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Daily Brew: February 6, 2019

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February 6, 2019

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Today's Brew highlights the status of marijuana legalization initiatives in 2019 + approval ratings of our nation’s governors  
The Daily Brew

Welcome to the Wednesday, February 6 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Ohio may be only state to vote on legalizing marijuana in 2019
  2. How popular are the governors running for re-election in 2019 and 2020?
  3. Missouri could have the 10th largest city in the U.S. if voters decide to merge St. Louis city and county in 2020

Ohio may be only state to vote on legalizing marijuana in 2019

Although there are still three upcoming submission deadlines for proponents to place statewide ballot initiatives before voters in 2019, only one state, Ohio, has a pending potential initiative which would allow the recreational or medical use of marijuana. The Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative would legalize recreational marijuana and authorize the state legislature to enact a marijuana sales tax. The initiative may appear on the November 2019 ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment if supporters collect 442,958 signatures by the July 3 deadline. They must also meet the state’s signature distribution requirement by gathering signatures equal to at least 5 percent of votes cast for governor in at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties.

In 2015, Ohio voters also considered an Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative, known as Issue 3, which would have legalized the limited sale and use of marijuana and created 10 facilities with exclusive commercial rights to grow marijuana. This ballot measure, which was also an initiated constitutional amendment, was defeated, 64 percent to 36 percent.

In 2016, ballot initiatives legalizing or decriminalizing the recreational or medical use of marijuana were considered by voters in nine states. In 2018, such measures appeared on the ballot in five states. Ballotpedia has already identified measures in five states which may make the ballot in 2020 which would legalize the recreational or medical use of marijuana.

The map below details the status of recreational marijuana legalization in the states as of November 2018. States shaded in green had legalized recreational marijuana usage through ballot measures from 2012 to 2018. The states shaded in dark gray defeated ballot measures that proposed to legalize recreational marijuana. States in blue had recreational marijuana approved by the state legislature and signed by the governor. The remaining states had not legalized recreational marijuana.

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How popular are the governors running for re-election in 2019 and 2020?

Morning Consult recently released the results of their quarterly poll measuring the net approval ratings of all 50 governors. The most recent poll covers the last three months of 2018. For the sixth consecutive quarter, the same three governors, all Republicans, had the three highest approval ratings - Gov. Charlie Baker (R-Mass.), Larry Hogan (R-Md.), and Kay Ivey (R-Ala.). All three were re-elected in 2018.

The three governors with the lowest approval ratings in the fourth quarter of 2018 all recently left office. Mary Fallin (R-Okla.), who was term-limited in 2018, was the least popular governor in the survey. Dan Malloy (D-Conn.) had the second-lowest approval rating and decided not to run for re-election last year. Bruce Rauner (R-Ill.) had the third-lowest approval rating and lost his bid for re-election to J.B. Pritzker (D) last November.

In the three states holding gubernatorial elections in 2019, the governor with the highest approval rating, Phil Bryant (R-Miss.), is term-limited and unable to seek re-election. In the other two states, Kentucky and Louisiana, incumbents Matt Bevin (R-Ky.) and John Bel Edwards (D-La.) are running for another term.

Here are the fourth-quarter approval ratings, according to Morning Consult, for all governors in states holding gubernatorial elections in 2019 and 2020:

Missouri could have the 10th largest city in the U.S. if voters decide to merge St. Louis city and county in 2020

In 2020, voters across Missouri could decide a ballot initiative to consolidate St. Louis city and St. Louis County into a single political entity named The Metropolitan City of St. Louis. The new city would be the 10th largest city in the U.S., with a population around 1.3 million as of 2017. Residents of The Metropolitan City of St. Louis would elect an executive mayor, a 33-member legislative council, a prosecutor, and an assessor.

The ballot initiative would amend the Missouri Constitution, as St. Louis city and St. Louis County are inscribed in the state constitution. Changes to the Missouri Constitution require a statewide vote.

Better Together, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, proposed the ballot initiative. St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson (D) and St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger (D) spoke at Better Together’s news conference in favor of the plan. Ben Keathley, a council member for the city of Chesterfield in St. Louis County, said he was opposed to not having a local vote on consolidation. He stated, "If this is the thing we want to do, then we should be the ones choosing it. People all over the state of Missouri shouldn’t be picking the government for someone else.”

Voters in Missouri have considered several prior ballot measures related to the consolidation of St. Louis city and St. Louis County, including in 1930 and 1962. Both of those ballot measures were defeated.

In Missouri, the signature requirement totals for initiatives are based on the number of votes cast for governor in the state's most recent gubernatorial election in six of the state’s eight congressional districts. This means the smallest possible requirement to get an initiated constitutional amendment placed on the November 2020 ballot is 160,199. Signatures for initiated amendments are due six months before the general election, or May 3, 2020.

The budget for the 2019 fiscal year for the city of St. Louis was $1.1 billion and the 2018 budget for St. Louis County was $665 million. The population of the city of St. Louis, as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau as of July 1, 2017, was 308,626.


See also

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