The Ballot Initiative Gazette

	2014 Count
Number:	22 measures
States:	Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Michigan, Montana Nevada, Tennessee, and Wyoming

From Ballotpedia

Jump to: navigation, search

News headlines

News about: elections, congress, state executive officials, state legislatures, recall elections, ballot measures (including ballot measure law, school bond and tax elections and local ballot measures).

Or listen to the latest news via the Ballotpedia Voice podcast.

[edit]

Breaking news
June 2013
Jan-May 2013
2009-2012 archives
The Tuesday Count
Ballot law update
State Legislative Tracker
The Executive Summary

State Legislative Tracker: FBI raids California Senate

Edited by Joel Williams
This week’s tracker takes a look at two federal investigations and other happenings from around state legislatures.

The Executive Summary: With last 2013 primary in the books, it's on to November!

Edited by Greg Janetka

This edition of The Executive Summary features a rundown of this week's primary in Virginia - the last state executive primary for the year. We also introduce you to New Jersey's new attorney general, look at the auditing brouhaha in Ohio, and say goodbye to resigning officials and hello to newly appointed ones. And, as always, we keep you up to date with the latest 2013-2014 election news and throw in a trivia question for good measure.

2013 Primary election review: Democratic Senators Northam and Herring advance to general election

By Maresa Strano

RICHMOND, Virginia: Virginia Democrats went to the polls yesterday to decide which candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general to send to the general election. With 99% of precincts reporting as of 12:00 am ET, the results show state Sen. Ralph Northam defeating Aneesh Chopra 54-46 percent for the lieutenant gubernatorial nomination, and attorney general hopeful Mark Herring, Northam's senate colleague, scoring a - slightly narrower 52-48 percent - victory over Justin Fairfax.^[1]^[2]

Former Democratic National Committee Chair and current gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe was nominated by default, having drawn no primary challengers. His name did not appear on the primary ballot.^[3]

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Democratic Primary Election, 2013
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ralph Northam	54.2%	78,337
Aneesh Chopra	45.8%	66,098
Total Votes		144,435
Election Results Via: Virginia State Board of Elections

**Results are unofficial with 100% of precincts reporting**

Attorney General of Virginia Democratic Primary Election, 2013
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mark Herring	51.7%	72,861
Justin Fairfax	48.3%	68,177
Total Votes		141,038
Election Results Via: Virginia State Board of Elections

**Results are unofficial with 100% of precincts reporting**

With both the Republican convention and Democratic primary election now over, the ballots for the Nov. 5 general election are set for major party candidates seeking the open seats of governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. The candidates include:

2013 elections review: Pair of incumbents upset in quiet Virginia primaries

By Ballotpedia's State legislative teams

Virginia experienced two upsets in an otherwise quiet day of primaries for the House of Delegates. Voter turnout was expected to fall below 5 percent based on projections at polling locations.^[4]

There were 11 contested primaries for House seats.

Contested Primaries in Virginia -- June 11, 2013
	State Legislature (100 seats)
Total Democratic Contested Primaries	3 (3%)
Total Republican Contested Primaries	8 (8%)

The Tuesday Count: End of Louisiana's 2013 legislative session brings most recent referrals

Edited by Eric Veram

Tuesday Count Lineup:

4 certifications
16 measures for 2013

Topics featured in this report

Health care(News)
Same-sex marriage(Quick Hits)
Petition firms(Ballot law)

As their 2013 session came to a close, the Louisiana State Legislature successfully passed a number of referrals out of the capitol and on to voters. Three measures, all of which are legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, have been identified so far, and although they all mention appearing in the 2014 general election, at least two have the potential to be decided by voters even earlier.

Those two measures are the Hospital Stabilization Fund Amendment and the Medical Assistance Trust Fund Amendment, known in the legislature as HB 532 and HB 533, respectively, and differ from other proposals in that they both have a clause built into their language stating they will be submitted to voters at the first statewide election following their approval by the legislature. Their similarities do not end there, however, as they both share a common primary sponsor, Rep. Charles Kleckley (R-36), and a common purpose of securing federal Medicaid funds.^[5] Combined, the measures allow hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, and intermediate care facilities to assess a tax on themselves which would then go into the newly created "stabilization funds." This fund would then be used to garner more federal money from the Medicaid expansion in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Opponents argue that making these funds constitutional provisions will tie the hands of future legislatures who may need to tap them to make up for budget shortfalls.^[6]

The other measure heading to voters in Louisiana is the Louisiana Redemption of Blighted Property Amendment, also known as HB 265, which aims to reduce the number of blighted properties lying around the state. The amendment seeks to do this by reducing to eighteen months the current three-year tax delinquency period allotted to property owners for the redemption of blighted or abandoned property sold at a tax sale. Supporters argue that if owners can't pay to redeem their property with eighteen months, it is unlikely they will be able to with another eighteen months, especially when considering the additional penalties that are tacked on over time.^[7]

Join Our Mailing List

For Email Marketing you can trust

We also have a retroactive change to report this week: the passage of a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment in North Dakota. The North Dakota Commission of Higher Education Amendment was actually passed by the state's legislature on April 23 as House Concurrent Resolution 3047. If approved by voters in 2014, the amendment would abolish the current elected State Board of Higher Education and replace it with the Commission of Higher Education, which would consist of members appointed by the governor.^[8] Interestingly, the measure bears a striking similarity to the bill that the failed Wyoming Education Department Director Referendum sought to overturn.

Despite the fact that Michigan's legislature approved Senate Bill 288 in May, the Keep Michigan Wolves Protected campaign is pushing ahead with efforts to oppose wolf hunting in the state. The Natural Resources Commission has already established an Upper Peninsula hunt for November 15 to December 31. According to reports, the group, which successfully placed the Wolf Hunting Referendum on the 2014 ballot, is going to focus on discussing the environmental and cultural value of wolves and educating the public about the upcoming hunt.^[9]

In an interesting development out west, some counties in Colorado are discussing a possible statewide ballot measure asking voters to approve their secession and the formulation of a new state called "North Colorado." According to reports, the northern counties' reasons for wanting to separate themselves comes from a growing feeling of isolation from the rest of the state over recently passed legislation. Supporters of the movement cited regulation of the petroleum industry, increases in renewable energy standards, lessening of school funding and background checks on gun sales as reasons for dissatisfaction in the state's more rural regions.

The passing of the proposed ballot measure isn't enough to secure statehood, however. That requires the Colorado State Legislature to seek authorization from Congress for the creation of a new state, followed by an actual congressional act doing so. According to reports, county boards and commissioners will continue to discuss the idea and will decide on a plan by August 1.^[10]^[11]