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

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #9 of The Tap, which was published on March 28, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. The talks centered on Kerry’s attempts to convince the Russian officials to support efforts to end Bashar al-Assad’s rule in Syria. The two sides also discussed the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Vice President Joe Biden gave a speech at Georgetown Law School on the Merrick Garland nomination and the current Senate’s process for providing advice and consent on the nomination. In his speech, the vice president said, “We’re watching a constitutional crisis in the making because of the dysfunction in Washington.”
In an interview on C-SPAN’s ’Newsmakers’ program, Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole (R) suggested his support for House Speaker Paul Ryan as the Republican nominee for president if there is a contested Republican convention. Cole said, “He’s already been vetted, he’s been on a national ticket, millions of people have already voted for him … Frankly, he does represent the kind of vision and values that as a Republican you would want to put forward.” Cole’s statements echo those of former Speaker John Boehner, who told an audience in Boca Raton, Florida, on March 16, 2016, “If we don't have a nominee who can win on the first ballot, I'm for none of the above … They all had a chance to win. None of them won. So I'm for none of the above. I'm for Paul Ryan to be our nominee.”

Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed a bill into law that makes Indiana the second state to prohibit abortions for reasons of fetal disabilities. Thursday was the deadline to sign the bill, against which Planned Parenthood of Indiana said they would seek a preliminary injunction. House Speaker Brian Bosma (R) previously commented that he expected a lawsuit in the event of a signing. North Dakota passed a similar law in 2013. Indiana’s law, which goes into effect in July, also bans abortions motivated by race or gender, as well as the donation of fetal tissue.
The National Association for Gun Rights, a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization, filed a lawsuit to challenge a recent Montana campaign finance law. The group claims that Montana’s new restrictions—whereby any mail that includes a candidate’s name or image is considered “electioneering communications”—are a violation of freedom of speech.
The Georgia General Assembly adjourned its regular session. The state is currently one of 23 Republican state government trifectas. Republicans control the governor’s office, the House by 57 seats, and the Senate by 22 seats.

In North Carolina, Winston-Salem city election officials completed a full canvass of the vote from the city council’s primary election held on March 15, 2016. Following the unofficial vote tally, Carolyn Highsmith was ahead of John Larson by only four votes in the Democratic primary for the open South Ward seat. After the vote canvass was completed, her lead extended to six votes out of the 4,052 total votes cast in the race. Larson announced his intention to request an official recount, and Highsmith agreed and stated, “People who went to vote did not get to vote. We've seen that today and on Tuesday.” The general election for the mayor’s office and all eight city council seats will be November 8, 2016. The 2016 election is the first even-year election for the city's mayor and city council, following a 2011 state law moving municipal elections from odd years. In 2016, 43 of America’s 100 largest cities by population are holding elections.
FILING DEADLINE: Deadline passed to run for three of the nine seats on the Billings Public Schools school board in Montana. The general election will be on May 5, 2016. Billings was the largest school district by student enrollment in Montana and served 16,328 students during the 2013-2014 school year.

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #8 of The Tap, which was published on March 21, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

FILING DEADLINE: North Carolina revised U.S. House filing deadline
- There are 13 U.S. House seats up for election in 2016. Currently, three are held by Democrats and 10 are held by Republicans.
- None of the U.S. House seats are currently considered battleground districts in 2016. We will be evaluating the newly drawn districts as the cycle continues.
- The new filing deadline is a result of ongoing legal battles relating to the North Carolina districts. While the state primaries were held earlier in March, the congressional primary will take place on June 7.

FILING DEADLINE: Deadline to run for three of the nine seats on the Billings Public Schools school board in Montana. The general election will be on May 5, 2016. Billings was the largest school district by student enrollment in Montana and served 16,328 students during the 2013-2014 school year.