Daily Brew: Election day: primaries and a statewide ballot measures

May 8, 2018

Election Day in Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia + Ohio Issue 1, first-of-its-kind congressional redistricting process, on the ballot today   Election Day in Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia Happy election day! We are eagerly awaiting today’s election results. Join us for results after polls close. Check back tonight at this link. Indiana primary election Ballotpedia is covering 138 federal and state seats up for primary election in Indiana in 2018. These include 10 congressional seats and 125 state legislative seats. Ballotpedia will also cover municipal elections in Allen and Marion counties. North Carolina primary and general elections Ballotpedia is covering 183 federal and state seats up for primary election in North Carolina in 2018. These include 13 U.S. House seats and 170 state legislative seats. Ballotpedia will also cover municipal elections in Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Mecklenburg, and Wake counties and school board elections in the Durham, Winston-Salem/Forsyth, Guilford, Johnston, and Union school districts. Ohio primary election Ballotpedia is covering 224 federal, state, and local seats up for primary election in Ohio in 2018. These include U.S. Congress, governor and other state executives, Ohio General Assembly, and Ohio state courts. Ballotpedia will also cover judicial and municipal elections across five counties: Cuyahoga, Fairfield, Franklin, Hamilton, and Lucas. See below for more information on Issue 1, a ballot measure regarding congressional redistricting in the state. West Virginia primary election Ballotpedia is covering 121 federal and state seats up for primary election in West Virginia in 2018. These include four congressional seats and 117 state legislative seats. Learn more For a full list of the primaries we are watching this cycle, see: Ballotpedia's Top 10 Primaries         Ohio Issue 1, first-of-its-kind congressional redistricting process, on the ballot today Voters in Ohio will decide whether to give their state a first-of-its-kind congressional redistricting process. Issue 1 was put on the ballot through a bipartisan vote in the state legislature. The measure would require the state legislature to adopt a 10-year congressional redistricting plan with 60 percent of members in each chamber voting in favor and 50 percent of Republicans and 50 percent of Democrats (or whichever two parties have the most members in the legislature) voting in favor. As of 2018, no state requires a specific level of support from the minority party in a state legislature to pass a congressional redistricting plan. Issue 1 would take effect on January 1, 2021, and apply to congressional redistricting following the 2020 U.S. Census. Ohio’s three newspapers with circulations over 100,000—The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Cincinnati Enquirer, and The Columbus Dispatch—have endorsed Issue 1, as have the Ohio Democratic Party and Ohio Republican Party. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee is also backing the ballot measure, contributing to the measure’s supporting PAC. Opponents of Issue 1, including the four House Democrats and six House Republicans who voted against referring the amendment, did not organize a campaign. Learn more→ Dallas Independent School District race goes to runoff We’re excited for tonight’s primaries - but did you know Texas holds municipal elections on Saturday? We covered city, council, school board, and other municipal elections across the Lone Star state. One of the more exciting races took place in Dallas - and Saturday’s race is advancing to a runoff. District 9 incumbent Bernadette Nutall and challenger Justin Henry will compete in a runoff election on June 9 since neither received more than 50 percent of the vote in the general election. Henry received 47 percent of the vote while Nutall received 32 percent. The race is being held in the wake of Nutall’s opposition to Superintendent Mike Miles’ teacher evaluation and merit pay program as well as her two votes against a 13-cent tax increase. Henry announced his candidacy one day after the board couldn’t agree on a tax plan. Learn more→ Follow on Twitter   Friend on Facebook