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RandySF's JournalMissouri House refuses conference on Senate's constitutional ballot reform item
(The Center Square) – The day after the Missouri Senate requested a conference with the House to possibly compromise on how voters could change the state constitution, the House sent back the same legislation.
By a vote of 104-45 on Thursday afternoon, the second-to-last day of the 2024 session, the House refused to change its amendments to Senate Joint Resolution 74. The legislation was returned to the House on Wednesday after a two-day filibuster by Democrats to stop the bill.
The legislation would place a proposal on the ballot asking voters to change approval of constitutional amendments from a simple majority to a simple majority and a majority in five of the state’s eight congressional districts. The House added language, called “ballot candy” by both parties, to the measure. The ballot language would start with asking voters if only U.S. citizens should vote on constitutional amendments and forbid foreign countries from funding amendment proposals, both currently illegal. Then, the ballot would ask about changing the majorities for approval.
The House adjourned after the vote and will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Friday and end at or before 6 p.m., as required by the constitution.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/missouri/article_6040245e-13ce-11ef-a49b-37f0b1963937.html
Baltimore Council races still too close to call following Thursday ballot count; Scott widens lead over Dixon
Incumbent Mayor Brandon Scott widened his lead over former mayor Sheila Dixon while the race for Baltimore’s 11th council district narrowed after officials resumed counting mail-in ballots for the Democratic primary Thursday.
Scott declared victory Tuesday night in the mayoral race after The Associated Press called the race for him, but his chief rival Dixon has not yet conceded, citing the number of yet-unprocessed ballots. Election officials counted around 14,853 ballots Thursday and released a tally around 6 p.m. showing a widening gulf between the two candidates. Scott now leads Dixon by 8,938 votes, expanding upon his 6,500-vote margin on election night.
Dixon’s spokesman Luca Amayo said the campaign has reviewed Thursday’s results and will issue a “final statement” Friday morning.
Election officials will resume counting some 3,000 mail-in ballots Monday. Another 6,300 provisional ballots will not be processed until later next week.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/05/16/baltimore-council-races-still-too-close-to-call-following-thursday-ballot-count/
GA: Mulberry referendum will stay on Tuesday's May Primary ballot, judge rules
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The proposed residents of Mulberry will get to decide whether they want cityhood on Tuesday, despite a legal challenge and an emergency hearing.
"The court finds that the petitioner seeks relief prematurely and that this matter is not yet ripe for review," Gwinnett County Judge Tadia Whitner said. "The court declines to interfere with the legislative process and remove the referendum from the ballot."
In February, the state legislature passed S.B. 333, which calls for a referendum on whether Mulberry should become a city. The bill states "the city shall not have the power to assess, levy, or collect ad valorem taxes on real or personal property within the corporate limits of the city."
It also says the city "shall exercise the powers granted to it under the present or future Constitution and laws of this state for the purposes of providing planning and zoning, code adoption and enforcement, and storm-water collection and disposal and those items related to the provision of such services."
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/elections/gwinnett-county-mulberry-referendum-ruling/85-276808c2-e8e1-42c3-8022-1393642bed8e
MI-13: Adam Hollier (D) Could Be Left Off the Ballot for the 13th District Race Because of Invalid Signatures
Former state senator Adam Hollier could find himself running as a write-in candidate in his race to dethrone the first-term U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar for the 13th Congressional District seat this fall.
Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett’s election staff issued a report on Thursday, May 16, saying that 690 signatures collected by Hollier’s campaign were invalid for issues ranging from duplicate signatures to signatures from people not registered to vote. That left just 863 valid signatures — 137 signatures short of the 1,000 required for U.S. House candidates to qualify for the ballot.
“We are obviously disappointed in this decision — not only for Adam, but for the voters across the 13th District who deserve a real choice in who their next Congressperson will be,” Hollier’s attorney Melvin Butch Hollowell read from a statement. “We are also incredibly troubled by the fact that, according to the Clerk’s staff report, 296 of the voters Rep. Thanedar tried to disqualify are in fact lawful electors.”
Thanedar challenged nearly 800 signatures that Hollier’s campaign team submitted in time for the filing deadline to get Hollier added to the ballot. More than 100 of the challenged signatures turned out to be valid, but Thanedar asked the Wayne County Clerk to disqualify Hollier from the August primary over what he said were forged and invalid signatures.
https://michiganchronicle.com/adam-hollier-could-be-left-off-the-ballot-for-the-13th-district-race-because-of-invalid-signatures/
Repeal of a dead law to use public funds for private school tuition won't be on Nebraska's ballot
OMAHA, Neb. — A measure to repeal a now-defunct law passed last year that would use public money to fund private school tuition has been pulled from Nebraska’s November ballot, the secretary of state announced Thursday.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen said he’s pulling from the ballot a measure to repeal the law that would have allowed corporations and individuals to divert millions of dollars in state income taxes they owed to nonprofit organizations that would award private school tuition scholarships. The law was largely supported by Republicans who dominate the officially nonpartisan state Legislature and statewide elected offices.
The Nebraska Legislature repealed and replaced that this year with a new law that cuts out the income tax diversion plan. It instead funds private school tuition scholarships directly from state coffers.
“Since the previous law will no longer be in effect by the time of the general election, I do not intend to place the original referendum on the ballot,” Evnen said in a statement.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/16/nebraska-school-choice-ballot/4bd7aa7a-13db-11ef-9d37-865890cc2670_story.html?ref=upstract.com
State lawmakers have targeted restricting sex education since the Dobbs ruling, especially in states banning abortion
Less than halfway through the year, 2024 has already broken the record for the most sex education bill proposals in state legislatures since at least 2018.
At least 135 bills — the majority of which would place restrictions on sex education in K-12 public schools — have been introduced or are currently active as of April 12, according to a CNN analysis of data exclusively provided by SIECUS, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, a non-profit organization advocating for comprehensive sex education in the United States.
Since the Supreme Court eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion in 2022, there has been a significant increase in legislation restricting how sex education is taught in schools, especially in states limiting abortion access.
Last year was the first time since at least 2018 that restrictive sex education bills outnumbered comprehensive bills in state legislatures across the country, according to CNN’s analysis.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/16/politics/sex-education-bills-united-states-dg/index.html
Red States Seek To Make Anti-Abortion Regimes Absolute By Boxing Out Democratic Prosecutors
Republican-controlled states are sealing the cracks in their anti-abortion regimes through legislation that removes the power of, or seeks to punish, Democratic prosecutors who decline to charge people for abortion-related crimes.
Most of the legislation proposed echoes a law enacted in Idaho last April, which gives the attorney general authority to prosecute violations of the state’s abortion ban, should the local prosecuting attorney decline to do so. These state-level actions, both proposed and enacted, are collected in a new report, shared with TPM, on the preemption of local prosecutors by the Local Solutions Support Center and Public Rights Project.
“In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling, abortion has been a central focus of efforts to preempt local prosecutors,” the report said. “In many states, conservative state legislatures have used supersession to seek more robust criminal prosecution of abortion.”
Republican legislators in South Carolina, Wisconsin and Texas have proposed legislation to give their attorneys general concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute violations of anti-abortion statutes. In Georgia, proposed legislation that has passed through the state Senate would let the attorney general recoup costs from the local prosecutor if he prosecuted a case the local attorney refused to touch. In Indiana, legislation has been proposed to build a special mechanism that would appoint a special prosecutor to take over when the local prosecutor has adopted a blanket policy to not prosecute certain crimes.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/red-states-abortion-prosecutors
GA: Abortion, Kemp become central issues in Pinson (R)-Barrow (D) Supreme Court race
OLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — There is an interesting political race shaping up for a seat on the Georgia’s highest court.
Former Congressman John Barrow is challenging Justice Andrew Pinson for a seat on Supreme Court.
It’s a non-partisan race that has turned partisan over endorsements and abortion.
Pinson is 38 years old and was appointed to the bench two years ago by Gov. Brian Kemp. Barrow is 30 years his senior and has been a practicing attorney for 45 years.
https://www.wrbl.com/news/abortion-kemp-become-central-issues-in-pinson-barrow-supreme-court-race/
Judge dismisses lawsuit by Georgia court candidate (D) who sued to keep talking about abortion
ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday rejected a lawsuit by a former Democratic congressman running for Georgia state Supreme Court who claimed a state agency was unconstitutionally trying to block him from talking about abortion.
U.S. District Judge Michael Brown ruled John Barrow didn’t have standing to sue because Barrow himself chose to release a confidential letter from the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission and because his continued public statements show his speech isn’t being restricted.
Election day is Tuesday in the nonpartisan contest between Barrow and Justice Andrew Pinson, who was appointed to the nine-justice court in 2022 by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Incumbent justices in Georgia almost never lose or face serious challenges. The three other justices seeking new six-year terms are unopposed.
Facing that uphill battle, Barrow has made abortion the centerpiece of his campaign, saying he believes Georgia’s state constitution guarantees a right to abortion that is at least as strong as Roe v. Wade was before it was overturned in 2022. That decision cleared the way for a 2019 Georgia law to take effect banning most abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected, usually in about the sixth week of pregnancy. That is before many women know they are pregnant.
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/2024/05/16/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-by-georgia-court-candidate-who-sued-to-keep-talking-about-abortion
ALABAMA'S DRACONIAN IVF RULING PUT SPOTLIGHT ON STATE SUPREME COURT RACES IN THIS YEAR'S ELECTIONS
It also has turned the spotlight on the importance of institutions that are poised to play a central in this year’s elections: state supreme courts. Decisions by states’ highest courts have become especially critical in the nearly two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to abortion.
This year, campaigns for state supreme court seats are expected to be among the most expensive and bitterly contested races on the ballot. At stake are future decisions over abortion, other reproductive rights, gerrymandering, voting rights, and other crucial issues.
“This is where the action is,” said Jessie Hill, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland.
The ruling on Feb. 16 by the Republican-majority Alabama Supreme Court to consider frozen embryos created through IVF to be children under state law has unexpectedly made in vitro fertilization, or IVF, an emerging issue in campaigns up and down the ballot. With multiple providers pausing fertility treatments in the state, fearing criminal charges or punitive damages, the GOP-controlled Legislature is under pressure to come up with a fix.
https://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/newswire/alabamas-draconian-ivf-ruling-put-spotlight-state-supreme-court-races-years-elections/
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