 2014: 40, 2016: 65, 2018: 99).
Upcoming special elections include:
January 7
January 14
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States in session
Two states—New Jersey and Ohio—are in regular session. North Carolina is in recess. Forty-seven states have adjourned their 2019 legislative sessions.
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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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