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The Tap: RNC over, DNC up

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July 23, 2016Issue No. 26

The Tap Graphic-750x191px.png

The week in review: July 16 - July 22
What's on Tap next week: July 23 - July 29

Navigate The Tap by clicking the tabs below:

Federal

What's on tap?

Although Donald Trump formally secured the Republican presidential nomination this week, his victory did not come without a few skirmishes on the floor of the Republican National Convention. On Monday, several state delegations, led by Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh, filed an unsuccessful petition for a roll call on the rules package, which could have led to a quantifiable demonstration of division in the party over Trump’s nomination and the rules that bound delegates opposed to Trump to vote for him. During the roll call to nominate Trump on Tuesday, a discrepancy was found between how the delegations from Utah, Nevada, Alaska, and Washington, D.C., cast their votes and what the convention secretary recorded. Ballotpedia writers Charles Aull and Jim Barnes explained, “The official reason for this has to do with a complex intersection of national and state party rules.” To learn more about what happened at the convention this week, see Ballotpedia’s on-the-ground coverage.

 

Federal

The Week in Review

Saturday, July 16

  • Donald Trump held a press conference in New York to formally introduce Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) as his running mate. “Indiana Gov. Mike Pence was my first choice. I've admired the work he's done, especially in the state of Indiana. I admire the fact that he fights for the people and he fights for you,” Trump said.
  • In a video played at Netroots, a convention for progressive activists, Hillary Clinton pledged to propose a constitutional amendment that would overturn Citizens United in the first 30 days of her administration. She also said she would push for stricter requirements for the disclosure of political spending.
  • Newly named vice presidential candidate Mike Pence began integrating his staff into that of Donald Trump. Pence’s lead strategist will be Nick Ayers, who had been the main consultant for Pence’s re-election campaign. Also in the vice presidential staff are Pence’s gubernatorial campaign manager Marty Obst, Pence’s federal liaison Josh Pitcock, and Marc Short, former Pence chief of staff in the U.S. House and former president of Freedom Partners, the Koch-affiliated network of donors.
  • Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign announced an expansion of its African American outreach team for the general election. LaDavia Drane, who had previously been the director of African American outreach, was promoted to the role of congressional liaison. She was replaced by Tamia Booker. The campaign hired an additional five staffers specializing in African American outreach, including Nadia Garnett as the African American vote director.

Sunday, July 17

  • In an interview on 60 Minutes, Donald Trump said that he would declare war on ISIS and send some U.S. troops to the Middle East to combat them directly. "I am going to have very few troops on the ground. We're going to have unbelievable intelligence, which we need; which, right now, we don't have. We don't have the people over there," Trump said. He continued, "We're going to have surrounding states and, very importantly, get NATO involved because we support NATO far more than we should, frankly, because you have a lot of countries that aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. We have to wipe out ISIS." He also clarified that his proposal for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” would be limited to certain countries. “There are territories and terror states and terror nations that we're not going to allow the people to come into our country. And we're going to have a thing called 'extreme vetting,’” he said.
  • During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Secretary of State John Kerry said that recent terrorist attacks in Orlando, Nice, and Ataturk Airport in Turkey show that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS/ ISIL, is "on the run" in Iraq and Syria. Kerry said that the attacks are "the desperate actions of an enemy that sees the noose closing around them.” Tapper questioned Kerry’s assertion, saying, "With all due respect, sir, I'm not sure that it looks that way to the public, that ISIS is on the run.” Kerry replied, "If people are inspired, they are inspired. But ISIL, which is based in Iraq and Syria, is under huge pressure, and that's a fact. If you're saying that one person standing up one day and killing people is an example of ISIS moving in Iraq and Syria, I think you're dead wrong.” He added that ISIS “has already lost 40-45% of the territory it once held,” according to CNN.
  • After a gunman shot and killed three police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, President Barack Obama said in a statement, “I condemn, in the strongest sense of the word, the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge. For the second time in two weeks, police officers who put their lives on the line for ours every day were doing their job when they were killed in a cowardly and reprehensible assault. These are attacks on public servants, on the rule of law, and on civilized society, and they have to stop.”
  • Ballotpedia was in Cleveland to cover the Republican National Convention and will be in Philadelphia next week to cover the Democratic National Convention. Click here to sign up to receive email updates.

Monday, July 18

  • FROM BALLOTPEDIA IN CLEVELAND: The Republican National Convention began with the approval of the rules package and party platform by voice vote. There was some confusion on the floor after a group of nine state delegations filed a petition for a roll call on the rules package. U.S. Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), who was serving as the convention chair during the vote, abandoned the stage for approximately 10 minutes as Donald Trump’s team whipped votes to tamp down the petition. Womack returned and held a second voice vote, finding again that the rules package had been approved. Womack then said the roll call petition did not have the requisite number of signatures because three states had withdrawn. Ken Cuccinelli, the former attorney general of Virginia, accused leaders in his party of cheating. He said, “They cheated. They cheated and that’s what you just saw. You saw them violate their own rules. If the rules don’t matter, I’m not quite sure why we spend all this time writing them.”
  • Convention speeches throughout the evening focused on strengthening the military, fighting terrorism, and Hillary Clinton. In an unusual move, Donald Trump appeared on the first night to introduce his wife, Melania Trump. She discussed her experience as an immigrant to the United States and presented her husband as a family man. The content of her speech was overshadowed by accusations that she had plagiarized two paragraphs from First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
    • Although the Trump campaign denied the speech was plagiarized, Meredith McIver, a speechwriter for the Trump Organization, took responsibility on Wednesday for incorporating passages Mrs. Obama’s 2008 speech. McIver said in a statement, “A person [[[Melania Trump]]] has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech.” McIver added that Donald Trump rejected her offer to resign. Trump later tweeted, “Good news is Melania's speech got more publicity than any in the history of politics especially if you believe that all press is good press!"
  • Hillary Clinton announced a major voter registration initiative during her speech at the NAACP convention in Cincinnati. With a goal of 3 million new registrations, the Clinton campaign and Democratic state party campaigns will hold more than 500 “commit to vote” events across the country. She also discussed the police shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and the Dallas and Baton Rouge attacks on police officers, saying, “This madness has to stop.” Clinton said she would “bring the full weight of the law to bear in making sure those who kill police officers are brought to justice. There can be no justification, no looking the other way.” Clinton also noted the importance of improving the criminal justice system. “There is, as you know so well, another hard truth at the heart of this complex matter: Many African-Americans fear the police,” Clinton said.
  • In an interview with Fox News during the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump said that President Barack Obama was responsible for creating a “tremendous divide in this country.” Commenting on Obama’s speeches on the targeting of police officers, Trump said, “I watch the president and sometimes the words are okay, but you just look at the body language — there’s something going on. Look, there’s something going on. And the words are not often okay, by the way.” Trump added that there was also “definitely something going on” with the police shootings of black men. “And that has to do with training and it has to do with something, but there is something going on that maybe . . . we can’t recognize it or we can’t see it unless you’re black. And it’s an experience, there’s no question about that,” he continued.
  • The Office of Special Counsel found that Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro violated the Hatch Act—which prohibits federal employees from influencing elections while serving in their official capacity—by discussing Hillary Clinton’s candidacy in an interview with the HUD seal behind him. "In responding to a journalist's question about the 2016 election, I offered my opinion to the interviewer after making it clear that I was articulating my personal view and not an official position. At the time, I believed that this disclaimer was what was required by the Hatch Act. However, your analysis provides that it was not sufficient. … When an error is made - even an inadvertent one - the error should be acknowledged. Although it was not my intent, I made one here,” Castro said in a statement.
  • The U.S. Department of Justice petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a rehearing of the court’s June 2016 4-4 per curiam decision in United States v. Texas “before a full nine-Member Court.” The court’s decision left a nationwide injunction preempting the Obama administration from implementing some of the administration’s immigration accountability executive actions in effect. In the filing, Acting Solicitor General Ian Gershengorn asserted that the court “should grant rehearing to provide for a decision by the court when it has a full complement of members, rather than allow a nonprecedential affirmance by an equally divided court to leave in place a nationwide injunction of such significance.”
  • Omarosa Manigault, a former participant on Donald Trump’s reality TV show The Apprentice, was hired as the Trump campaign’s director of African American outreach. Manigault was the vice chair of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump. She told MSNBC, “It's really an extension of the work that the [National Diversity Coalition for Trump] has already been doing and so I'm very happy to take up that cause for Donald Trump.”
  • The Republican Party officially adopted its 2016 platform at the Republican National Convention. The platform addressed several high-profile environmental policy issues and supported the transfer of certain federal lands from federal ownership to state government ownership—though the platform did not specify which federal lands should be transferred. Such transfers are at odds with previous statements made by presidential nominee Donald Trump, who expressed support for keeping federal lands under federal ownership. The platform also opposes federal protection under the Endangered Species Act for several high-profile species, most notably the sage grouse, the prairie chicken, and the gray wolf. Addressing recent EPA regulations put forth by the Obama administration, the platform calls for eliminating expansive water regulations under the Clean Water Act and for repealing mandatory greenhouse gas reductions for power plants—commonly known as the Clean Power Plan—under the Clean Air Act. On climate change, the platform states the issue is “far from this nation’s most pressing national security issue” and calls for “dispassionate analysis of hard data” on the issue. In lieu of federal regulations, the platform endorses market-based policies to deal with environmental problems.

Tuesday, July 19

  • FROM BALLOTPEDIA IN CLEVELAND: On the second day of the Republican National Convention, the Republican Party officially nominated Donald Trump as its presidential nominee. Donald Trump Jr., a New York delegate, and his siblings announced New York’s votes to the convention secretary. Trump Jr. said, "It is my honor to be able to throw Donald Trump over the top in the delegate count tonight with 89 delegates. Congratulations Dad, we love you."
    • Delegations from Utah, Nevada, Alaska, and D.C. cast their votes in the manner in which their delegates were allocated and bound; however, the RNC secretary recorded all of each delegation’s votes for Trump, rather than for the candidates each delegation announced. According to Ballotpedia staff writer Charles Aull, the vote discrepancy “has a lot to do with the complex intersection of state party rules and the official Rules of the Republican Party. The national rules require delegates in states that held primary elections or caucuses to be allocated and bound to a candidate based on the results of those primary elections or caucuses. The nuances of how those delegates are bound, however, are left largely up to the states. In some states, for example, delegates can become bound to a different candidate if the candidate to whom they were originally bound suspends his or her campaign. Similarly, delegates can also become bound to a different candidate if their original candidate’s name doesn’t appear on the official ballot. Whatever the state party decides—provided that it does not conflict with national rules—is what the convention enforces. That’s what happened with D.C., Utah, Nevada, and Alaska.”
    • See also: What happened with Utah, Nevada, Alaska, and D.C. at the convention tonight? and What happened last night at the nomination vote?
  • The theme of the evening’s convention speeches was “Make America Work Again.” It featured appearances from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, retired neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson, and Trump’s children, Tiffany and Donald, Jr., among others.
  • The Hill reported that Unite Here, a labor union representing “270,000 workers in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation and airport industries,” endorsed Hillary Clinton. The union decided to endorse Clinton “because she opposes an excise tax on high-end healthcare plans under the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as the ‘Cadillac tax.’ The excise tax, which is set to go into effect after President Obama leaves office, would charge some companies that provide high-dollar healthcare benefits an additional tax on such plans,” according to The Hill. The endorsement said, “Most impressively, we did not have to ask Hillary Clinton to take this position. Indeed, it is just a reflection of her decades-long commitment to affordable health care for working families.”
  • The Associated Press obtained a document outlining a side deal to the Iran nuclear accord that will ease restrictions on Iran’s ability to build a bomb before the end of the 15-year deal. A diplomat who shared the document “described it as an add-on agreement to the nuclear deal in the form of a document submitted by Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency outlining its plans to expand its uranium enrichment program after the first 10 years of the nuclear deal.” The document describes what Iran is allowed to with its uranium enrichment program after the first 10 years of the agreement, details that were unclear before the release of the new document. According to the AP, the side agreement “says that as of January 2027 — 11 years after the deal was implemented — Iran will start replacing its mainstay centrifuges with thousands of advanced machines. Centrifuges churn out uranium to levels that can range from use as reactor fuel and for medical and research purposes to much higher levels for the core of a nuclear warhead. From year 11 to 13, says the document, Iran will install centrifuges up to five times as efficient as the 5,060 machines it is now restricted to using. Those new models will number less than those being used now, ranging between 2,500 and 3,500, depending on their efficiency, according to the document. But because they are more effective, they will allow Iran to enrich at more than twice the rate it is doing now.” The AP estimates that under these conditions, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon is six months or less.
    • While negotiating the deal, the administration said that it would take Iran at least one year to produce a nuclear weapon. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz “said the document obtained by the AP posed no contradiction to that claim because ‘we made it very clear that we were focused on 10 years on the minimum one-year breakout time.’”
  • The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially removed the lesser prairie chicken from the federal list of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. In 2015, a federal court ordered the agency to withdraw its decision to list the bird as a threatened species. Energy groups and land developers supported the ruling, arguing that listing the bird as threatened would close off lands that would otherwise be available for energy exploration, ranching, and land development. Environmental groups opposed the ruling, arguing that the species could go extinct without federal protection.

Wednesday, July 20

  • Congressman Mark Takai (HI-01) died following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Takai had dropped his re-election bid earlier in the year and endorsed former Rep. Colleen Hanabusa after learning that the cancer had spread.
  • FROM BALLOTPEDIA IN CLEVELAND: The third night of the Republican National Convention featured vice presidential nominee Mike Pence as its keynote speaker. “You have nominated a man for president who never quits. Until now, he's had to do it all by himself against all odds, but this week, with this united party, he's got backup,” said Pence. It was U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), however, who gave the most memorable speech of the night by refusing to endorse Donald Trump and telling voters to "vote your conscience.” Cruz continued, “Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution.” He concluded his speech to a mix of applause and jeering. Cruz entered the arena and received some of the loudest applause and cheers during the convention. Delegates generally responded passionately and positively to the early and mid-stages of the speech, rising on several occasions for standing ovations. As some delegations realized that Cruz would not in fact be outright endorsing Trump, the mood of the arena began to shift. Several delegations turned to read the teleprompter, attempting to read ahead in the speech. By the time Cruz reached the conclusion of the speech, Trump had entered the arena and Cruz closed to a mixture of cheers and boos.

Video taken by Ballotpedia staff from the press stands of the Quicken Loan Arena on July 20, 2016..

  • The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce endorsed Hillary Clinton, marking the organization’s first presidential endorsement. During an interview at the Republican National Convention, Javier Palomarez, the chamber’s president, said, "We believe she's the best person for the job. She's got experience. She's got the temperament and track record."
  • President Barack Obama signed S 1252 - the Global Food Security Act of 2016 into law. The legislation requires "the President to develop and implement a Global Food Security Strategy to promote global food security, resilience, and nutrition.” Funding from the legislation will go to Feed the Future, a global hunger and food security initiative.
    • U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack commented on the signing of the bill, saying in a statement, "Agriculture's vital role in our economic success and national security is a bond that we share with other nations all over the world. With agricultural development as a core component of his strategy, President Obama's Feed the Future initiative has achieved impressive results in combating poverty and hunger, reaching millions of small farmers with tools and technologies and delivering critical nutrition to millions of children. In effect, Feed the Future represents the best of our American values-compassion, innovation, collaboration, and progress toward a world free of hunger and inequality."
  • In a donor meeting, Donald Trump's campaign showed its support of the pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now by encouraging donors to contribute to the super PAC. Attendees of the meeting included Trump campaign members Marty Obst, Paul Manafort, and Ken McKay. Potential donors included Andy Puzder (a Trump delegate), John Rakolta (a construction billionaire), representatives for Woody Johnson (owner of the Jets football team), Harold Hamm (Texas oil billionaire), and Bernie Marcus (co-founder of Home Depot). According to Politico, McKay will be "leading the super PAC."
  • In an interview with The New York Times, Donald Trump “called into question whether, as president, he would automatically extend the security guarantees that give the 28 members of NATO the assurance that the full force of the United States military has their back. For example, asked about Russia’s threatening activities that have unnerved the small Baltic States that are among the more recent entrants into NATO, Mr. Trump said that if Russia attacked them, he would decide whether to come to their aid only after reviewing whether those nations ‘have fulfilled their obligations to us.’”
    • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) rejected Trump’s proposal, saying, “NATO is the most important military alliance in world history. I want to reassure our NATO allies that if any of them get attacked, we'll be there to defend them.” He added, “I don't think that view would be prevalent or held by anybody he [Trump] might make secretary of state or secretary of defense."
  • In its first Upshot presidential election forecast model, The New York Times found that Hillary Clinton has a 76 percent chance of winning the presidency over Donald Trump. “Our model suggests Mrs. Clinton is a strong favorite in 14 states and the District of Columbia, enough to give her 186 of the 270 electoral votes she needs to win the White House. Add to this eight more states that polls currently show are leaning Democratic — including Minnesota, Michigan and Pennsylvania — and Mrs. Clinton would have 275 electoral votes and the presidency,” according to The New York Times.

Thursday, July 21

  • FROM BALLOTPEDIA IN CLEVELAND: The Republican National Convention concluded with a speech from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. He characterized American politics as dysfunctional and corrupt, harming “the forgotten men and women of our country” economically and personally. “Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it,” Trump said, giving special attention to the issues of trade, immigration, and terrorism throughout the speech. “I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end. Beginning on January 20th 2017, safety will be restored,” he pledged.
  • The night featured other notable speakers, including Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, whose message focused on her father’s personal and business relationships with women. “My father values talent. He is colorblind and gender neutral. When Donald Trump is in charge, all that counts is ability, excellence and effort,” she said. Discussing the gender wage gap, Ivanka Trump continued, "As president, my father will change the labor laws that were put in place at a time when women were not a significant portion of the workforce. And he will focus on making quality child care affordable and accessible for all."
  • Humana announced it would be pulling out of eight statewide Affordable Care Act markets, remaining in 11 states compared to 19 this year. On a local level, the insurer will offer individual plans in just 156 counties, down from the 1,351 counties it serviced this year. The insurer expects to lose a total of $384 million on ACA exchange plans in 2016. Humana is the second major insurer to announce a significant reduction in its presence in the ACA markets; UnitedHealth announced in May it would be pulling out of all but three state exchanges in 2017.
  • U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz spoke before the Texas delegation to the Republican National Convention, where he explained his decision to not endorse Donald Trump. Speaking about his refusal to honor his pledge to support the Republican presidential nominee, Cruz said, “The day that was abrogated was the day this became personal. I'm not going to get into criticizing or attacking Donald Trump.” He continued, “And that pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go slander and attack Heidi, then I'm not going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father.”
  • The Clinton campaign launched a Spanish-language Twitter account and website. “The campaign's Spanish-language Twitter account will feature original and translated content in Spanish. This account is a reflection of Hillary's commitment to our community and an effort to ensure that her message is accessible to as many communities as possible,” said Latino content strategist Paola Luisi.
  • BuzzFeed reported that after Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort called Ohio Gov. John Kasich “petulant” and “embarrassing” earlier this week, the Ohio Republican Party’s efforts to ally with the Trump campaign in the fall have stalled. “Paul Manafort got the week off to a bad start. He made a mistake, and mistakes have consequences. If there’s a campaign running around calling [Kasich] an embarrassment…one of those consequences might be that some of the people who wanted to participate in the campaign don’t want to anymore,” said Ohio Republican Party chairman Matt Borges.

Friday, July 22

  • FILING DEADLINE: Louisiana congressional filing deadline
    • Louisiana’s deadline is the last congressional filing deadline of 2016.
    • The U.S. Senate seat currently held by David Vitter (R) is up for election in 2016. Vitter is not seeking re-election. Many candidates have already declared their intentions to seek the seat, including Reps. John Fleming (R) and Charles Boustany Jr. (R) The race is rated safely Republican in the general election.
    • There are six U.S. House districts in Louisiana. Five are held by the Republican Party, and one is held by a Democrat. There will be at least two open seats due to incumbents seeking election to the Senate. Each seat is currently rated as safe for the party that currently holds it.
    • Complete candidate lists will be available on Ballotpedia early next week.
  • Hillary Clinton announced that U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) was her vice presidential pick. In a message to supporters, she called Kaine "a man who's devoted his life to fighting for others." She will formally introduce Kaine as her running mate during a joint campaign event at Florida International University in Miami on Saturday.

 

Congress is NOT in session SCOTUS is NOT in session
Both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are on summer recess. They will return on September 6, 2016, the Tuesday following Labor Day. The Supreme Court is in recess until Monday, October 3. For a detailed breakdown of last term, see Ballotpedia’s Supreme Court end of term review, 2015.

What’s On Tap Next Week

Monday, July 25

Tuesday, July 26

  • IN PHILADELPHIA: The Democratic National Convention will continue with speeches from former President Bill Clinton and the Mothers of the Movement, a group of African American women whose children have been killed in high-profile shooting incidents or encounters with law enforcement. During the afternoon session, presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton will be nominated as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

Wednesday, July 27

Thursday, July 28

 

Where was the president last week? Federal judiciary
President Barack Obama hosted the White House Summit on Global Development on Wednesday. On Friday, he held a joint press conference with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.  
  • 93 total federal judicial vacancies
  • 60 pending nominations
  • 16 future vacancies

Back to top for State, Local, and fact checks updates

State and Local

What's on tap?

As Uber and Lyft have grown in popularity in California, state agencies and the legislature have worked on the question of how to regulate them. State Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, is critical of the approach taken by the Democratic-controlled legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown, a fellow Democrat. “There isn’t a bill in support of [Uber and Lyft] that this governor won’t sign,” Huseso said. “And there isn’t a bill that this Legislature won’t support.” Is this true? Find out in our Fact check section below.

 

Highlights

State: On Tuesday, the Mississippi Supreme Court heard arguments over the high-speed computerized “reading” of bills in the legislature—reading that was too fast and too high-pitched to be understood. Representative Jay Hughes (D) sued House Speaker Philip Gunn (R) over the garbled reading. The state constitution (1890) provides that any member of the legislature may have a bill read aloud before a final vote. Earlier this year, Democrats began calling for a read-through of every bill—a process that takes hours, slowing down the business of the legislature considerably. Using software bought a few years ago for the readings, to spare clerks from spending hours reading aloud, Speaker Gunn cranked up the speed on the readings to the unintelligible “demon chipmunk” level. Rep. Hughes claims the readings are a constitutional violation.

The court is considering whether it can rule on the case at all or whether this is an internal question for the legislature. The justices asked some sharp questions of both sides. "Are you asking us to micromanage the Legislature, to tell [Gunn] to play it at a speed of three or something?" asked Justice Dawn Beam of Hughes’ attorney. Justice Michael Randolph asked Gunn’s attorney, "If the speaker feels it's inconvenient to fulfill the law, that's good enough reason not to do it?" But the court is pretty sure it doesn’t need to hear the rodent reading at issue; it chose back in June not to listen to the demon reading itself, even though Justice Beam is “not sure what a demon chipmunk sounds like.”

Local: On Monday, July 18, rental company Airbnb reached a deal with the city of Los Angeles to begin collecting lodging taxes for the city. Under city rules, Airbnb hosts were already supposed to pay the taxes, but city officials often had trouble tracking down people who were renting their properties in order to collect the taxes. Airbnb officials cited the move as a way to help the city benefit from the short-term rental market. Airbnb has recently faced trouble in other large California cities, including a defeated San Francisco ballot measure in 2015. That measure would have imposed restrictions on the short-term rental market. Los Angeles is the second-largest city by population in the United States and the largest city in California. Learn about similar short term housing stories in our local section below.

 

State

The Week in Review

Ballot measures update

Monday, July 18

  • Brett Smiley, the chief operating officer of the city of Providence, Rhode Island, was announced as Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo’s (D) new chief of staff. According to Rhode Island Public Radio, Smiley oversaw two city budgets and handled the plans for the city’s structural deficit. He will begin his new position with Raimondo after Labor Day.
  • Louisiana State Senator Troy Brown (D) was arrested and charged with domestic abuse battery. Reports indicate that Brown's wife requested police dispatch after Brown became irate and bit her on the arm. Senate President John Alario (R) suspended Brown's committee assignments until charges are resolved. Alario did not suggest that he would push for Brown's resignation.

Tuesday, July 19

  • Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Hugh Thompson announced that he will retire from the court in January 2017. His term would have expired at the end of 2018. Gov. Nathan Deal (R) will appoint a successor. Gov. Deal will also appoint two new justices in accordance with the law passed in May that will expand the court from seven justices to nine. These three appointments will place four justices appointed by Deal onto the new nine-member court.
    • The current seven-member court’s balance stands at 4-3 in favor of Democrat-appointed justices. In Georgia’s judicial selection system, justices are appointed only to midterm vacancies and otherwise are elected in nonpartisan elections; appointed justices must stand for the next contested election that occurs at least six months after the appointment. Both Georgia and Arizona are changing the sizes of their state supreme courts this year. All three forthcoming new justices must stand for election in 2018 to remain on the bench.
  • The superintendent of public instruction in Washington state, Randy Dorn, filed a lawsuit against seven school districts and the state for how they fund education. The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, argues that by using local taxes to supplement what the state provides for teacher salaries, the school districts are breaking the law. This supplemental pay could be as high as 46 percent of a teacher's salary. The goal of the lawsuit is to pressure the legislature to fulfill its obligation under a 2012 Washington Supreme Court ruling to provide greater funding for public education, Dorn said, and the districts involved were named as examples. Dorn also stated that such local funding of education leads to variations in education quality across the state, while the Washington Education Association argued that communities should be able to use local funding to respond to local needs.
  • Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange, announced average premium increases of 13.2 percent for 2017. The increase is the largest since the exchange opened in 2014; the previous two years both saw rate increases at an average of 4 percent. Executive Director Peter Lee stated that the primary reason for the increase was the coming end of two federal programs intended to stabilize premiums during the first few years of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s major provisions, such as the requirement that all individuals acquire health insurance. Other factors included rising prescription drug costs and the enrollment of “substantially sicker” consumers outside of regular open enrollment periods. Lee specifically stated the increases were not due to insurer profits. The 13.2 percent increase slated for 2017 in California is still lower than the nationwide average of 22.7 percent in the 36 states that have finalized next year’s rates.
  • Federal Judge Lynn Adelman issued a preliminary injunction that will permit Wisconsin voters who do not have the required forms of identification to vote in this year's general election by signing affidavits swearing to their identity. In his opinion, Adelman wrote, "Although most voters in Wisconsin either possess qualifying ID or can easily obtain one, a safety net is needed for those voters who can’t obtain qualifying ID with reasonable effort. The ... affidavit option is a sensible approach that will both prevent the disenfranchisement of some voters during the pendency of this litigation and preserve Wisconsin’s interests in protecting the integrity of its elections." In 2011, Wisconsin approved a law requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls. The requirement has been the subject of ongoing litigation, and the requirement did not take full effect until 2015. Sean Young, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, applauded Adelman's decision. "Wisconsin's voter ID law has been a mistake from day one. This ruling is a strong rebuke of the state's efforts to limit access to the ballot box. It means that a fail-safe will be in place in November for voters who have had difficulty obtaining ID." State Attorney General Brad Schimel (R) did not indicate whether the state would appeal the decision.
  • Alameda County, California, supervisors unanimously approved a ban on fracking. Although fracking does not occur in Alameda County, other types of oil and gas extraction do. Supporters have said the ban "is both preventative and symbolic of the county’s stance on environmental issues." Before passing the ban, county supervisors negotiated with the only oil and gas company working in the county, E&B Natural Resources. The company had previously commented on a draft version of the ban, stating that it was concerned with their ability to prove that they didn't violate the new rules. Alameda County is the fifth county to ban fracking in California. A sixth county, Monterey County, will vote on a potential fracking ban on November 8, 2016.

Wednesday, July 20

  • Illinois Independent Map Amendment:
    • A Cook County circuit judge ruled that the potential measure was unconstitutional because it would add duties to the auditor general and two supreme court justices. These new duties were not within the range of "structural and procedural" changes to the state’s legislature, to which the Illinois Constitution restricts citizen initiatives. Further, the measure would limit the state attorney general's powers in challenging the remapping of districts. Supporters said they will appeal the ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court.
    • The potential measure would allow residents to view and participate in redistricting by creating an 11-member commission to draw legislative districts. The commission would include seven members selected from a random pool of 100 registered voters. Petitioners led a similar effort in 2014 but failed to attain a referendum on the state's November ballot after Cook County Judge Mary Mikva ruled the proposal unconstitutional on June 27, 2014. The Illinois Independent Redistricting Amendment, also known as the Yes for Independent Maps campaign, was struck down after Mikva found that it prevented members of a similar commission from running for the General Assembly.
    • Since Illinois law features such narrow restrictions on citizen initiatives, initiatives in Illinois are very rare. An initiative to reduce the number of Illinois legislators from 177 to 118, which was approved in 1980, was the only legally binding citizen initiative to reach the ballot in Illinois.
  • The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that Texas' voter identification law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The case was heard by all 15 members of the court, nine of whom joined in the majority opinion. The court determined that the state's voter identification law had a "discriminatory effect" on black and Latino voters who sometimes lack the required forms of identification. The court stopped short of striking down the law as a whole. Instead, the court ordered that election officials must "ensure that any remedy enacted ameliorates [the law's] discriminatory effect, while respecting the [[[Texas_State_Legislature|Texas State Legislature's]]] stated objective to safeguard the integrity of elections by requiring more secure forms of voter identification." The appeals court also stopped short of saying whether the requirement was enacted with discriminatory intent, remanding that question to the lower court for further consideration. Texas Democrats applauded the court's decision. State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer (D) said, "The court got it right, recognizing the stink of discrimination." Meanwhile, Republicans, who have a trifecta in Texas, defended the law. Governor Greg Abbott said, "Voter fraud is real, and it undermines the integrity of the election process. Texas will continue to make sure there is no illegal voting at the ballot box."
  • A group of Latino plaintiffs sued the governor and secretary of state of Texas over the state's method of electing supreme court justices for both its high courts. The plaintiffs claim that the current at-large election method violates the federal Voting Rights Act. Currently, all nine justices of the Texas Supreme Court and all nine justices of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are elected by all voters of the state. The plaintiffs claim that Latino voters are "politically cohesive" and vote as a bloc but that this method prevents Latinos from using that bloc voting power to elect candidates of their choice because they are outnumbered by the white voters of the state. The plaintiffs' argument is that this violates the provision of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits any "standard, practice, or procedure" that "results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color." In other words, the plaintiffs claim that preventing Texas Latinos from voting as a majority bloc results in denying or abridging Texas Latinos' right to vote based on race. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the at-large election practice violates the Voting Rights Act and to enjoin the state government from using it. Their suggested election method is to elect individual justices from individual districts, at least two of which would be majority Latino. The text of the complaint is available here.

Thursday, July 21

  • Incumbent Martin Daniel (R-18) of the Tennessee House of Representatives shoved his opponent Steve Hall (R) during a live radio show, according to witnesses. All four candidates running for the seat participated in the radio interview. According to the audio for the show, Daniel claimed to be the only businessman running in the race, and Hall called him a “liar.” Bryan Dodson (R), a candidate running for the seat, said that after Hall made that comment, Daniel walked over to Hall and pushed him back into his chair. James Corcoran (R), the other candidate running for the seat, said that radio station employees broke up the incident and everyone was dismissed from the building separately to avoid further problems.

Friday, July 22

  • Filing deadline: Louisiana
    • State executives: Louisiana’s filing deadline is the last major state executive filing deadline of the 2016 election cycle. Two seats on the Public Service Commission, the state's utilities regulatory agency, are up for election. Three of the five seats on the commission are held by Republicans. Incumbents Commissioner for District 4 Clyde Holloway (R) and Commissioner for District 3 Lambert Boissiere (D) are both eligible for re-election, though Holloway, who serves as the commission’s chair, indicated last month that his health might prevent him from seeking another term. If Holloway does not file for re-election, the race for the District 4 seat will be open and vulnerable to a Democratic pickup, which would shift partisan control of the commission. The primary elections for this office will be held on November 8, with the general taking place on December 10. Louisiana currently has a divided government.

 

What’s On Tap Next Week

Ballotpedia will be in Philadelphia to cover the Democratic National Convention next week. Click here to sign up for convention updates.

Monday, July 25

Tuesday, July 26

  • Primary runoff election: Georgia
    • State legislature: There are two runoff elections in the state Senate and 11 runoffs in the state House. Three incumbent representatives are involved in runoffs. Incumbents Tom Dickson (R-6), Tom Yates (R-73), and Darryl Jordan (D-77) will face primary opponents again. All three were the top vote-getters in the May 24 primary.
  • Hearings begin for ex-Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Chief Spencer Collier's wrongful termination lawsuit against Governor Robert Bentley (R). Collier alleges that Bentley fired him in retaliation for refusing to cover up the governor's alleged affair with one of his senior aides, Rebekah Mason. Collier accused Bentley of the affair in the media on March 22, 2016, the same day he was fired.
    • Bentley is currently under investigation by the State Ethics Commission, the attorney general's office, and a House impeachment committee regarding allegations that he misused state funds in order to conduct the affair, which he denies. According to Bentley, Collier was fired after giving a statement to Attorney General Luther Strange (R) regarding the corruption charges pending against former House Speaker Mike Hubbard (R) after Bentley had ordered him not to. Collier claims that as head of the ALEA, he was legally obligated to cooperate with any ongoing criminal investigations and further claims his termination was an attempt to undermine Collier's credibility because Bentley and Mason "feared he would reveal information showing [they] had committed crimes." Collier is seeking an unspecified amount in punitive damages. Alabama is one of 23 Republican trifectas.
  • IN PHILADELPHIA: Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) is scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention shortly after the official presidential nomination vote. McAuliffe, a close friend of Hillary Clinton and former co-chairman of her 2008 political campaign, is reportedly under investigation by the FBI regarding contributions to his 2013 gubernatorial campaign. The Clinton campaign declined to comment on the investigation, while McAuliffe has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and asserted that the donor in question was a legal resident of the United States. McAuliffe is prevented from seeking a second term in 2017 by term limits. Virginia currently has a divided government.

 

State government in session

One state is in regular session; Ohio is in a skeleton (non-voting) session.

Skeleton session: In a typical skeleton session, a clerk, a presiding officer, and another legislative member are the only people present. The presiding officer will convene the session day and adjourn it minutes later. Lawmakers who live more than 50 miles from the Statehouse can deduct lodging and meal expenses on their federal income tax forms for each day the legislature is in skeleton or regular session.

Regular session:

  • MA

Four states are in recess:

  • CA and NJ until 8/1/2016
  • MI until 8/3/2016
  • PA until 9/19/2016

The following have adjourned their regular sessions:

  • AK, AL, AR, AZ, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, ME, MO, MN, MS, NC, NE, NM, NH, NY, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY

Four states have no regular sessions in 2016:

  • MT, ND, NV, TX

All states whose initials appear in red or blue in the above list have unified Republican or Democratic Party control across the state house, the state senate, and the office of the governor. Ballotpedia identifies these as “trifectas.” There are seven Democratic and 23 Republican trifectas.

State government special elections

As of this week, 42 seats have been filled through legislative special elections in 2016. Seven involved party changes: four from Republican to Democratic (Oklahoma, SD 34; Massachusetts, HD Twelfth Essex; Kentucky, HD 62; and New Hampshire, HD Rockingham 21) and three from Democratic to Republican (Texas, HD 118; Minnesota, HD 50B; and New York, SD 9). Another eight (not including runoff elections) have been scheduled in 20 states. An average of 37 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past three even years (2010: 26, 2012: 45, and 2014: 40).

Local

The Week in Review

2016 elections

  • In 2016, Ballotpedia is covering municipal elections across 45 of America's 100 largest cities by population, local judicial elections across all 39 states holding elections, school board elections across 642 of America's 1,000 largest school districts by student enrollment, all local ballot measures in California, and notable measures across the United States.
    • So far this year, Ballotpedia has covered 23 city elections, 21 states with local judicial elections, 172 school board elections, and 162 local ballot measure elections in California.
  • Most elections, including local elections, are held during spring and fall months. Summer and winter months contain relatively few elections and filing deadlines.

Monday, July 18

  • FROM BALLOTPEDIA IN CLEVELAND: The Republican National Convention began. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) and Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke were local officials who spoke during the week.
  • Rental company Airbnb reached a deal with the city of Los Angeles to begin collecting lodging taxes for the city. Here are other recent stories about Airbnb and local governments:
    • June 27, 2016: Airbnb sued San Francisco after its board of supervisors approved legislation earlier in June that restricts commercial postings from short-term housing rental websites and imposes fines for violating the law. In 2015, San Francisco passed the “Airbnb law” with the support of Airbnb. The law capped short-term rentals and required hosts to register with the city. It has been estimated that only 20 percent of roughly 7,000 hosts have registered since the law was passed, and the board alleges that Airbnb has failed to remove lawbreakers. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors designed the new penalties to make Airbnb accountable for any illegal listings.
    • June 22, 2016: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's (D) proposal to regulate the city’s housing rental industries was approved by the city council, impacting popular online businesses such as Airbnb and VRBO. The new rules on housing rentals, which passed 43-7, allow residents in single-family home zoning areas the power to petition for or against home rental restrictions, but they do not address areas zoned for condos or rentals. The ordinance set a variety of caps on housing rentals in different kinds of buildings and areas in a manner that the Chicago Tribune referred to as “dizzyingly complex.” The ordinance requires Airbnb to purchase a $10,000 license to operate in the city, enacts a 4 percent tax per rental for homeless services, and sets a $60 fee per city address listed on the website. Airbnb senior adviser and former Chicago Alderman Will Burns voiced his support for the regulations and stated, "The City of Big Shoulders is giving a big welcome to home sharing."
    • June 17, 2016: New York lawmakers also passed legislation that would levy fines of up to $7,500 on individuals using Airbnb to rent an entire apartment for fewer than 30 days. Bipartisan lawmakers, housing advocates, and unions supported the move, which has not yet been signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). New York City is the largest housing market for Airbnb, according to The New York Times. A 2016 study estimated that 55 percent of rentals in the city violated a law passed in 2010 that made it illegal to rent an entire apartment or home for fewer than 30 days. In 2015, Airbnb began to pay hotel taxes in an effort to better cooperate with host cities, but the regulation requires that Airbnb hosts, rather than Airbnb itself, pay these taxes. The millions of dollars in hotel taxes paid to New York City have not ameliorated the relationship between New York and Airbnb, and New York lawmakers said they would work with Airbnb only after all illegal postings are removed from the company’s website.
    • June 13, 2016: The Denver City Council passed a pair of regulations targeting the short-term housing rental industry. The first regulation amended the city's zoning code to account for short-term rentals, and the second regulation instituted an annual $25 licensing fee for short-term rental hosts and an enforcement mechanism using per-incident fines of up to $999. Prior to the passage of the new laws, all short-term rentals were illegal in Denver, but the law frequently went unenforced.
    • June 7, 2016: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved legislation that restricts commercial postings from short-term housing rental websites. A similar but more extensive citizen-initiated measure, Proposition F, was defeated in 2015. Under the new law, only residents registered with the city as hosts are permitted to post short-term listings. Any individual or business found posting a noncompliant listing can be fined up to $1,000 per day. Because the legislation passed the board unanimously, the law was protected from a threatened veto by Mayor Ed Lee (D). Instead, Lee let the law pass without signing it. The new penalties will take full effect on July 27, 2016.
    • June 1, 2016: Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D) and Councilman Tim Burgess (D) proposed limiting short-term rentals to improve the city’s housing market. Their plan would allow only primary residences to be listed year-round on services such as Airbnb and VRBO, whereas secondary residences would be limited to 90 nights per calendar year. According to Airbnb, short-term rentals have generated more than $30 million in revenue for Seattle rental property owners.
  • Carole Smith, superintendent of Portland Public Schools, announced her resignation in response to a controversy over lead testing. The school board released a report stating that the district was not properly testing its water for lead, fixing problems that were found, or reporting test results to the public. Smith had initially planned to retire at the end of the school year. Portland Public Schools is the largest district by enrollment in Oregon.
  • The mayor and city council of Aurora, Colorado, sent an open letter to the city’s police department stating their support. The letter comes amidst attacks on police in Baton Rouge and Dallas and a broader conversation about police and race relations. Mayor Steve Hogan (R) is one of 27 mayors of America’s 100 largest cities who are affiliated with the Republican Party. Aurora is the 55th-largest city by population in the United States and the third-largest city in Colorado.
  • Recall elections were scheduled for the Sevastopol School District in Wisconsin. The votes on Sue Todey and Bill Behme will be held on August 23, 2016. The two board members are targeted for recall over transparency issues, including "inappropriate use of taxpayer money" and "broken lines of communication." The full recall effort, which included two other failed recall attempts targeted at other board members, was started in part due to controversy surrounding a suspended elementary school principal.
    • Ballotpedia has covered 30 school board recalls so far in 2016. From 2006 to 2015, Ballotpedia tracked 204 recall efforts against 465 school board members across the United States.

Tuesday, July 19

  • The Denver City Council elected a new president and president pro tempore. Albus Brooks (District 9) was the lone nomination for president and was elected 11-0 with one member abstaining from the vote. His deputy is Jolon Clark (District 7). This year’s uncontested vote returned the process to a sense of familiarity; 2015’s election featured a split vote and was the first non-unanimous vote on leadership in more than five years. Brooks was first elected to the council in 2011, while Clark was first elected in 2015. Denver is the 22nd-largest city by population in the United States and the largest city in Colorado.
  • Recall elections were on the local ballot in Nebraska and Oregon:
    • In Nebraska, Madison Mayor Alvin Brandl was retained. The recall effort began due to criticisms regarding the people the mayor appointed to city boards and his alleged lack of transparency. In response to the recall effort, the mayor stated, “We came a long away, I think the city is doing great. We’re working in teams, we’re getting things done. As I stated there is always going to be some controversy somewhere I suppose.” Petitioners submitted 229 certified signatures to put the recall on the ballot, exceeding the 170 signature requirement.
    • In Oregon, Gardiner Sanitary District Board members Richard Nored and Susanna Noordhoff were both recalled. The recall effort began due to criticisms leveled against the board by former board member Mack Holman. Holman alleged that the board members improperly conducted government business by email and overcharged him when he requested copies of their emails from December 17, 2015, through March 2016. In 2014, all five members of the board were successfully recalled in an effort that was also initiated by Mack Holman. Petitioners submitted 22 certified signatures to put the recall on the ballot, exceeding the 13-signature requirement. Both board members were given an option to resign after the signatures were certified, but they refused.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to run for 24 school board seats in 11 of Alabama’s largest school districts. One of five school board seats is up for election in Mobile County Public Schools, which is the largest district in the state. It served 58,808 students during the 2013-2014 school year. A primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election will be held on November 8, 2016.

Wednesday, July 20

  • A probe into the actions of Florida Circuit Court Judge Mark Hulsey was launched. Hulsey is accused of making disparaging remarks against women and minorities. Hulsey dismissed the allegations as “dirty political tactics” as he runs for a new term in November. Hulsey was reassigned to the court’s probate division by the circuit’s chief judge while the investigation takes place. In addition to the remarks against women and minorities, Hulsey is accused of ordering his judicial assistant to perform personal tasks for him. The Fourth Judicial Circuit that Hulsey serves covers Clay, Duval, and Nassau counties.

Thursday, July 21

  • Members of the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild rejected a new four-year deal with the city, with 84 percent of officers voting against the deal. Mayor Ed Murray (D) defended the deal and expressed disappointment, particularly in regard to accountability reforms included in the offer. Guild leadership did not comment publicly on the vote, though former president Ron Smith said he did not find the outcome surprising. He told The Seattle Times that many members did not feel the compensation and benefits laid out in the deal made up for giving management more power. Seattle is the 21st-largest city by population in the United States and the largest city in Washington.
    • On July 12, 2016, Seattle Police Officers' Guild President Ron Smith resigned after receiving criticism for a Facebook post following the attacks on Dallas police officers. His post read, "Dallas PD and their officers are in our thoughts and prayers.... The hatred of law enforcement by a minority movement is disgusting... Heads in swivels brothers and sisters... #Weshallovercome." In his resignation statement, Smith said he had made a mistake in using the phrase “We Shall Overcome” and also clarified that he was not referring to any specific organizations or groups in his post, only “the small segment of society which has the propensity for violence toward law enforcement.” Smith also claimed that he decided to resign before the police union’s board could vote to remove him, and he stated his belief that the board would have removed him for reasons separate from the Facebook post. The Seattle Times reported that these reasons included “his pragmatic approach to federally mandated reforms, his collaborative relationship with Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole and his acceptance of accountability measures as part of a tentative contract with the city.” Smith had served as president of the police union since his election in 2014.

Friday, July 22

  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to run for the mayor’s office and all 12 city council seats in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mayor Kip Holden (D) is running for a U.S. House seat, leaving the office vacant for a newcomer to become mayor. The city’s primary election will be held on November 8, 2016, and the general election will be on December 10, 2016. If a candidate receives a majority vote in the primary, he or she will be declared elected as an unopposed candidate and will not be listed on the general election ballot. Baton Rouge is the second-largest city in Louisiana and the 93rd-largest city in the U.S. by population.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to run for local court judgeships in the state of Louisiana. The partisan primary election will be held on November 8, 2016, and the general election will be on December 10, 2016. If a candidate receives a majority vote in the primary, he or she will be declared elected as an unopposed candidate and will not be listed on the general election ballot.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to run for all seven seats on the Orleans Parish School Board. The district served 12,447 students during the 2013-2014 school year. The general election will be held on November 8, 2016. If a runoff election is required because no candidate wins a majority of the vote, it will be held on December 10, 2016.

 

What’s On Tap Next Week

Monday, July 25

Tuesday, July 26

  • In Colorado, Castle Rock Mayor Paul Donahue will face a recall election. The recall effort began due to citizens’ concerns about the environmental impacts of new development projects and the city council's limitations on public participation. Recall proponents turned in 242 valid signatures against the mayor, more than the 147 needed to move the recall forward. Voting in this election is being done entirely by mail.
  • Five of Georgia’s largest school districts will hold runoff elections for seven seats. The runoffs will be held as both primary and general elections in cases where no candidate gained a majority of the vote in the previous election. The 38 districts across the state with elections this year served 1,191,657 students during the 2013-2014 school year.
  • FILING DEADLINE: Deadline to run for 69 school board seats in 22 of Michigan’s largest school districts. The state’s largest district, Detroit Public Schools, has seven of its 11 total seats up for election. The districts with elections this year served 344,081 students during the 2013-2014 school year. The general election will be held on November 8, 2016.

 

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Ballotpedia wants to keep you in the know. In this weekly newsletter, we let you know the important things that happened last week in the federal, state and local levels of government, as well as what you should look for this week. The Tap covers election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events—everything you need to stay up-to-date on American politics. A summary of the in-depth, nonpartisan content that is added to Ballotpedia every week is now available in this digestible format for free to anyone who wants to be informed.

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