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The State and Local Tap: Signature deadline in Newsom recall campaign is March 17

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March 13, 2021Issue No. 245

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Week in review
On tap next week

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Here's what happened in State and local politics last week.

State Politics: The Week in Review

Ballot Measures Update

  • Thirteen (13) statewide measures have been certified for the 2021 ballot so far.
    • No new measures were certified for the 2021 ballot last week.
    • One additional 2021 initiative in Maine has been certified to the legislature, which means it will go on the November ballot if legislators do not enact it.
  • Six statewide measures have been certified for the 2022 ballot in five states.
    • No new measures were certified for the 2022 ballot last week.
    • Signatures have been submitted and are pending verification for five additional 2022 initiatives in California, Maine, and Michigan.
  • On March 2, voters in Rhode Island approved seven bond issues totaling $400 million for projects including higher education, state beaches, recreational facilities, transportation, early childhood care, and industrial infrastructure.
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Saturday, March 6

Nevada Democratic Party staff resigns after Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates sweep leadership elections

  • The Democratic Party of Nevada conducted elections for its five leadership positions on March 6. Candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America won all five posts: Judith Whitmer as chairwoman, Jacob Allen as first vice chairman, Zaffar Iqbal as second vice chairman, Ahmad Ade as secretary, and Howard Beckerman as treasurer. Shortly thereafter, the party's executive director, Alana Mounce, informed Whitmer that she and the remaining staff and consultants were resigning their positions.
    • Whitmer said, "People should not be afraid of change. A lot of people are concerned when there’s any shift or perceived threat to the status quo. But it’s time. It’s time to move in a more progressive direction if we’re going to get people to turn out to vote."
    • According to The Intercept, an anonymous staffer said, "I knew I couldn't work for [Whitmer] and watch her destroy the years of hard work so many operatives put into making our state party the best state party in the country."
  • Commentators framed the results of the leadership election, and the subsequent staff resignations, as a reflection of a broader conflict between the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic Party, both in Nevada and throughout the nation. Matt Viser, writing for The Washington Post, said, "At a minimum, the discord is expected to lead longtime allies of Harry M. Reid, the former Senate majority leader and the state’s most important political power broker, to build a political organization outside the state party structure. And it is fueling excitement among liberals nationwide who are pressing to increase the federal minimum wage, expand health coverage and combat climate change."
  • Sam Dorman, writing for Fox News, offered a similar interpretation: "The incident reflected longstanding tension within the party, which has seen conflict between more establishment members like Hillary Clinton and progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who identifies as a Democratic socialist."

Monday, March 8

Missouri Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith retires

  • Missouri Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith retired on March 8 after serving 20 years on the court. According to KBIA, a Missouri radio station, Stith plans to fill her retirement with pro bono work and volunteering for Legal Aid of Western Missouri.
  • Governor Bob Holden (D) appointed Stith to the court in March 2001. She was retained by voters in 2002 and 2014, and served as chief judge from 2007 to 2009. Before joining the court, Stith was a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals from 1994 to 2001, a private practice attorney from 1980 to 1994, and a law clerk for Judge Robert E. Seiler from 1978 to 1979. She obtained a B.A. in political science and social psychology from Tufts University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
  • The Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission selects supreme court judges according to the Missouri Plan. When a seat on the court becomes vacant, the commission submits three names to the governor to determine the replacement. If the governor neglects this duty, the responsibility goes to the commission. After one year on the court, an appointed judge must run in the next general election to retain the seat. After that, supreme court judges serve 12-year terms and must win their retention elections to remain on the court.

John Blake resigns from Pennsylvania state Senate

  • Pennsylvania state Sen. John Blake (D) resigned on March 8 to take a position on U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright's (D) staff. Cartwright represents Pennsylvania’s 8th District. Blake represented District 22 in the state Senate, which includes Lackawanna County and parts of Luzerne and Monroe Counties.
  • Blake first took office as a state senator representing District 22 in 2011. He was re-elected in 2014, defeating Republican challenger Joe Albert. He most recently won re-election in 2018, defeating Republican Frank Scavo III, 61% to 39%.
  • A special election will be held to fill Blake’s seat. The presiding officer of the Pennsylvania Senate is responsible for calling the election. The winner of that election will serve out the remainder of Blake’s term, which expires on November 30, 2022.
  • The Pennsylvania state Senate is the upper chamber of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. After Blake’s resignation, the current partisan breakdown of the Senate is 27 Republicans, 20 Democrats, one independent, and two vacancies.

New Hampshire requires schools to offer in-person instruction

  • New Hampshire schools were required to begin providing at least two days of classroom instruction each week starting March 8. Schools can switch to fully remote instruction for up to 48 hours without state approval. Governor Chris Sununu (R) issued the requirement in a Feb. 19 order. Previously, individual school districts could decide how much in-person instruction to offer.
  • Nationwide:
    • Four states (Calif., Del., Hawaii, N.M.) and Washington, D.C. had state-ordered regional school closures, required closures for certain grade levels, or allowed hybrid instruction only.
    • Five states (Ark., Fla., Iowa, N.H., Texas) had state-ordered in-person instruction
    • One state (W.Va.) had state-ordered in-person instruction for certain grades.
    • Forty states left decisions to schools or districts


Tuesday, March 9

Alaska becomes first state to open vaccinations to everyone older than 16

Here are some notable changes to vaccine availability and distribution in various states during the past week:

  • Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) removed all eligibility requirements to receive vaccines on March 9, making anyone older than 16 eligible for vaccination. Alaska is the first state to allow anyone 16 or older living or working in the state to make appointments.
  • Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) accelerated the state’s vaccination timeline to include another two phases starting March 10. Residents 45 and older with one or more underlying medical conditions, including Down syndrome and sickle cell disease, are now eligible for vaccination. The expansion also included people 16 and older with two or more underlying health conditions, people aged 50 and older in multigenerational households, and essential frontline workers (including food processing plant workers).
  • Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) expanded vaccine eligibility to anyone age 16 years or older with state-defined high-risk conditions (including anyone overweight, with asthma, or with type 1 diabetes) on March 9. Congregate living staff, including prison guards, group home staff, and homeless shelter workers, are also now eligible for vaccines.

Wednesday, March 10

Arkansas governor signs abortion ban

  • Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed Senate Bill 6, which bans all abortions in the state except those performed to save the life of the mother. The bill will take effect 90 days after the adjournment of the legislative session on April 30.
  • In a statement released by his office, Hutchinson said the intent of the bill was to challenge the legal precedent of Roe v. Wade. "(The ban) is in contradiction of binding precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law. I would have preferred the legislation to include the exceptions for rape and incest, which has been my consistent view, and such exceptions would increase the chances for a review by the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said.
  • In 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its ruling in Roe v. Wade, finding that state laws criminalizing abortion violated a woman's right to privacy provided by the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment. The high court held, however, that states could regulate abortions after the first trimester of pregnancy.
  • In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the court reaffirmed the central holding of Roe (abortion access is protected by the 14th Amendment) but threw out the trimester framework and said states could regulate abortion before fetal viability if the regulation does not impose an undue burden on a woman seeking an abortion.
  • Currently, 43 states restrict abortions beginning at specific stages of pregnancy. Of these, 17 restrict abortions beginning at the stage of fetal viability, as defined in Roe v. Wade. Fourteen states restrict abortions beginning at 20 weeks post-fertilization.

Texas lifts mask requirements, capacity limits

  • Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) order ending the statewide mask mandate and allowing all businesses to open at 100% capacity took effect March 10. If COVID-19 hospitalizations exceed 15% of hospital bed capacity in any of the state’s 22 hospital regions for seven consecutive days, then a county judge may impose some restrictions. However, those restrictions cannot include setting capacity limits below 50%. The order also prohibits jurisdictions from penalizing people for not wearing face coverings. Texas’ mask order was first implemented on July 3.
  • In total, 39 states issued statewide public mask requirements during the pandemic. Thirty-four states currently have statewide mask orders, including all 23 states with Democratic governors and 11 out of the 27 states with Republican governors. Five states have lifted statewide mask requirements.

Friday, March 12

Maryland ends quarantine requirement for travelers

  • Effective Friday, March 12, out-of-state travelers and returning residents are no longer required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test result or quarantine for 10 days upon entering Maryland.
    • Gov. Larry Hogan (R) implemented the quarantine or test requirement on Dec. 17, 2020, and announced March 9 that he would end the restrictions.
  • Of the 27 executive orders issued by governors or state agencies placing restrictions on out-of-state visitors since the pandemic began, 18 have been rescinded. Other states that made announcements about their travel restrictions this week include:
    • New York - On March 11, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced domestic travelers will not have to quarantine when arriving from out-of-state starting April 1. All travelers will still have to fill out the Traveler Health Form before arriving in the state.
    • Ohio - On March 10, the Ohio Department of Public Health ended its COVID-19 travel advisory that asked residents returning from states with positivity rates above 15% to self-quarantine for 14 days. The advisory was not mandatory.
    • Massachusetts - On March 8, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health included fully vaccinated individuals to its list of out-of-state travelers who are exempt from the quarantine requirement. People who have been fully vaccinated for 14 days do not need to quarantine for 10 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result.

Special Elections


Local Politics: 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:
    • March 2 in California: Voters in nine local jurisdictions decided nine local ballot measures in Fresno County, Los Angeles County, Marin County, Riverside County, and Sonoma County.
      • Five parcel tax measures - One was approved, and four were defeated.
      • A school district reorganization measure - Approved
      • A measure on short-term rental regulations - Approved
      • An appropriations limit increase measure - Approved
      • A hotel tax measure - Defeated
    • March 2 in Vermont: Voters in Burlington approved a local charter amendment that was designed to enact ranked-choice voting for city council elections.
WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Here's what is happening in State and local politics this week.

State Politics: What's On Tap Next Week

Wednesday, March 17

Signature deadline in Newsom recall campaign is March 17

  • The organizers of an effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) have until March 17 to turn in signatures in an attempt to get the recall on the ballot. To trigger a recall election, organizers must turn in 1,495,709 signatures, which is equal to 12% of the total votes cast in the 2018 gubernatorial election. If supporters turn in enough valid signatures to trigger a recall election, the additional procedural steps dictate a recall election must take place within 60 to 80 days of signature verification.
  • In the most recent reporting period that ended Feb. 5, the California Secretary of State had reviewed 798,310 signatures and deemed 668,202 of those valid. At the time of the report, there were still 296,147 signatures submitted that had not yet been reviewed. According to media reports, recall organizers had turned in more than 1.9 million signatures to the secretary of state's office as of March 3.
  • A recall election would present voters with two questions: The first would ask whether Newsom should be recalled from the office of governor, and the second would ask who should succeed Newsom if he is recalled. A majority vote is required on the first question for the governor to be recalled. Should voters approve a recall, whichever candidate receives the most votes on the second question would win outright.
  • Recall supporters say Newsom mishandled the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, did not do enough to address the state's homelessness rate, and supported sanctuary city policies and water rationing. In December 2020, a spokesman for Newsom said President Donald Trump's (R) supporters were behind the recall effort, which he also said would cost the state $100 million and distract from efforts to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine and reopen schools.
  • Since 1911, there have been 55 attempts to recall a California governor. The only successful recall campaign was in 2003 when voters recalled then-Gov. Gray Davis (D). Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was chosen as Davis' replacement.

States in session

47 states—Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming—are in regular session.

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About

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

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