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Welcome to The State and Local Tap
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June 19, 2021
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Our weekly summary of state & local news previews the primaries taking place this week for mayor of New York City and other local offices across New York state, and the expulsion vote taken by Ohio’s state House against a former speaker. Read all about it in this week’s edition of the State & Local Tap: |
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BALLOTPEDIA |
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Voters in New York to decide local primaries on June 22
Voters in New York—the nation's largest city—will decide primary elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president in all five boroughs, and all 51 city council seats on June 22. New York City’s primary will feature the first use of ranked-choice voting for a mayoral race in the city's history after residents approved the method in a 2019 ballot measure, 74% to 26%. Voters will be able—but not required—to rank up to five candidates on their ballot in order of preference.
Six candidates lead the Democratic primary in noteworthy endorsements and media attention to succeed term-limited Mayor Bill de Blasio (D):
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Eric Adams, Brooklyn borough president
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Kathryn Garcia, former New York City sanitation commissioner
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Raymond McGuire, former Wall Street executive
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Scott Stringer, New York City comptroller
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Maya Wiley, former mayoral counsel
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Andrew Yang, entrepreneur
Crime, policing, affordable housing, jobs, and healthcare are top issues in the mayoral election. Click here to learn more about each candidate's positions and proposals.
New York City’s next comptroller will be responsible for overseeing how the city spends federal coronavirus relief funds, auditing city agencies, and managing public pension funds. Seven Democrats have been identified by media outlets as leading candidates to succeed incumbent Scott Stringer, who is running for mayor:
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Brian Benjamin, state senator
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Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, former financial analyst for CNBC
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Zachary Iscol, former U.S. Marine and business and nonprofit founder
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Corey Johnson, speaker of the New York City Council
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Brad Lander, city councilman and co-founder of the council's Progressive Caucus
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Kevin Parker, state senator
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David Weprin, state assemblyman
Election officials are not expected to complete official tabulations from the June 22 primaries until the week of July 12, due to the deadlines for voters to submit absentee ballots and fix ballot issues.
Voters will also decide primary elections in New York City for public advocate and all 51 city council seats, along with the city’s five borough presidents, two borough district attorneys, and local judges. Ballotpedia is also covering party primaries for the mayor and all 16 seats on the city council in Albany, and the mayor and three city court judges in Buffalo.
Ohio House of Representatives expels former speaker Larry Householder
The Ohio House of Representatives voted 75-21 to expel former House Speaker Larry Householder (R) on June 16. Householder served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1997 to 2004 and was elected again in 2016. He became Speaker of the House in 2019 after defeating sitting House Speaker Ryan Smith (R).
Householder was arrested on July 21, 2020, and charged with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering scheme. He allegedly participated in a $60 million bribery case related to the legislative passage of a $1.5 billion funding bill for two nuclear power plants. Householder pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Householder is the fourth state legislator to be removed from office so far in 2021. In 2020, only one legislator was removed from office.
Massachusetts, Kansas, Ohio end COVID-19 emergency orders
Emergency orders issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ended in three states this week:
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Gov. Mike DeWine (R) ended Ohio’s statewide COVID-19 state of emergency on June 18. DeWine first declared an emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic on March 9, 2020.
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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) ended that state’s COVID-19 state of emergency on June 15. Baker first declared the emergency on March 10, 2020.
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The statewide COVID-19 emergency in Kansas expired on June 15 after the Legislative Coordinating Council declined to carry out Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) request to extend it. Kelly first declared an emergency on March 12, 2020.
Governors and state agencies in all 50 states issued orders declaring active emergencies in response to the coronavirus pandemic. These orders allowed officials to access resources unavailable to them during non-emergencies, like stockpiles of medical goods and equipment, and to waive or suspend certain rules and regulations. Governors and state agencies relied on emergency power authority to enact lockdown and stay-at-home orders, mask mandates, and other restrictions on businesses and individuals.
California Secretary of State announces gubernatorial recall candidates must release tax records
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D) announced on June 15 that candidates running in the election related to the recall campaign against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will be required to release five years’ worth of tax records. The California Supreme Court previously struck down portions of a 2019 law requiring financial disclosures by presidential candidates but left the sections related to gubernatorial candidates intact.
The law applies to candidates “on a direct primary election ballot.” Weber’s office ruled that it applied to the potential recall election, while Politico reported that several legal experts disagreed with Weber’s ruling and that candidates could file lawsuits in response.
Representatives for the campaigns of former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and former U.S. Rep. Doug Ose said the campaigns would comply with the ruling. A spokesperson for Newsom said that the governor would also release his records, even though the governor is not technically a candidate on the recall ballot.
Organizers of a campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) turned in 1,719,943 valid signatures, exceeding the 1,495,709 required to trigger a recall election. Voters who signed the petition had until June 8 to request their names be removed from the petition. The secretary of state has until June 22 to verify that enough signatures remain to move the recall forward.
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Maryland, Michigan redistricting commissions conduct public hearings
The Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission held its second public hearing on June 16 and is expected to hold at least six more public hearings between now and July 28. The commission will ultimately submit proposals for congressional and state legislative district plans to Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who will, in turn, submit those proposals to the state legislature. The state legislature can accept the proposed state legislative district plan as submitted or adopt its own by joint resolution, which is not subject to gubernatorial veto. If the legislature fails to approve its own state legislative district plan, the governor's proposal takes effect. Congressional district plans are adopted solely by the legislature and may be vetoed by the governor.
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission conducted two public hearings, one on June 15 and one on June 17, both in Detroit. The commission is scheduled to conduct four more hearings between now and July 1. It was established in 2018 via constitutional amendment. This is the first cycle in which the commission will be responsible for both congressional and state legislative redistricting.
As of June 18, Illinois is the only state that has enacted new district plans for the state legislature and the state supreme court. Lawmakers in Oklahoma have introduced proposed district plans, but they have yet to be enacted into law.
Vermont governor lifts statewide mask order
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) lifted all remaining coronavirus restrictions in the state, including capacity restrictions and mask requirements for unvaccinated individuals, on June 14. Masks are still required in health care settings, in long-term care facilities, on public transportation, and at transportation hubs (like bus stations and airports).
The California Department of Health also exempted fully vaccinated individuals from the statewide mask mandate starting June 15. Fully vaccinated residents still have to wear masks on public transit and in transportation hubs, in indoor childcare and K-12 school settings, in healthcare settings, and in congregate settings (including prisons and homeless shelters). The statewide mask requirement still exists for unvaccinated people in all indoor public settings and businesses.
In total, 39 states issued statewide public mask requirements during the pandemic. As of June 12 states had statewide mask orders, including 11 of the 23 states with Democratic governors and one of the 27 states with Republican governors. Of those 12 states, 11 exempted fully vaccinated people.
Hawaii ends inter-island travel restrictions, loosens rules for travelers vaccinated in the state
Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) ended restrictions on traveling between the state’s islands on June 15. Previously, Hawaii required inter-island travelers to submit a negative COVID-19 test or quarantine for 10 days.
Ige also amended the state's travel restrictions to allow travelers who have been vaccinated in Hawaii to bypass the quarantine or test requirement if they leave and then return to the state. The exemption does not apply to travelers vaccinated outside Hawaii.
Currently, three states and Washington D.C. have restrictions on travel. Of the 27 executive orders issued by governors or state agencies placing restrictions on out-of-state visitors, 24 have been rescinded.
Ballot Measures Update
Twenty-seven statewide measures have been certified for the 2021 ballot in six states so far.
No new measures were certified for the 2021 ballot last week, and one measure was removed:
Fifty-four statewide measures have been certified for the 2022 ballot in 26 states so far.
No new measures were certified for the 2022 ballot last week.
Signatures have been submitted and are pending verification for three additional 2022 initiatives in California and Michigan.
Local Ballot Measures: The Week in Review
In 2021, Ballotpedia is providing comprehensive coverage of elections in America's 100 largest cities by population and all state capitals. This encompasses every office on the ballot in these cities, including their municipal elections, trial court elections, school board elections, and local ballot measures. Ballotpedia also covers all local recall elections, as well as all local ballot measures in California and a selection of notable local ballot measures about elections and police-related policies. Recent and upcoming local ballot measure elections are listed below:
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June 15 - Maine: Voters in Augusta approved two ballot measures: a bond issue to fund a new police station and a school budget validation measure.
Special Elections
Forty state legislative special elections have been scheduled in 17 states so far this year. Twenty-nine (29) special elections have taken place already. Heading into those races, Democrats had previously controlled 15 of the seats, and Republicans previously controlled 14. No seats have changed party hands as a result of the special elections.
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In special elections between 2011 and 2020, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of four seats nationally each year.
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An average of 57 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past six even years (2010: 30, 2012: 46, 2014: 40, 2016: 65, 2018: 99, 2020: 59).
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An average of 88 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past five odd years (2011: 94, 2013: 84, 2015: 89, 2017: 98, 2019: 77).
Upcoming special elections include:
June 22
June 29
July 13
States in Session
Thirteen states—Arizona, California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin—are in regular session.
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