The State and Local Tap: Let's catch up on redistricting

February 9, 2018Issue No. 99

Week in review

On tap next week

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Here's what happened in state and local politics last week. To see what happened in federal politics, click here.

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State Politics: The Week in Review

Ballot Measures Update

2018:

• Forty-one (41) measures are certified to appear on statewide ballots in 22 states in 2018 so far—13 citizen-initiated measures, 27 legislatively referred measures, and one measure automatically referred to the ballot by the state constitution. Over the previous five even-year election cycles, an average of 61 citizen-initiated measures and 173 total statewide measures have appeared on ballots. Review Ballotpedia’s list of 2018 initiative and referendum signature deadlines to stay ahead of 2018 ballot measure news, and see if there are initiatives currently circulating in your state here.
  • One measure was certified for 2018 ballots over the last week.
  • By this time in 2014, 64 measures had been certified for the 2014 ballot; ultimately, 158 statewide measures were put on the ballot in 2014. By this time in 2016, 55 measures had been certified for the 2016 ballot; ultimately, 162 statewide measures were put on the ballot in 2016.
  • The average number of certifications by the sixth week of the year from 2010 through 2016 was 64 and the average total number of certified measures by the end of the year in the same period was 173.
  • Signatures for 13 citizen-initiated measures have been submitted and are pending verification in Alaska, California, Maine Michigan, and South Dakota. To see this list, click here.
  • In Massachusetts and Washington, enough signatures were submitted for six indirect initiatives (one of which has two versions) to put them before the state legislatures during the 2018 session and then on the ballot if the legislatures don’t approve them. To see this list initiatives that have been certified to the legislature, click here.
  • The latest deadlines were on February 1, 2018, for all signatures to be verified for initiated constitutional amendments in Florida and February 9, 2018, for initiatives in Wyoming. Enough signatures were submitted in Florida for two initiatives. In Wyoming, signatures were not submitted for the one pending initiative.
  • The next signature deadline is April 15, 2018, for initiatives in Utah.

Monday, February 5

SCOTUS denies Republicans' request for stay in Penn. redistricting case

• The Supreme Court of the United States denied Pennsylvania Republicans' request for a stay of a state supreme court order striking down the state's congressional district plan as an illegal partisan gerrymander, allowing that order to stand. On January 22, 2018, the state supreme court ruled that Pennsylvania's congressional district plan "clearly, plainly, and palpably violates the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." Attorneys for Republicans argued that the state supreme court overstepped its authority in striking down Pennsylvania's congressional district plan: "This is not simply a question of a state supreme court interpreting its state constitution, but a state supreme court usurping that state legislature's authority expressly granted under Article I, § 4." David Gersch, an attorney for the voters who initially brought the lawsuit challenging the congressional district plan, said that Republicans were making inconsistent arguments, having claimed in a separate lawsuit that the matter should be addressed by state-level authorities: "Now that they have lost in the highest court of the commonwealth, the legislators turn around and say the exact opposite."
  • The state supreme court ordered lawmakers to draft a remedial map and submit it to the governor by February 9, 2018. The court set a deadline of February 15, 2018, for the governor to submit that remedial plan to the court. On January 26, 2018, the court appointed Stanford University law professor Nate Persily "to assist the court in adopting, if necessary, a remedial congressional redistricting plan." The court ordered state lawmakers turn over digital files containing information on the state's current congressional district boundaries by January 31, 2018." On January 31, 2018, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, an attorney for the Pennsylvania General Assembly said, in a letter to the court, "The General Assembly and its Legislative Data Processing Center do not maintain ESRI shapefiles that contain current boundaries of all Pennsylvania municipalities and precincts."

Texas Gov. Abbott endorses another primary challenger in a state House primary

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) endorsed a third primary challenger in the state House Republican primaries, aligning with Chris Fails in his challenge of incumbent Lyle Larson (R). Abbott previously endorsed two other primary challengers over Republican incumbents: Susanna Dokupil in her bid to unseat state Rep. Sarah Davis (R) and Mayes Middleton in his challenge of state Rep. Wayne Faircloth (R). Larson, Davis, and Faircloth were all critical of Abbott in the state legislature’s 2017 special session for not putting ethics legislation on the agenda.
• Fails had previously received support from U.S. Secretary of Energy and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as well as organizations opposed to House Speaker Joe Straus (R) such as Empower Texans and Texas Right to Life. Larson, who is a Straus ally, is backed in the primary by the Texas Medical Association and the Texas Association of Business.
• The Fails vs. Larson primary is one of 48 contested state legislative Republican primaries in Texas in 2018. Forty-one of these contested primaries are state House races and the results of those races will decide whether Joe Straus’ allies or Republicans who oppose his leadership, including the Texas Freedom Caucus, hold more sway in the chamber in 2019. A new speaker will be elected in 2019 because Straus is not running for re-election.

Tuesday, February 6

SCOTUS issues partial stay in North Carolina state legislative redistricting case

• The Supreme Court of the United States issued a partial stay against a federal district court order that implemented new state legislative district maps in North Carolina. The stay applies directly to five revised state House district maps in Wake and Mecklenburg counties. The four remaining district maps adopted by the district court (in Hoke, Cumberland, Guilford, Sampson, and Wayne counties) were permitted to stand. For all remaining districts, maps drawn by the state legislature in August 2017 will apply in the 2018 election season. The February 6, 2018, order came after state Republicans, on January 21, 2018, filed a motion requesting that the Supreme Court intervene and stay the order issued on January 19, 2018, by a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
  • These court actions are the latest in a series of events surrounding North Carolina's state legislative district plans. In June 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling affirming an earlier district court decision finding that 28 state legislative districts in the state had been subject to an illegal racial gerrymander. The district court ordered state lawmakers to draft remedial maps by September 1, 2017, for use in the 2018 election cycle. The state legislature adopted remedial district plans in August 2017. In October 2017, the court appointed Nate Persily, a law professor at Stanford University, to serve as a special master "to assist the Court in further evaluating and, if necessary, redrawing" the remedial maps. Persily issued his recommendations, which were adopted as a result of the January 19, 2018, order, on December 1, 2017.

Ohio Legislature advances constitutional amendment to revamp congressional redistricting process

• The Ohio House of Representatives adopted Senate Joint Resolution 5, a bill advancing a constitutional amendment establishing new procedures for the redistricting of the state's congressional district boundaries. The House approved the proposed amendment by a vote of 83-10. The Ohio State Senate had approved the proposed amendment by a vote of 31-0 on February 5, 2018. The amendment is scheduled to go before voters for final approval on May 8, 2018.
  • If approved, the congressional redistricting process will be amended as follows:
    • Following completion of the United States Census, state legislators could adopt a new congressional district map if three-fifths of the legislature's total membership vote to approve, including one-half of the minority party members. This map would apply for 10 years.
    • If the legislature proved unable to adopt a new map, a commission could be formed to adopt a map. That commission would include the governor, state auditor, secretary of state, and four legislators, two of whom would have to come from the legislature's minority party. A majority of the commission's members, including two members belonging to the minority party, would have to agree on a map. The map would apply for 10 years.
    • If the commission proved unable to adopt a map, state legislators would be given a second chance to adopt a map. The map would have to be approved by three-fifths of the legislature's total membership, including one-third of the minority party's members. The map would apply for 10 years.
    • If the legislature failed a second time, the majority party of the legislature, without support from the minority party, could adopt a map that would apply for four years.
    • Maps drawn by the legislature could be vetoed by the governor or a veto referendum campaign.
  • If adopted, the amendment would stipulate that 65 of Ohio's counties could not be split during redistricting (18 could be split once, and the state's five most populous counties could be split twice). Under existing Ohio law, congressional district boundaries are adopted by the state legislature via majority vote. The maps are subject to gubernatorial veto.
  • Legislators were facing a proposed ballot initiative that would have stripped them of their powers to adopt congressional maps. The Fair Districts Ohio Coalition, which includes the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, and the Ohio Education Association, reported collecting more than 200,000 signatures for the initiative on February 5, 2018; 306,591 signatures are required by the deadline on July 4, 2018, to qualify the initiative for the November 2018 ballot. Although SJR 5 was with initiative proponents, the initiative backers stated that they would continue signature gathering efforts.

Investigation finds evidence that Oregon state Sen. Jeff Kruse (R) engaged in sexual misconduct

• A report on sexual misconduct allegations against Oregon state Sen. Jeff Kruse (R) was released two months after formal complaints were filed against him by two of his female colleagues. It found that "there is a longstanding pattern of Senator Kruse engaging in unwelcome physical contact toward females in the workplace, including Senator [Sara Gelser] and Senator [Elizabeth Steiner Hayward], and that he stubbornly refused to change that behavior after being warned about it in March 2016.”
• Kruse did not respond to the Statesman Journal's request for comment on the report. The Senate Committee on Conduct is set to have a hearing on the report on February 22, 2018, after which it could recommend that Kruse be reprimanded, censured, expelled, or that no action be taken.
• Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) and House Speaker Tina Kotek (D) called on Kruse to resign. Kotek said that the Senate should expel Kruse if he did not step down.

Massachusetts holds unopposed state Senate special primary

• In the special election for the Third Essex District of the Massachusetts State Senate, Brendan Crighton (D) advanced to the general election after facing no primary opposition. Crighton was the only candidate to file in the race, and he will also face no opposition in the general election on March 6, 2018. The seat is vacant following Sen. Thomas McGee's (D) resignation on January 2, 2018, in order to become the mayor of Lynn. Massachusetts is one of 16 states under divided government. The Democratic Party holds majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. However, the governor's office is held by Republican Charlie Baker.

Burns emphasizes partisan affiliation in first television ad

• Attorney Tim Burns launched his first television ad in the nonpartisan primary election for a ten-year seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In the ad, Burns promised opposition to the policies of sitting Gov. Scott Walker (R) and referred to himself as "Tim Burns (D)" and as "the progressive justice that Wisconsin needs." Burns' campaign strategy has been described by the Associated Press as "embracing his partisan Democratic background and commenting on political issues that judicial candidates typically run away from."
• Milwaukee County Judge Rebecca Dallet, who has been identified by media sources as aligned with the Democratic Party, launched her second television ad of the campaign on January 29. The advertisement opened with a clip of President Trump (R) and argued that he challenges Wisconsin's values. Although the advertisement did not directly state Dallet's opposition to Trump, she promised to "keep protecting our rights and defending our values."
• The nonpartisan primary election is scheduled for February 20. Burns and Dallet will appear on the ballot alongside Sauk County Judge Michael Screnock, who has been identified by media sources as aligned with the Republican Party. The top two finishers will advance to the April 3 general election.

Democrats flip state House seat in Missouri

• Four districts in the Missouri House of Representatives held special elections. All four seats were vacated by Republican incumbents. Democrats flipped the District 97 seat and Republicans retained the other three seats.
  • In District 39, Peggy McGaugh (R) defeated Ethan Perkinson (D) in the special election. The seat became vacant in October 2017 after Joe Don McGaugh (R) was appointed to the 8th Circuit Court in Carroll County, Missouri.
  • In District 97, Mike Revis (D) defeated David Linton (R) in the special election. Unofficial results had Revis winning with 51.6 percent of the vote. District 97 became vacant on September 18, 2017, after John McCaherty (R) resigned to focus on running for county executive. McCaherty defeated a Democratic challenger in 2014 with 67 percent of the vote. He had won re-election in 2012 and 2010 with 51.9 percent and 49.1 percent of the vote respectively. The district voted 61-33 in favor of President Donald Trump (R) in 2016.
  • In District 129, Jeff Knight (R) defeated Ronna Ford (D) in the special election. The seat became vacant after Sandy Crawford (R) was elected to the state Senate in a special election on August 8, 2017.
  • In District 144, Chris Dinkins (R) defeated Jim Scaggs (D) in the special election. The seat became vacant on September 20, 2017, after Paul Fitzwater (R) resigned to join the state Board of Probation and Parole. Unofficial results had Dinkins winning with 52.6 percent of the vote.
  • Missouri currently operates under a Republican state government trifecta. Republicans hold a 24-9 majority in the state Senate with one vacancy. The state House is controlled by a 112-46 Republican majority with five vacancies. Gov. Eric Greitens (R) was elected to a four-year term in 2016.

Omaha World-Herald reports that Nebraska Supreme Court justice's resignation followed ethics complaint

• The Omaha World-Herald reports that the resignation of Nebraska Supreme Court Justice Max Kelch was prompted by an ethics complaint. Kelch announced his resignation last month after less than two years on the court. The World-Herald reported that it had spoken with two state officials to confirm the ethics complaint, one of whom stated that "the allegations against Kelch are in line with the national #MeToo movement that has resulted in resignations of actors, politicians, business executives and judges over questions of sexual misconduct." The World-Herald also reported it had spoken with two women who remembered inappropriate behavior on Kelch's part. A spokesperson for Gov. Pete Ricketts (R), who appointed Kelch in 2016, said that the governor had not known of any misconduct allegations at the time of Kelch's appointment.
• Under Nebraska law, Ricketts will appoint Kelch's replacement from a list generated by a judicial nominating commission. Kelch's replacement will be Ricketts' fourth appointment to the seven-member court. Kelch's replacement will serve until January 2023 and will be required to stand for retention in 2022 in order to remain on the bench.
• Starting in October 2017, stories of sexual misconduct across the federal and state levels of American government emerged following the firing of film producer Harvey Weinstein over allegations of sexual harassment. Ballotpedia tracks organized campaigns or official responses to sexual misconduct in American politics that arose in the aftermath of the Weinstein reports.

Wednesday, February 7

Pennsylvania Supreme Court issues opinion explaining its order striking down congressional district map

• The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania released the majority opinion explaining its January 22, 2018, order in League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which struck down the state's congressional district map. The majority opinion was penned by Justice Debra Todd and read, in part, as follows: "In sum, we conclude that the evidence detailed above and the remaining evidence of the record as a whole demonstrates that Petitioners have established that the 2011 Plan subordinates the traditional redistricting criteria in service of achieving unfair partisan advantage, and, thus, violates the Free and Equal Elections Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Such a plan, aimed at achieving unfair partisan gain, undermines voters’ ability to exercise their right to vote in free and 'equal' elections if the term is to be interpreted in any credible way. An election corrupted by extensive, sophisticated gerrymandering and partisan dilution of votes is not 'free and equal.' In such circumstances, a 'power, civil or military,' to wit, the General Assembly, has in fact 'interfere[d] to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage."
  • Chief Justice Thomas Saylor penned a dissenting opinion that read, in part, as follows: "In summary, I believe that: the present exercise of extraordinary jurisdiction was improvident; this Court’s review would benefit from anticipated guidance from the Supreme Court of the United States; awaiting such guidance is particularly appropriate given the delay, until 2017, of Petitioners’ challenge to a 2011 redistricting plan; and the appropriate litmus for judicial review of redistricting should take into account the inherently political character of the work of the General Assembly, to which the task of redistricting has been assigned by the United States Constitution." Justice Sallie Mundy joined Saylor's dissent and penned a separate dissent. Justice Max Baer filed an opinion that concurred in part and dissented in part with the court's majority opinion.
  • The release of these opinions is the most recent in a series of legal actions surrounding Pennsylvania's congressional district map. Click here to learn more.

Court hears lawsuit over the recall efforts against two Democratic state senators in Nevada

• Clark County District Judge Jerry Wiese heard arguments on February 7 in the lawsuits over the recall efforts against state Sen. Joyce Woodhouse (D) and state Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro (D). Lawyers for Woodhouse and Cannizzaro filed lawsuits over the recalls in 2017. The lawsuits argue that thousands of names on the two recall petitions should not be counted because those signatories have filed to have their names removed. If the judge rules that the names can be removed from recall petitions, it will most likely drop both petitions below the threshold to force a recall election. The judge’s ruling may come as early as next week. Democrats currently hold a 10-9 majority in the state Senate with one nonpartisan member caucusing with Democrats and one vacant seat that was previously held by a Democrat.
  • Woodhouse recall: The recall petition did not give an official reason for the recall against Sen. Woodhouse, but signature-gatherers told residents that Woodhouse was targeted for recall over her support of sanctuary city legislation. The recall seeks to replace Woodhouse with Republican Carrie Buck. Recall supporters submitted 17,502 signatures on October 30, 2017. This exceeded the 14,412 signatures needed to trigger a recall election. The Nevada Secretary of State determined 15,444 signatures were valid on November 3, 2017.
  • Cannizzaro recall: The recall petition targeting Sen. Cannizzaro also did not provide an official reason, but it seeks to replace her with Republican April Becker. Recall supporters submitted 16,875 signatures on November 14, 2017. This exceeded the 14,975 signatures needed to trigger a recall election. The Nevada secretary of state’s office determined on December 19, 2017, that 15,018 signatures were valid after officials removed the signatures of people that submitted petition removal forms.
  • Of the 11 Nevada State Senate seats up for election in 2018, Democrats hold four seats, Republicans hold six seats, and one seat belongs to a nonpartisan member. Sen. Cannizzaro represents a district that voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016 by 50 percent to 45 percent. Cannizzaro’s seat is not up for election again until 2020. Sen. Woodhouse represents a district that voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016 by 48 percent to 46 percent. Woodhouse's seat is not up for election again until 2020 when she will be term-limited.
  • As of February 2018, no recall petitions had been filed against state lawmakers in 2018. Four are still ongoing and have been carried over from 2017. Since 2011, 72 recall petitions have been filed against state lawmakers. Eight recalls were successful, nine were defeated at the ballot, 51 did not go to a vote, and four recall campaigns are still ongoing. A recall election is being held on June 5, 2018, against California state Sen. Josh Newman (D). Two Colorado state senators were successfully recalled in 2013.
  • Nevada is one of 16 states under divided government. Democrats control the state legislature and the governor’s office is held by Republican Brian Sandoval.

NDRC releases 2018 target list

• The National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), a group chaired by former Attorney General Eric Holder that aims to position Democrats favorably for the post-2020 census round of redistricting, released the list of 12 states it intends to target in this year's elections.
  • The states in Target Group A, which the NDRC describes as "States that were gerrymandered by Republicans after the 2010 elections," are Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The Target Group B states, which the NDRC describes as "States at risk of gerrymandering during 2021 redistricting," are Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, and Nevada.
  • According to The New York Times, "Holder said in an interview that the group was chiefly determined to deny Republicans so-called trifectas in state governments – places where a single party controls the governorship and an entire legislature, as Republicans do in Ohio and Florida, among other critical battlegrounds." "From my perspective, success is if you break a trifecta," Holder told the Times. "I don't think that in December of 2018, you measure success only by whether you have assumed control of a particular state."
  • Six of the NDRC's 12 targeted states are Republican state trifectas. Republicans currently hold a total of 26 trifectas nationwide, and Democrats hold eight.

Candidates in critical New York state Senate special election are set

• The special election to fill New York state Senate District 37, and possibly decide partisan control of the Senate, was set on Wednesday when a Republican nominating convention chose former Rye Councilwoman Julie Killian (R) as the party’s candidate. Killian will face Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer (D) in the April 24 race to fill the seat vacated by Sen. George Latimer (D), who left office in January 2018 to serve as an executive for Westchester County. Although the seat regularly votes for Democrats in state Senate and presidential elections, it might be competitive. According to the newspaper Lohud, "it has been a target of Republicans in expensive campaign battles in recent years and is expected to once again be viewed as a target seat by the state GOP."
• The race could influence the partisan control of the state Senate throughout 2018 because the Senate's mainline Democrats and the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) agreed to reunify into a single Democratic caucus if they retain District 37 and the more safely-Democratic District 32 in the special elections on April 24. Prior to the resignations of Latimer and District 37 Sen. Ruben Diaz (D), who also left for a local position, Democrats had a 32-31 numerical majority, but were kept out of power because eight members of the IDC and Sen. Simcha Felder (D) caucused with the Republicans. The reunification of the Democratic caucus is also dependent on Felder ending his alliance with Republicans, which would give Democrats a one-seat majority.
• The potential reunification will not occur until after the special elections on April 24, which is past the March 31 deadline for the state budget. Some Democrats criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) for waiting until after the budget was completed to have the election. The editorial board of Lohud said that Cuomo intentionally delayed the special election in order to negotiate the budget with Republicans and the IDC. Cuomo argued that he did want to politicize the budget process.
• The special elections are critical in the lead up to the Democratic primaries in September. Members of the IDC are facing primary challengers who mainline Democrats might support if Democrats do not retake control of the Senate sometime in 2018. If Democrats take back the Senate and then hold it in the 2018 elections, New York will become a Democratic trifecta.

South Carolina Supreme Court justice and Court of Appeals judge re-elected

• The South Carolina General Assembly voted to re-elect South Carolina Supreme Court Justice John Kittredge and South Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Thomas Huff. Kittredge’s new term will expire in 2028; Huff’s will expire in 2024. They were the only judges up for election on their respective courts this year.
• Justices on the South Carolina Supreme Court and judges on the South Carolina Court of Appeals are elected by the South Carolina General Assembly. Supreme court justices serve ten-year terms; court of appeals judges serve six-year terms. South Carolina is one of only two states to use legislative election to select judges. The South Carolina Judicial Merit Selection Commission screens and selects candidates for judgeships. The Commission then submits a list of three finalists to the general assembly. The assembly votes on the candidates, either choosing one of the three recommendations or rejecting the entire slate. The commission is composed of 10 members. The speaker of the South Carolina House and the president of the South Carolina Senate each appoint five members to the commission. Three of the five must be members of the General Assembly.

Statewide and local partisan filing deadline passes in Ohio

• Ballotpedia will be covering the 2018 statewide Ohio elections, which includes 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. The filing deadline only pertained to partisan candidates. The primary election is May 8, 2018, and the general election is November 6, 2018.
  • The race for the open governor’s seat also drew many candidates. Eight Democratic candidates, including a former U.S. Representative, a former Ohio State Senator, a former Ohio State Representative, and a former Ohio Supreme Court judge, filed for the primary election. On the Republican side, two candidates filed for the seat: the Ohio Lieutenant Governor and the Ohio Attorney General. A Green Party candidate also filed for election. The race was rated Lean Republican by five sources as of January 2, 2018.
  • Five Republican candidates—Melissa Ackison, Don Elijah Eckhart, Mike Gibbons, Dan Kiley, and U.S. Representative Jim Renacci—filed for the primary election in the hopes of taking on U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D) in November. This seat was rated Lean Democratic by three outlets as of January 30, 2018. In Brown’s most recent election in 2012, he won re-election with 50.7% of the vote. The next runner-up received 44.7% of the vote. By contrast, in 2016, Republican incumbent Senator Rob Portman received 58% of the vote compared to his Democratic challenger’s 37.2%.
  • Ohio was the country's fifth statewide filing deadline for the November election. Illinois, Texas, West Virginia, and Kentucky preceded it.
    • The three states with filing deadlines this week (Alabama, Indiana, and Ohio) have 32 total seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is 7.4 percent of all seats in the chamber. All seven states combined have 95 seats, which is 21.8 percent.

Thursday, February 8

Candidates file for three special elections in California State Assembly

• A total of 28 candidates filed to run in three April 3 special primary elections for the California State Assembly. The District 39, 45, and 54 seats will be on the ballot. Twelve candidates—nine Democrats, two Republicans, and one independent—filed to run for the District 39 seat. Nine candidates—seven Democrats, one Republican, and one independent—filed to run for the District 45 seat, and seven candidates—six Democrats and one Republican—filed to run for the District 54 seat. If a candidate receives a majority of the votes in the primary election, he or she will be declared the winner. If no candidates receive a majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to a special general election on June 5.
  • The District 39 seat became vacant following Raul Bocanegra's (D) resignation on November 27. He resigned due to sexual harassment allegations. When he announced his resignation, Bocanegra said, “While I am not guilty of any such crimes, I am admittedly not perfect." Five candidates have already filed to run in that race by filing petitions in lieu of paying a fee.
  • Matt Dababneh (D), the former District 45 representative, also resigned due to sexual misconduct allegations. He said the allegations against him were not true. His resignation was effective January 1.
  • The District 54 seat became vacant following Sebastian Ridley-Thomas' (D) resignation on December 27. He said his resignation was due to persistent health issues.

Oregon state Sen. Jeff Kruse (R) announces resignation over sexual misconduct allegations

• Oregon state Sen. Jeff Kruse (R) announced that he would resign at the end of the 2018 legislative session, which is set to end on March 15, 2018. This came after an investigatory report found evidence that he had engaged in a pattern of sexual misconduct while serving in the legislature. He had been removed from his committee assignments in October 2017 due to the sexual misconduct allegations. After he announced his resignation, Kruse continued to deny the allegations against him.
• The investigatory report into Kruse’s behavior was prompted by two formal complaints that were brought against him by state Sens. Sara Gelser (D) and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward (D). The report found that Kruse "engaged in a pattern of conduct that was offensive to Senator Gelser and Senator Steiner Hayward, as well as other legislators and employees at the Capitol," and that "there is a longstanding pattern of Senator Kruse engaging in unwelcome physical contact toward females in the workplace, including Senator Gelser and Senator Steiner Hayward, and that he stubbornly refused to change that behavior after being warned about it in March 2016."
• Kruse is one 13 state legislators who have resigned or been expelled due to sexual misconduct allegations in the wake of the October 2017 Harvey Weinstein reports. Kentucky state Rep. Dan Johnson (R) committed suicide after allegations were brought against him.
• Ballotpedia has found 54 federal, state, and local officials who have been accused of sexual misconduct since October 2017.

Friday, February 9

Indiana statewide filing deadline passes; U.S. Senate seat rates as a toss-up

• The filing deadline passed for candidates to run in Indiana’s federal, state, and local elections. The primary election for federal, state, and county elections is on May 8, and the general election for all offices is on November 6, 2018.
  • At the federal level, one U.S. Senate seat and nine U.S. House seats are on the ballot in 2018. Sen. Joe Donnelly’s (D) seat was rated as a toss-up for either party to win by three media outlets, and his Republican challengers include U.S. House Reps. Todd Rokita (R) and Luke Messer (R). Republicans hold seven of the state’s nine U.S. House seats.
  • At the state level, three state executive offices (secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor), 25 of 50 state senate seats, all 100 state house seats, one of five state supreme court justices, and one of 15 court of appeals justices are on the ballot in 2018. Republicans hold all three state executive offices up for election. They also hold the governor’s office and majorities over the Democrats in the state senate (40-9) and state house (70-30), which makes Indiana one of 26 Republican trifectas in the United States. Both of the state court seats on the ballot will be up for retention election with 10-year terms at stake.
  • At the local level, Ballotpedia is covering municipal offices in Allen County and 37 school board seats across 13 Indiana school districts. The Allen County races include county commissioner, county council, county assessor, county recorder, county sheriff, county auditor, circuit court clerk, and prosecuting attorney. The school board races include Fort Wayne Community Schools and Indianapolis Public Schools.
  • Alabama and Indiana were the country's sixth and seventh statewide filing deadline for the November election. Illinois, Texas, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio preceded it.
    • The three states with filing deadlines this week (Alabama, Indiana, and Ohio) have 32 total seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is 7.4 percent of all seats in the chamber. All seven states combined have 95 seats, which is 21.8 percent.

Filing deadline passes for Alabama federal, state, and local offices

• The candidate filing deadline will pass for candidates running for election in Alabama.
  • At the federal level, all seven of the state’s congressional districts are up for election. These seats are currently held by six Republicans and one Democrat. All seven incumbents were expected to run for reelection.
  • On the state level, there will be elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, agriculture commissioner, and public service commissioners. All 35 seats of the state Senate and all 105 seats of the state House are up for election. Five seats on the Alabama Supreme Court are up for election, as well as three seats each on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals and the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
  • Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in Jefferson County because the county contains Birmingham, one of the top 100 cities in the U.S. by population. These races include county commissioner, sheriff, coroner, and local judgeships.
  • Alabama and Indiana were the country's sixth and seventh statewide filing deadline for the November election. Illinois, Texas, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio preceded it.
    • The three states with filing deadlines this week (Alabama, Indiana, and Ohio) have 32 total seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is 7.4 percent of all seats in the chamber. All seven states combined have 95 seats, which is 21.8 percent.

Group behind Wyoming initiative calling for U.S. Constitutional Amendment overturning Citizens United misses deadline for 2018 ballot; but eyes 2020

• Wyoming Promise has been circulating an initiative designed push for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution regarding corporate personhood and political spending since May 15, 2017. Wyoming Promise announced that the initiative would not qualify for the 2018 ballot because the group would not be able to submit the required 38,818 signatures distributed from at least two-thirds of the state's counties by the deadline on February 9, 2018. The initiative, however, could still qualify for the 2020 ballot.
• The initiative would call upon Congress to propose and send for ratification an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to (a) declare that "the right of political speech is a right enjoyed only by natural persons" and (b) state that "Congress and state legislatures may regulate all moneys raised and spent for political purposes, whether from artificial persons or natural persons, including by prohibiting artificial persons from political spending." The initiative would also call for a convention to consider such an amendment if Congress failed to propose it within six months. The initiative would also require the Wyoming secretary of state to post on its website the status of such an amendment and the amendment's sponsors, including information about representatives of Wyoming and about the status in other states.
• Although the deadline for the 2018 ballot is February 9, 2018, initiatives in Wyoming can be circulated for 18 months. This means the group has until November 15, 2018, to finish collecting enough signatures. If that deadline is met, the initiative would appear on the ballot in November 2020. Wyoming Promise Treasurer Shelby Shadwell said, “We don’t have to start over. We’re pretty confident we’re going to get there.”

Special Elections

As of this week, 15 state legislative seats have been filled through a special election in 2018, and another 34 special elections have been scheduled in 19 states. In special elections between 2011 and 2017, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of four seats across the country each year.

• An average of 90 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past three odd years ( 2013: 84, 2015: 88, 2017: 98).
• An average of 44 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past four even years ( 2010: 26, 2012: 45, 2014: 40, 2016: 65).

Upcoming special elections include:

February 12

• Minnesota State Senate District 54
• Minnesota House of Representatives District 23B

February 13

• Arkansas State Senate District 16 (primary)
• Arkansas State Senate District 29 (primary)
• Arkansas House of Representatives District 83 (primary)
• Florida House of Representatives District 72
• Georgia House of Representatives District 175
• Oklahoma State Senate District 27

February 17

• Louisiana House of Representatives District 86

Local Politics: The Week in Review

Elections Update

• In 2018, Ballotpedia is providing comprehensive coverage of elections in America's 100 largest cities by population. This encompasses every office on the ballot in these cities, which includes 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.
• Local ballot measure elections occurred in California on January 23 and January 30.
• The next local ballot measure election dates in California are on February 27 and March 6.

Saturday, February 3

Filing deadline has passed for mayoral candidates and school board candidates in Anchorage, Alaska

• In Alaska, the filing deadline passed to run for mayor of Anchorage and three school board seats on the Anchorage School District.
  • Anchorage is holding a general election for mayor on April 3, 2018. A runoff election, if necessary, will be held on May 1, 2018. Eight candidates filed to challenge Mayor Ethan Berkowitz in the general election. Berkowitz was elected as mayor of Anchorage in 2015. Eleven candidates filed to run for mayor in 2015.
  • One school district in Alaska, the Anchorage School District, will be covered by Ballotpedia in 2018. This election is also planned for April 3. Nine candidates filed to run for three seats. The Seat E and Seat F incumbents did not file to run for re-election. The seats up in 2018 were last on the ballot in 2015. That year, six candidates filed to run for three seats.

Monday, February 5

Early voting period for primary likely to be delayed in Chicago

• Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections, said that the start of the city's early voting period for the primary election would likely be delayed to February 21, 2018. Statewide early voting for Illinois' primary elections was slated to begin on February 8, 2018; the statewide primary election will take place on March 20, 2018. Allen attributed the likely delay to a series of pending candidate ballot challenges, which make it impossible to have the ballots finalized by the scheduled early voting start date. Allen referred specifically to Democratic attorney general candidate Scott Drury, whose name a judge ruled cannot appear on the ballot due to filing paperwork issues.

Tuesday, February 6

Memphis City Council votes to hold veto referendum on the use of ranked-choice voting in city elections

• The Memphis City Council voted 11-2 to schedule a referendum vote on the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in city council elections. Voters will go to the polls on November 6, 2018, to determine the fate of the city's RCV law, which was adopted by voters via charter amendment in 2008.
  • On July 20, 2017, the Shelby County Election Commission announced plans to implement the 2008 law beginning in October 2019. On October 17, 2017, the city council voted unanimously to "instruct its attorney … to draft an ordinance that, if approved, would force another referendum vote in 2018 on whether to repeal" RCV for city council elections, setting up to the vote that the council took of February 6, 2018.
  • Five states contain cities that have implemented RCV for municipal elections: California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota. Another four states contain cities that have adopted but not yet implemented RCV for municipal elections: Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, and Tennessee. To learn more about RCV, s ee this article.

Wednesday, February 7

Oregon: Recall election for Ashland Parks Commission will be scheduled

• Three of the five-member Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission were targeted for recall in November 2017 in response to layoffs and changes at the city’s senior center. Recall petitions claimed that Michael Gardiner, Jim Lewis, and Rick Landt had mismanaged the budget and violated state public meetings laws. The three commissions denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations were not based on fact.
  • The county confirmed on February 2 that recall proponents had collected more than the necessary 1,566 signatures for each of the three recalls. Gardiner, Lewis, and Landt had until February 7 to either resign or submit a letter of justification, which will appear on the recall election ballot. All three declined to resign from their positions, so a recall election will be scheduled.
  • In 2018, Ballotpedia has tracked 106 recalls against 140 elected officials. Both of the elected officials who have faced recalls elections so far in 2018 were recalled.

California school board recall scheduled for June 5

• The Alvord Unified School District Board of Education in California voted to hold a recall election on June 5 for board member Joseph Barragan, who represents Trustee Area 2. The Committee to Recall Barragan began the effort in 2017 after Barragan allegedly posted comments on his Facebook page that the committee called racist. Barragan said he did not write the comments and that they came from copycat accounts that used his image.
  • To get the recall on the ballot, the committee had to collect 1,713 signatures from registered voters in the district's Trustee Area 2. They announced that they had turned in 2,125 signatures in December, and the Riverside County Registrar of Voters verified 1,912 of those signatures in January.
  • Barragan joined the other four members of the board when he was sworn into office on December 8, 2016. He filed to run in the general election scheduled for November 8, 2016, but the election was canceled due to lack of opposition. He was automatically appointed to the position for a four-year term.
  • Barragan’s recall is the first school board recall to make it to the ballot in 2018. Ballotpedia has tracked a total of eight school board recall efforts this year targeting 12 board members.

Statewide and local partisan filing deadline passes in Ohio

• Ballotpedia will be covering the 2018 statewide Ohio elections, which includes 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. The filing deadline only pertained to partisan candidates. The primary election is May 8, 2018, and the general election is November 6, 2018.
  • The race for the open governor’s seat also drew many candidates. Eight Democratic candidates, including a former U.S. Representative, a former Ohio State Senator, a former Ohio State Representative, and a former Ohio Supreme Court judge, filed for the primary election. On the Republican side, two candidates filed for the seat: the Ohio Lieutenant Governor and the Ohio Attorney General. A Green Party candidate also filed for election. The race was rated Lean Republican by five sources as of January 2, 2018.
  • Five Republican candidates—Melissa Ackison, Don Elijah Eckhart, Mike Gibbons, Dan Kiley, and U.S. Representative Jim Renacci—filed for the primary election in the hopes of taking on U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D) in November. This seat was rated Lean Democratic by three outlets as of January 30, 2018. In Brown’s most recent election in 2012, he won re-election with 50.7% of the vote. The next runner-up received 44.7% of the vote. By contrast, in 2016, Republican incumbent Senator Rob Portman received 58% of the vote compared to his Democratic challenger’s 37.2%.
  • Ohio was the country's fifth statewide filing deadline for the November election. Illinois, Texas, West Virginia, and Kentucky preceded it.

Friday, February 9

Indiana statewide filing deadline passes; U.S. Senate seat rates as a toss-up

• The filing deadline passed for candidates to run in Indiana’s federal, state, and local elections. The primary election for federal, state, and county elections is on May 8, and the general election for all offices is on November 6, 2018.
  • At the federal level, one U.S. Senate seat and nine U.S. House seats are on the ballot in 2018. Sen. Joe Donnelly’s (D) seat was rated as a toss-up for either party to win by three media outlets, and his Republican challengers include U.S. House Reps. Todd Rokita (R) and Luke Messer (R). Republicans hold seven of the state’s nine U.S. House seats.
  • At the state level, three state executive offices (secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor), 25 of 50 state senate seats, all 100 state house seats, one of five state supreme court justices, and one of 15 court of appeals justices are on the ballot in 2018. Republicans hold all three state executive offices up for election. They also hold the governor’s office and majorities over the Democrats in the state senate (40-9) and state house (70-30), which makes Indiana one of 26 Republican trifectas in the United States. Both of the state court seats on the ballot will be up for retention election with 10-year terms at stake.
  • At the local level, Ballotpedia is covering municipal offices in Allen County and 37 school board seats across 13 Indiana school districts. The Allen County races include county commissioner, county council, county assessor, county recorder, county sheriff, county auditor, circuit court clerk, and prosecuting attorney. The school board races include Fort Wayne Community Schools and Indianapolis Public Schools.
  • Alabama and Indiana were the country's sixth and seventh statewide filing deadline for the November election. Illinois, Texas, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio preceded it.
    • The three states with filing deadlines this week (Alabama, Indiana, and Ohio) have 32 total seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is 7.4 percent of all seats in the chamber. All seven states combined have 95 seats, which is 21.8 percent.

Filing deadline passes for Alabama federal, state, and local offices

• The candidate filing deadline will pass for candidates running for election in Alabama.
  • At the federal level, all seven of the state’s congressional districts are up for election. These seats are currently held by six Republicans and one Democrat. All seven incumbents were expected to run for reelection.
  • On the state level, there will be elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, agriculture commissioner, and public service commissioners. All 35 seats of the state Senate and all 105 seats of the state House are up for election. Five seats on the Alabama Supreme Court are up for election, as well as three seats each on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals and the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
  • Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in Jefferson County because the county contains Birmingham, one of the top 100 cities in the U.S. by population. These races include county commissioner, sheriff, coroner, and local judgeships.
  • Alabama and Indiana were the country's sixth and seventh statewide filing deadline for the November election. Illinois, Texas, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio preceded it.
    • The three states with filing deadlines this week (Alabama, Indiana, and Ohio) have 32 total seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is 7.4 percent of all seats in the chamber. All seven states combined have 95 seats, which is 21.8 percent.

WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Here's what is happening in state and local politics this week. To see what happened in federal politics, click here.

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State Politics: What's On Tap Next Week

Monday, February 12

Two state legislative sessions scheduled to convene

• Legislators will begin meeting in both Arkansas and Wyoming. Both states are Republican trifectas—Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature and the governor’s mansion in each state. Only two states are still adjourned and waiting to convene—Minnesota on February 20 and Louisiana on March 12. Four other states won’t have a legislative session this year: Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas.

Party control of the Minnesota State Senate could be on the line in special election

• The Minnesota State Senate District 54 special election could determine control of the Minnesota State Senate, which currently has a 34-32 Republican majority heading into the election. With a Democratic victory, the Republican majority would shrink to 34-33. This would increase the possibility of Democratic control in the Senate: State Senator Michelle Fischbach (R) is waiting for a decision from the courts to determine whether or not she must resign from the State Senate after being appointed to the role of lieutenant governor. Should she step down from the Senate, her seat would be up for election.
  • Candidates in Minnesota State Senate District 54 and Minnesota House of Representatives District 23B will face off in a special election on February 12, 2018. Both seats are up for special election after former State Senator Dan Schoen (D) and former State Representative Tony Cornish (R) each resigned in late 2017 following sexual misconduct allegations.
  • A primary was held in both districts on January 29 after two Republican candidates filed for each seat. In District 54, Karla Bigham (DFL), Denny McNamara (R), and Emily Mellingen (L) will face off for the two-year seat. In District 23B, Melissa Wagner (DFL) and Jeremy Munson (R) will compete for the one-year seat.
  • Between 2015 and 2017, the Minnesota State Legislature called five special elections; one Senate district special election and four House of Representatives special elections. In that time, only House District 50B had its partisan control flipped, from Democratic to Republican. Every other special election was retained by the party who controlled it before the election.

Tuesday, February 13

Candidate filing period to open for California school board election

• The candidate filing period will open for candidates interested in running for a seat on the Twin Rivers Unified School District board of trustees in California. Three of the seven seats will be on the ballot on June 5 for four-year terms. The filing period closes March 9.
  • The previous three elections in the school district attracted an average of two candidates per seat. In 2014, the last time these three seats were on the ballot, two incumbents won re-election and one was defeated by a newcomer. In 2016, two new members were elected to the board and two incumbents won re-election.

Special election for Georgia House of Representatives

• A special election will occur on February 13 for Georgia House of Representatives District 175. Four candidates—one Democrat and three Republicans—are running to replace Amy Carter (R), who resigned in December 2017 in order to become the executive director of advancement for the Technical College System of Georgia. Carter held the seat for a decade. The candidates are Democrat Treva Gear and Republicans John LaHood, Bruce Phelps, and Coy Reaves. A runoff election will be held on March 13 if no candidate receives a majority of the vote on February 13.
  • This will be the third special election of the year to fill vacancies on the Georgia General Assembly. On January 9, Republicans won special elections for House District 111 and Senate District 17. Both of these seats were vacated by Republicans.

Special election for Florida House of Representatives

• A special election will occur on February 13 for Florida House of Representatives District 72. The candidates are Democrat Margaret Good, Republican James Buchanan, and Libertarian Alison Foxall. Good defeated Ruta Jouniari in the Democratic primary on December 5. This winner will replace Alexandra Miller (R), who resigned in September 2017. Miller was elected to the seat in November 2016.
  • Vacancies for Florida Senate District 31 and House Districts 39 and 114 are also scheduled to be filled through special elections in April and May of this year. Florida is one of 26 states with a Republican trifecta—a Republican governor and Republican majorities in the Senate and House.

Special election to be held for Oklahoma State Senate district

• A special election will be held for District 27 of the Oklahoma State Senate. Amber Jensen (D) and Casey Murdock (R) are facing off in the general election. The seat was left vacant after the resignation of Bryce Marlatt (R) on September 12, 2017. Marlatt resigned from the state Senate after being charged with a felony complaint of sexual battery.
  • Oklahoma currently operates under a Republican state government trifecta. Republicans hold a 39-8 majority in the state Senate with one vacancy. The state House is controlled by a 72-28 Republican majority with one vacancy. Gov. Mary Fallin (R) was re-elected to a four-year term in 2014.

Primary special elections to be held for three Arkansas state legislative seats

• Primary special elections will be held for three seats on the Arkansas General Assembly—two for the Senate and one for the House. These partisan primaries will determine who will face off in the special elections on May 22. Each race features a contested Republican race. One Democrat filed in each of the Senate races. There is no Democrat running in the House race.
  • For Senate District 16, Bob Bailey, Breanne Davis, and Luke Heffley will compete for the Republican spot. Teresa Gallegos is unopposed in the Democratic primary. The winner of the election in May will replace Greg Standridge (R), who died of cancer in November 2017.
  • In the Senate District 29 race, Jim Coy and Ricky Hill will face off in the Republican primary. The winner will compete against Democrat Steven McNeely in May. This vacancy was created by the resignation of Eddie Joe Williams (R), who left in order to take a position as President Donald Trump’s (R) representative to the Southern States Energy Board.
  • Donald Ragland and Timmy Reid will face off in the Republican primary for House District 83. There is no Democrat running for this seat. David Branscum (R) resigned from this seat in November 2017 to become the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural development director in Arkansas.
    • Arkansas is one of 26 states with a Republican trifecta: a Republican governor and Republican majorities in the both chambers of the Arkansas General Assembly.

Local Politics: What's On Tap Next Week

Tuesday, February 13

Mayoral race in Oklahoma City while state holds school board elections

• Oklahoma City will hold a nonpartisan primary election for mayor and school districts throughout Oklahoma are holding their annual general elections for school board seats.
  • Following Mayor Mick Cornett’s decision to run for governor, the open mayoral seat in Oklahoma City drew three candidates: David Holt, Taylor Neighbors, and Randall Smith. If any of the three win a majority of the primary vote, that person will win the seat automatically and the April 3 general election will be canceled.
  • Ballotpedia is covering Oklahoma school board elections for 29 seats across 26 school districts. Of the 29 seats, four had no candidates file to run and 17 had only one candidate file. In the latter cases, the elections were canceled and those candidates won their seats by default. The eight districts with contested school board elections are Broken Arrow, Deer Creek, Edmond, McLoud, Oklahoma City, Piedmont, Tulsa, and Western Heights. Incumbents are running in seven of the eight contested elections, and only the Oklahoma City race has more than two candidates on the ballot.

St. Louis Board of Alderman to hold a special election

• A special election for Ward 8 of the St. Louis Board of Alderman in St. Louis in Missouri will be held. Paul Fehler (D) and Annie Rice (I) are facing off in the general election. On November 6, the city will hold a regular general election for collector of revenue, license collector, recorder of deeds, and clerk of the circuit court.

Recall election being held in Tracy, Minnesota

• A recall election against Tracy City Councilman Tony Peterson is being held. Recall supporter Rosemary Martin alleged that he was uncooperative with City Administrator Madonna Peterson and contributed to her October 2 resignation. Recall organizers also accuse Tony Peterson of issuing orders to city employees and conducting city affairs without approval of the full council. Peterson argues that he has not engaged in any activities beyond the powers of his office. The Tracy City Council voted 4-1 to schedule the recall election during a meeting on October 23, 2017.

Recall election being held in Black Diamond, Washington

• Black Diamond City Councilwoman Pat Pepper faces a recall election. A group called Neighbor to Neighbor Black Diamond initiated the recall due to allegations of violating open meeting laws, approving illegal provisions in a budget bill, and refusing to attend meetings. Pepper argued that the allegations are false and that she has served the public interest through her votes. Recall organizers withdrew the same set of charges against Councilwoman Erika Morgan because her office was already up for election in November 2017.

Thursday, February 15

Nebraska local filing deadline coming up for incumbents

• In Nebraska, the deadline will pass for incumbents to file for re-election in Douglas and Lancaster counties as well as school board races across the state. Non-incumbents have until March 1 to file to run. The primary election for the municipal races will be on May 15, and the general election for all seats will be on November 6, 2018.
  • In Douglas County, the municipal offices on the ballot will include county commissioner, county assessor, county attorney, county clerk of the district court, county engineer, county sheriff, and county treasurer.
  • In Lancaster County, the municipal offices on the ballot will include county commissioner, county assessor, county attorney, county clerk of the district court, county engineer, county sheriff, county treasurer, public defender, and county clerk. It will also include seats on the boards of the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, the Norris Public Power District, the Nemaha Natural Resources District, and Southeast Community College.
  • Seven school districts will have a total of 21 school board seats on the ballot. Omaha Public Schools is the largest of these districts with 51,966 students enrolled during the 2015-2016 school year, and it will have four of its nine board members up for election.
  • Ballotpedia covers the local elections in these areas as part of our comprehensive ballot coverage in the nation’s 100 largest cities.

Tennessee local filing deadline to pass

• In Tennessee, the deadline will pass for candidates to file to run in Shelby County municipal races and local trial court elections in counties that hold primary elections. The general election for all offices will be held on August 2, 2018. If a race has more than two candidates for a party nomination, a primary will be held on May 1, 2018.
  • In Shelby County, the municipal offices on the ballot will include county mayor, county commissioner, county trustee, property assessor, county sheriff, circuit court clerk, criminal court clerk, probate court clerk, juvenile court clerk, county clerk, and county register.
  • The last regular judicial election in Tennessee was held in 2014; all seats up for election in 2018 are partial terms until the next regular election in 2022. The filing deadline for local trial court elections in counties that do not hold primary elections is April 5, 2018.
  • Ballotpedia covers the local elections in these areas as part of our comprehensive ballot coverage in the nation’s 100 largest cities.

Friday, February 16

Texas local filing deadline will pass

• In Texas, the filing deadline will pass for local ballot measures and candidates running in the spring municipal and school board elections. Since these elections are for nonpartisan offices, there will be no primary election in these races. The general election will be held on May 5, 2018.
  • City council elections will be held in the cities of Arlington, Irving, and Lubbock, with Lubbock also having a mayoral election on the ballot. There may also be local ballot measures in these cities.
  • School board elections will be held for 48 school districts covered by Ballotpedia. These districts are either part of the 200 largest school districts in the country as measured by student enrollment or intersect with one of the nation’s 100 largest cities by population.

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

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