Weekly Brew: July 24, 2020

A weekly shot of this week's most viewed stories from Ballotpedia's Daily Brew. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Each week, we bring you a collection of the most viewed stories from The Daily Brew, condensed. Here are the top stories from the week of July 21 - July 24.             1. Maine to use ranked-choice voting in presidential election The Maine Republican Party sought to place the law establishing RCV in presidential elections on the general election ballot as a veto referendum. The referendum campaign did not file enough signatures, so Maine will be the first state to ever use RCV for a presidential election. Read more   2. 37 states have Blaine Amendments blocking public funds from religious schools in their constitutions Blaine Amendments refer to language in state constitutions that prohibit public funding for schools or educational institutions run by religious organizations. On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Montana's Blaine Amendment violated the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution. Read more   3. 95 Pivot Counties voted Democratic in all four presidential elections from 1992 through 2004 Pivot Counties are the 206 counties that Ballotpedia identified as having voted for President Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for President Barack Obama (D) in both 2008 and 2012. We looked at the historical voting patterns of these counties in presidential elections dating back to 1992. Read more   4. Lucas resigns from New Hampshire House of Representatives, creates 10th chamber vacancy In New Hampshire, state legislative vacancies are filled by special election. A town or city without a House member seat must make a formal request to the governor and executive council for a special election. The governor and council then approve or deny the request within 21 days. Read more