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State Legislative Tracker: Former state senator disqualified from ballot in Louisiana
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September 21, 2015
Edited by Jackie Beran
This week’s tracker includes a look at a challenge to a former state senator's candidacy in Louisiana and the passing of the state budget in North Carolina.
Weekly highlight
LOUISIANA: Former state Sen. Derrick Shepherd (D), who left office in 2008 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, remains on the ballot even after being disqualified from seeking a second tenure in the state House. Judge Steve Enright of the 24th Judicial District ruled Friday that Shepherd, a convicted felon, is "not qualified to run for the election for which he has filed the qualification papers." However, Enright granted a stay on removing Shepherd's name from the ballot pending an appeal.[1]
Shepherd asked the 19th Judicial District Court the previous day to issue a restraining order against Paul Connick, the Jefferson Parish district attorney, who cited a voter-approved legislatively referred constitutional amendment in arguing that Shepherd is ineligible to seek or hold elected office until 2027, 15 years following his release from prison. While district judge Wilson Fields denied the request, he will hear arguments on the amendment's validity at 11 a.m. CDT tomorrow. Shepherd has argued that the amendment is invalid because the language presented to voters in 1998 was not identical to the language passed by the legislature. According to Shepherd, the version approved by voters did not include a provision allowing felons sentenced to probation to run as soon as they completed their sentences.[2] This was included as an amendment to the Senate bill that the legislature passed in 1997 before it became a ballot measure. Shepherd's attorney, Bob Garrity, said that the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in 1941 that a law passed without following legislative procedure is considered null and void.[3]
Shepherd has claimed that he is reformed and that his campaign would serve as an example of "hope to many citizens who have made a mistake that they too can receive a second chance in life."[2][4] Shepherd and fellow challenger Rodney Lyons Sr. (D) are looking to unseat District 87 incumbent Ebony Woodruff (D) this fall.
NORTH CAROLINA: Last Friday, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed a $21.7 billion budget, almost three months after last year’s budget expired on July 1.[5] Before Gov. McCrory signed the budget bill, the third temporary government spending provision was set to expire late Friday night.[6] The new budget will fund the government through June 2017.[5] The delay over the budget was over Medicaid reform, economic development and taxes.[7] The budget passed the state Senate by a vote of 33 to 16, and the state House voted 81 to 33 to pass the budget.[8]
After signing the budget bill, Gov. McCrory made the following statement:
| “ | The budget submitted to me by the General Assembly includes many of the goals and ideas we put forward to provide the tools North Carolina needs to continue what we have accomplished during the past three years. Now we can work together to implement a common-sense vision for our great state that includes job creation, education, healthcare and transportation.[9] | ” |
| —Gov. Pat McCrory (R)[5] | ||
The budget includes a decrease in personal income tax in 2016 from 5.75 to 5.49 percent, an increase in funding for public schools, a raise in minimum teacher salaries from $30,800 to $35,000, and a $750 bonus to all state employees and teachers at the end of the year.[10] The budget also expands sales tax to include labor for repairs and installations and sets aside $225 million over two years for Medicaid reform.[5] The added sales tax is expected to generate more than $225 million over the next two years; this money will be used for education and economic development for the state's rural counties.[10]
Sessions
- See also: Dates of 2015 state legislative sessions
- Click here to see a chart of each state's 2015 session information.
Regular sessions
Currently eight out of 50 state legislatures are meeting in regular session. No states are in recess and 42 states have adjourned their 2015 legislative sessions.
The following states are in regular session:[11]
- January 5, 2015: Ohio
- January 5, 2015: Wisconsin
- January 6, 2015: Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania House)
- January 7, 2015: Massachusetts
- January 13, 2015: New Jersey (New Jersey Senate)
- January 14, 2015: Illinois (extended session)
- January 14, 2015: North Carolina
- January 14, 2015: Michigan
In recess
As of today, September 21, there are no state legislatures currently in recess.[12]
Adjourned
The following states have adjourned their 2015 regular sessions:[13]
- February 27, 2015: Virginia; one-day special session ended on 8/17[14]
- March 6, 2015: Wyoming
- March 12, 2015: Utah; one-day special session ended on 8/19
- March 14, 2015: West Virginia
- March 21, 2015: New Mexico; one-day special session ended on 6/8
- March 23, 2015: Kentucky
- March 30, 2015: South Dakota
- April 2, 2015: Arkansas; three-day special session ended on 5/28
- April 2, 2015: Arizona
- April 2, 2015: Georgia
- April 2, 2015: Mississippi
- April 11, 2015: Idaho; one-day special session ended on 5/18
- April 13, 2015: Maryland
- April 22, 2015: Tennessee
- April 24, 2015: Washington; special sessions were from 4/29 to 5/28, 5/29 to 6/27 and 6/28 to 7/10
- April 27, 2015: Alaska; special session was from 4/28 to 6/11
- April 28, 2015: Montana
- April 29, 2015: Indiana
- April 29, 2015: North Dakota; one-day special session ended on 6/16
- May 1, 2015: Florida; 1st special session was from 6/1 to 6/19; 2nd special session was from 8/10 to 8/21
- May 6, 2015: Colorado
- May 7, 2015: Hawaii
- May 15, 2015: Missouri
- May 16, 2015: Vermont
- May 18, 2015: Minnesota; one-day special session ended on 6/13
- May 22, 2015: Oklahoma
- May 29, 2015: Nebraska
- June 1, 2015: Texas
- June 1, 2015: Nevada
- June 3, 2015: Connecticut; special session was from 6/29 to 6/30
- June 4, 2015: South Carolina; special veto session was from 6/16 to 7/9
- June 4, 2015: Alabama; 1st special session was from 7/13 to 8/11; 2nd special session was from 9/8 to 9/16
- June 5, 2015: Iowa
- June 11, 2015: Louisiana
- June 12, 2015: Kansas
- June 25, 2015: Rhode Island
- June 25, 2015: New York
- June 30, 2015: Delaware; special session was from 6/30 to 7/1
- July 1, 2015: New Hampshire
- July 6, 2015: Oregon
- July 16, 2015: Maine
- September 12, 2015: California
Special sessions
As of today, September 21, there are no state legislatures currently in recess.
2015 Legislative Elections
- See also: State legislative elections, 2015
In the 50 states, there are 99 state legislative chambers, of which seven chambers will hold state legislative elections in November 2015.[15]
There are seven chambers in four states with elections in 2015:
- Louisiana (Senate and House)
- Mississippi (Senate and House)
- New Jersey (Assembly)
- Virginia (Senate and House)
A total of 131 of the country's 1,972 state senate seats and 407 of the country's 5,411 state house seats will be up for a vote. This accounts for 6.6 percent of the country's state senate seats and 7.5 percent of the country's state house seats. Altogether, 538 (7.3%) of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats are up for election. Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia hold elections in odd-numbered years. The New Jersey State Senate is the only chamber in those four states without scheduled elections in 2015.
Primary Information
The state legislative filing deadlines and primary dates are as follows:
Filing Deadlines
- Louisiana: September 10[16]
- Mississippi: February 27[17]
- New Jersey: March 30[18]
- Virginia: March 9[19]
Primary Dates
- Louisiana: October 24[16]
- Mississippi: August 4[17]
- New Jersey: June 2[18]
- Virginia: June 8[19]
Special Elections
There is one special election scheduled this week.
New Hampshire House of Representatives District Strafford 1
A special election for the position of New Hampshire House of Representatives District Strafford 1 was called for November 10. A primary election took place on September 22.[20]
The seat was vacant following Robbie Parsons' (R) death on June 22, 2015.[21]
Larry Brown (D) was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Robert Graham defeated Frank Emiro in the Republican primary. Brown was defeated by Graham in the special election.[22][23]
| New Hampshire House of Representatives, Strafford1, Special Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Robert Graham |
77.8% | 259 | |
| Democratic | Larry Brown | 22.2% | 74 | |
| Total Votes | 333 | |||
| New Hampshire House of Representatives, Strafford1 Republican Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Robert Graham |
92.9% | 92 |
| Frank Emiro | 7.1% | 7 |
| Total Votes | 99 | |
September 22 Democratic Primary candidates:
September 22 Republican Primary candidates:
Recent election results
September 15, 2015
☑
South Carolina House of Representatives District 106
A special election for the position of South Carolina House of Representatives District 106 was called for September 15. A primary election took place on July 28. A primary runoff election took place on August 11. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 8.[24]
The seat was vacant following Nelson Hardwick's (R) resignation on May 12, 2015.[25]
Russell Fry, Sanford Cox Graves, Tyler Servant and Roy Sprinkle faced off in the Republican primary.[26] Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, Fry and Servant, met in a runoff election, which Fry won.[27] Fry was unopposed in the special election.[28][29]
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 106, Special Election Runoff, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Russell Fry |
59.8% | 1,738 | |
| Republican | Tyler Servant | 40.2% | 1,167 | |
| Total Votes | 2,905 | |||
| South Carolina House of Representatives, District 106 Republican Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Russell Fry (advanced to runoff) |
44.8% | 1,152 |
| Tyler Servant (advanced to runoff) |
33.3% | 856 |
| Roy Sprinkle | 14.5% | 374 |
| Sanford Cox Graves | 7.5% | 192 |
| Total Votes | 2,574 | |
- July 28 Democratic primary candidates:
- No candidates filed for election.
- July 28 Republican primary candidates:
- August 11 Special election runoff candidates:
- Russell Fry
- Tyler Servant
- September 15 Special election candidates:
- Russell Fry
☐ South Carolina State Senate District 45
A special election for the position of South Carolina State Senate District 45 was called for October 20. A primary election took place on September 1. A primary runoff election took place on September 15. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was July 13.[30]
The seat was vacant following the death of Clementa Pinckney (D) on June 17, 2015, in a mass shooting at an AME church in Charleston, South Carolina.[31]
Margie Bright Matthews, R. Keith Horton, Richmond Truesdale, Korey Williams, John E. Washington, Kenneth Hodges, William Bowman, Chauncey Barnwell, Sheree Darien, Libbie Henry Green and Kent Fletcher faced off in the Democratic primary. Since no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, Bright Matthews and Hodges, met in a runoff election, which Bright Matthews won.[32] Alberto Fernandez was unopposed in the Republican primary. Leilani Bessinger withdrew from the race before the Republican primary.[30][33] Bright Matthews defeated Fernandez in the special election.[34]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 45, Special election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Margie Bright Matthews |
88.5% | 5,763 | |
| Republican | Alberto Fernandez | 11.5% | 750 | |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 0% | 2 | |
| Total Votes | 6,515 | |||
| South Carolina State Senate, District 45, Democratic Runoff, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Margie Bright Matthews |
56.2% | 3,908 | |
| Democratic | Kenneth Hodges | 43.8% | 3,042 | |
| Total Votes | 6,950 | |||
| South Carolina State Senate, District 45 Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Margie Bright Matthews (advanced to runoff) |
36.9% | 2,622 |
| Kenneth Hodges (advanced to runoff) |
34.7% | 2,467 |
| Korey Williams | 9.3% | 663 |
| Kent Fletcher | 4.4% | 316 |
| William Bowman | 4% | 288 |
| Sheree Darien | 3.6% | 253 |
| R. Keith Horton | 3.4% | 245 |
| John E. Washington | 1.4% | 99 |
| Libbie Henry Green | 1.1% | 78 |
| Chauncey Barnwell | 0.7% | 53 |
| Richmond Truesdale | 0.4% | 29 |
| Total Votes | 7,113 | |
- September 1 Democratic primary candidates:
- September 1 Republican primary candidates:
- Note: Leilani Bessinger withdrew before the primary.
- September 15 Special election runoff candidates:
- Margie Bright Matthews
- Kenneth Hodges
- October 20 Special election candidates:
- Margie Bright Matthews
- Alberto Fernandez
Looking ahead
Upcoming special elections include:
- September 22: New Hampshire House of Representatives District Strafford 1 (primary)
- September 29: Alabama House of Representatives District 5 (primary)
- September 29: Minnesota House of Representatives District 3A (primary)
- September 29: Wisconsin State Assembly District 99
- October 6: Massachusetts State Senate Second Plymouth & Bristol District (primary)
- October 20: South Carolina State Senate District 45
See also
- State legislative elections, 2015
- 2015 state legislative calendar
- Signature requirements and deadlines for 2015 state government elections
- State legislative special elections, 2015
- State legislative recalls
Footnotes
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Convicted felon Derrick Shepherd disqualified from Oct. 24 ballot," September 18, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The New Orleans Advocate, "Convicted felon Derrick Shepherd asking two courts to stop his ouster from House race," September 17, 2015
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Derrick Shepherd to sue over law barring felons from election," September 16, 2015
- ↑ WVUE, "Judge: Derrick Shepherd not qualified to run for legislature," September 18, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 ABC11.com, "Gov. Pat McCrory signs state budget," accessed September 18, 2015
- ↑ abc11.com, "North Carolina budget gets final lawmaker approval," accessed September 18, 2015
- ↑ wral.com, "Gov. McCrory signs NC budget," accessed September 18, 2015
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "House Bill 97 / S.L. 2015-241," accessed September 18, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 wral.com, "House OKs $21.7B budget deal," accessed September 18, 2015
- ↑ Stateside Associates, "Session Calendar 2015," accessed September 21, 2015
- ↑ StateNet, "Daily Session Summary," accessed September 21, 2015
- ↑ StateNet, "Daily Session Summary," accessed September 21, 2015
- ↑ Special session abruptly adjourned on August 17 with no agreement in place over redistricting congressional districts. The deadline to create new congressional maps was September 1. The new maps will be drawn by the courts.
- ↑ Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia will hold general elections on November 3, 2015. Louisiana's general elections will be held on November 21.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Elections," accessed January 2, 2015
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 New Jersey Department of Elections, "2015 Primary Election Timeline," accessed February 2, 2015
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Virginia State Board of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 2, 2015
- ↑ Fosters, "Special election to be held in state rep. District 1," accessed September 3, 2015
- ↑ fosters.com, "State rep. loses battle with kidney cancer," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ fosters.com, "Graham, Brown to face off for state representative seat," accessed September 23, 2015
- ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Strafford County District No. 1 (Middleton, Milton)," accessed November 20, 2015
- ↑ scvotes.org, "State House of Representatives District 106 Special Election," accessed June 1, 2015
- ↑ wmbfnews.com, "State Rep. Nelson Hardwick resigns following inappropriate conduct complaint investigation," accessed May 18, 2015
- ↑ carolinalive.com, "Four Republicans file for open South Carolina State House seat," accessed June 10, 2015
- ↑ scvotes.org, "State House of Representatives District 106 Republican Primary," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ scvotes.org, "State House of Representatives District 106 Republican Primary Runoff," accessed September 16, 2015
- ↑ scvotes.org, "State House of Representatives District 106 Special Election," accessed September 16, 2015
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 scvotes.org, "State Senate District 45 Special Election," accessed June 26, 2015
- ↑ NBC News, "'This Is a Hate Crime': Nine People Killed at Historic South Carolina Church," June 18, 2015
- ↑ scvotes.org, "State Senate District 45 Democratic Primary Runoff," accessed September 16, 2015
- ↑ scvotes.org, "State Senate District 45 Democratic Primary," accessed September 16, 2015
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "State Senate District 45 Special Election," accessed October 21, 2015
