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Welcome to the Daily Brew
Friday, November 13, 2020
We hope you don’t have triskaidekaphobia. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Here’s the latest ballot measure results
- Georgia to determine partisan control of U.S. Senate
- Coming Monday: The Transition Tracker
Here’s the latest ballot measure results
Voters decided 120 statewide ballot measures in 32 states on Nov. 3. We've provided updates on results for some of those measures last week in the Brew here and here. Here’s a look at the latest statistics and the results of some recently-decided measures.
As of Nov. 11, Ballotpedia had called the outcome of 111 statewide ballot measures, of which 83 (75%) were approved, and 28 were defeated. That leaves nine ballot measures uncalled.
Here are six highlighted measures that were called since our last update:
- Arizona voters approved Proposition 208 by a vote of 52% to 48%. The initiative enacts a 3.50% income tax on income above $250,000 for single filers or $500,000 for joint filers. It also distributes the revenue from the income tax to teacher and classroom support staff salaries, teacher mentoring and retention programs, career and technical education programs, and the Arizona Teachers Academy.
- California voters rejected Proposition 18 by a vote of 55% to 45%. The measure would have allowed 17-year-olds who would be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primary and special elections.
- California voters defeated Proposition 15, which would have created a split roll property tax. Based on votes tallied through Nov. 11, 48.2% of voters approved the measure, and 51.8% opposed it. Proposition 15 would have required commercial and industrial properties, except those zoned as commercial agriculture, to be taxed based on their market value rather than their purchase price. More than $148 million was raised for and against Proposition 15, making it the second most expensive measure of 2020.
- Florida voters approved Amendment 2 by a vote of 60.8% to 39.2%. The measure required a 60% supermajority vote for approval. The amendment will increase the state’s minimum wage to $10 per hour in September 2021 and then by $1 per hour per year until it reaches $15 per hour in 2026. It is the first time any state voted on a $15 per hour minimum wage through a statewide ballot measure.
- Voters in Puerto Rico approved a non-binding statehood referendum. The measure asked: “Should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted into the Union as a state?” and 52.3% of voters marked “yes.” While Congress is not compelled to act, the referendum contained a provision authorizing the governor to appoint a seven-member commission to represent Puerto Rico in matters and negotiations related to achieving statehood. The commission will meet to develop a transition plan, which the governor can approve or reject, and present the plan to Congress and the President. This year’s ballot measure was the sixth in Puerto Rico’s history on the territory’s political status, and it was the first to give voters a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ option on a single potential status.
> KEEP READING
Georgia to determine partisan control of U.S. Senate
Two seats remain uncalled in the U.S. Senate, and the results of those races will determine partisan control of the chamber. Thus far, Democrats have a net gain of one seat—they won two seats in Colorado and Arizona, while Republicans won Alabama's seat.
Based on the results so far, Republicans control 50 seats and Democrats 46. There are two independents who caucus with the Democrats. The two Senate races that remain uncalled are the regular and special Senate elections in Georgia.
Georgia is one of two states—along with Louisiana—that require runoff elections if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the general election. Here are the runoff matchups:
- Sen. David Perdue (R) faces Jon Ossoff (D), who ran for the U.S. House in a special election for Georgia's 6th Congressional District in 2017. As of Nov. 11, Perdue led Ossoff, 49.7% to 48.0%. Libertarian nominee Shane Hazel received 2.3%.
- Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) is running for re-election in the special election. She assumed office in January 2020 after Gov. Brian Kemp (R) appointed her following Johnny Isakson’s (R) resignation. Twenty-one candidates ran in the special election Nov. 3 in which all candidates appeared together on the ballot. As of Nov. 11, Raphael Warnock (D), senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, led Loeffler 32.9% to 25.9%.
Democrats would need to win both runoff elections to reach a 50-50 split with the GOP. Since the vice president casts tie-breaking votes in the Senate, such a split would effectively give Democrats the majority in 2021. If Republicans win one of the runoffs, they will maintain their current majority.
Here are some updates on the runoffs from the past week:
- On Thursday, Loeffler began airing her first two runoff ads, calling Warnock a radical in each. Warnock released his first ad Nov. 5, saying Loeffler wanted to get rid of healthcare in the middle of a pandemic and that she would lie about him in negative ads.
- On Monday, Stacey Abrams tweeted that her organization, Fair Fight, had raised $6 million in support of Ossoff's and Warnock's campaigns.
- Also on Monday, Loeffler and Perdue issued a joint statement calling for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to step down, saying there had been "mismanagement and lack of transparency." Raffensperger said he would not step down and that the "process of reporting results has been orderly and followed the law."
- On Saturday, Ossoff began airing his first runoff ad discussing the pandemic and economic recovery.
> KEEP READING
Coming Monday: The Transition Tracker
Ballotpedia’s Presidential Daily Briefing newsletter came to an end this week, and our team no longer had any idea what to do with their mornings. They paced in their homes. They stared at their coffee pots. One thought about jumping on the sourdough baking train.
Thankfully, they knew there was something to look ahead to.
When one West Wing door closes, another opens, or something like that. Enter: The Transition Tracker.
We know staying on top of a new administration’s transition team, potential cabinet appointees, and related events are critically important, and we want to help you follow the transfers.
We did this in 2016 with our newsletter, You’re Hired. You can travel back in time to see those editions here.
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Your inbox was probably missing our team each 9 a.m. anyway.
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