Daily Brew: December 21, 2018

December 21, 2018

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Today's Brew brings you an end-of-year summary of 2018's ballot measures + the latest on North Carolina's voter ID bill   Welcome to the Friday, December 21 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: We covered 301 local ballot measures in 2018. Here’s what we learned USDA proposes new rule for SNAP program work requirements North Carolina legislature overrides governor's veto of voter ID bill Year-end local ballot measure analysis Ballotpedia’s annual analysis of local ballot measures in top U.S. cities by population outside of California examines 301 measures on ballots across the country in 2018. This analysis excludes our coverage of California ballot measures. Stay tuned for more details on California in a future Brew issue. Quick stats Ballotpedia covered 301 local ballot measures in 29 states (excluding California) and the District of Columbia in 2018.   Sixty-six percent of the 301 measures were on ballots during the general election on November 6. The remaining measures appeared on ballots at earlier elections dates in 2018. In states where Ballotpedia covered local measures, the number of measures ranged from one in Hawaii and Nevada (as well as the District of Columbia) to 85 measures in Texas. The approval rate for all measures was 87 percent, with 12 percent defeated, one measure repealed, and results for two measures not counted due to a legal challenge. Notable measures Notable measures throughout the year included the following: Proposition 1 was on the ballot in Anchorage, Alaska, on April 3. This measure asked voters whether or not the city should restrict access to bathrooms and other facilities based on sex at birth. It was defeated. Initiative 77 was on the ballot in Washington, D.C, on June 19. The measure proposed raising the minimum wage for tipped employees to the city’s standard minimum wage by 2026. It was approved, but it was later repealed by the Washington D.C. Council. Measure 26-201 was on the ballot in Portland, Oregon, on November 6. The measure proposed a 1 percent surcharge on Portland revenues of certain local retailers to fund renewable energy projects and job training. It was approved. Election policy in 2018 Approval voting was adopted in Fargo, North Dakota, with 64 percent approval. Score Then Automatic Runoff (STAR) voting was defeated in Lane County, Oregon, with 52 percent of voters in opposition. Ranked-choice voting was retained in Memphis, Tennessee, with the defeat of two referendums. A Fair Election Fund was approved in Baltimore, Maryland, to provide public financing options for candidates running in local elections.   An amendment to lower campaign finance limits and to increase public financing for local candidates was approved in New York City with 80 percent of the vote. Click here to read Ballotpedia’s full report USDA proposes new rule for SNAP program work requirements The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed a new rule tightening regulations over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirement waivers. The new rule would only grant waivers to SNAP work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) if the unemployment rate in certain areas was over 7 percent. The rule also prevents states from combining areas of high and low unemployment to receive waivers for larger geographic areas. Previously, USDA granted waivers to states containing areas with unemployment rates 20 percent above the national average. As national unemployment rates fell, that allowed states to qualify for waivers even when specified areas had full employment. The USDA proposed the rule as a response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13828, which directed agencies to strengthen work requirements for work-capable individuals receiving benefits from public assistance programs. The executive order asked agencies to review regulations and guidance documents to see whether they increased self-sufficiency, well-being, and economic mobility. Three more things you should know about how the administrative process works. Proposed rules are preliminary versions of a prospective federal agency regulation. If an agency determines that a new regulation is necessary, the agency develops a proposed rule for publication in the Federal Register. After a period of public comment, the agency may determine to revise the proposed rule, abandon the proposal, or move forward to the final rule stage of the rulemaking process. An executive order is a formal command handed down from the president to federal agencies within the executive branch. While executive orders are legally binding, they are not laws; they are instructions on how the executive branch ought to enforce the law. These instructions must line up with existing U.S. laws and the U.S. Constitution. Executive orders differ from other types of executive action, namely presidential proclamations and presidential memorandums. Unlike executive orders, presidential memorandums are not numbered or cataloged, and they do not require the president to cite any authority for their issuance. Proclamations direct the actions of individuals rather than government agencies and are often ceremonial. Learn more about proposed rules → North Carolina legislature overrides governor's veto of voter ID bill The North Carolina Legislature voted to overturn SB 824, which defines types of voter identification to be accepted at the polls. The legislation responded to a 2018 ballot measure that passed on November 6. The North Carolina Voter ID Amendment added language to the state constitution requiring voters to present a photo ID to vote in person. Gov. Roy Cooper (D) vetoed the legislation on December 14. On December 18, the Senate voted 33 to 12 to override Cooper's veto. The House approved the override on December 19 by a vote of 72 to 40. In his veto message, Cooper said the legislation was "a solution in search of a problem." Prior to overriding the veto, House Speaker Tim Moore (R) said, "We are disappointed that Gov. Cooper chose to ignore the will of the people and reject a commonsense election integrity measure that is common in most states." A total of 34 states enforce or are slated to begin enforcing voter identification requirements. In 17 of these states, photo IDs are required or requested.  As of December 2018, North Carolina governors had vetoed 61 bills since 1997. Thirty-seven of those bills were overridden by the legislature. In the 2017-2018 legislative session, the Republican-controlled legislature used its veto-proof majority to override 21 of the 26 vetoes issued by Gov. Cooper. That is the most that the North Carolina legislature has ever overridden in a legislative session. Learn more→