Welcome to the Wednesday, June 8, Brew.
By: Samuel Wonacott
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Checking in on ballot measure certifications
- We’ve got June 7 primary election results!
- A look at Maine’s June 14 primaries
Checking in on ballot measure certifications
We’re back with another update on this year’s statewide ballot measure certifications. The last time we checked in on ballot measures, on May 26, we’d tracked 94 statewide measures certified for the 2022 ballot in 33 states. Now, that number is up to 103 measures in 34 states. That’s 12 less than the average number certified at this point in other even-numbered years from 2010 to 2020.
Here’s an update on the those measures:
Six new measure were certified in two states for the November ballot last week:
- Louisiana Citizenship Requirement for Voting Amendment
- Louisiana Remove Slavery as Punishment For a Crime from Constitution Amendment
- Louisiana Senate Confirmation for Appointees to State Civil Service Commission Amendment
- Louisiana Senate Confirmation for Appointees to State Police Commission Amendment
- Ohio Citizenship Voting Requirement Amendment
- Ohio Determining Bail Amount Based on Public Safety Amendment
Signatures have been submitted and awaiting verification for 12 initiatives in six states:
- California $18 Minimum Wage Initiative
- California Art and Music K-12 Education Funding Initiative
- California Dialysis Clinic Requirements Initiative
- California Legalize Sports Betting and Revenue for Homelessness Prevention Fund Initiative
- California Pandemic Early Detection and Prevention Institute Initiative
- California Tax on Income Above $2 Million for Zero-Emissions Vehicles and Wildfire Prevention Initiative
- Idaho Income Tax Increases for Education Funding Initiative
- Michigan Payday Loan Interest Rate Cap Initiative
- Missouri Marijuana Legalization Initiative
- Missouri Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative
- Oregon Exclusion from Re-election for Legislative Absenteeism Initiative
- South Dakota Medicaid Expansion Initiative
One indirect initiative was approved by the legislature and is pending the governor’s signature or veto:
One measure was certified for the 2023 ballot last week:
From 2010 to 2020, the average number of statewide ballot measures certified in an even-numbered year was 164. By this time during even-numbered years from 2010 through 2020, an average of 115 statewide measures had been certified for the ballot.
Click below to read more about this year’s statewide ballot measures. To keep up with all things state ballot measures, click here to subscribe to the State Ballot Measure Monthly.
We’ve got June 7 primary election results!
There were statewide primaries in California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota on Tuesday. Our team stayed up late into the night collecting results and monitoring the most significant developments. In tomorrow’s Brew, we’ll take a closer look at the biggest storylines to emerge from Tuesday’s results and help you make sense of what they mean for midterm races in November.
In the meantime, check out our June 7 election hub to see the latest results. You can also subscribe to The Heart of the Primaries, our weekly dive into key congressional, legislative, and executive races. The next edition comes out Thursday!
Click on the links below to see results from the battleground elections that happened last night:
California
- California’s 27th Congressional District election, 2022 (June 7 top-two primary)
- California Attorney General election, 2022 (June 7 top-two primary)
- Mayoral election in Los Angeles, California (2022)
- Superior Court of Los Angeles County election, 2022 (Office 67 June 7 nonpartisan primary)
- Chesa Boudin recall, San Francisco, California (2021-2022)
Iowa
- United States Senate election in Iowa, 2022 (June 7 Democratic primary)
- Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District election, 2022 (June 7 Republican primary)
A look at Maine’s June 14 primaries
The dust has yet to clear after last night’s elections, but the June 14 primaries are already looming (did we mention June is a busy month for elections?). Next Tuesday, four states will hold primaries—Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina.
Let’s look at the districts and offices up for election in the Pine Tree State.
Maine has two U.S. House districts. Both current incumbents are Democrats. In the Democratic primary for Maine’s 1st Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) is running uncontested. Pingree was first elected in 2009. She faces Ed Thlander, who is also running unopposed in the Republican primary, in the November general election. In the Democratic primary for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Jared Golden (D) is running unopposed. Golden was first elected in 2019. Elizabeth Caruso and Bruce Poliquin are running in the Republican primary.
Maine is also holding Democratic and Republican primaries for governor. Incumbent Gov. Janet T. Mills (D) is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. She was first elected in 2018. Paul LePage (R), who served was governor from 2011 to 2019, is running unopposed in the Republican primary. Maine is one of 23 states that prevents governors from serving for more than two consecutive terms. Eight states limit governors to two terms.
All 35 districts in the state Senate are up for election, as are all 151 districts in the state House. Democrats control the state Senate 21-13 (with one vacancy). Democrats have a 79-64 majority in the House. There are two independents, one Maine Party representative, and five vacancies.
Seventy-one of the state’s incumbent lawmakers—House and Senate—are not seeking re-election. Those districts will go to newcomers. This is the largest number of guaranteed newcomers to the Legislature since 2014. There are 33 contested primaries—12 Democratic primaries and 21 for Republicans. For Democrats, this is down from 25 in 2020, a 52% decrease. For Republicans, the number increased 133% from nine in 2020 to 21 in 2022.
Maine is one of 15 states with term limits for state legislators. In both the Senate and House, legislators can serve four, two-year terms for a total of eight years. This year, 46 legislators are term-limited: 10 in the Senate and 36 in the House. In the remaining 25 open districts, legislators left office for other reasons.
Maine has had a Democratic trifecta since Democrats won control of the governorship and Senate in 2018.
Maine uses ranked-choice voting (RCV) in its primaries. RCV is used in general elections for federal races but not in general elections for state-level offices.
Learn More
