Florida voters may decide whether to make school board elections partisan
On March 31, the Florida House of Representatives passed House Joint Resolution 31 (HJR 31), a constitutional amendment that would make elections to the state’s 67 school boards partisan..
School board members in Florida are elected by the voters of each county and serve four-year terms. Currently, voters elect five or more members in a nonpartisan election, in staggered terms.
If HJR 31 passes the Republican-controlled Senate,the amendment will appear on the 2024 ballot.There, it would need at least 60% of the vote to pass.The amendment would take effect during the 2026 school board elections.
President Joe Biden issued two executive orders in March, bringing his total to 109
President Joe Biden (D) issued two executive orders in March, bringing his total to 109 since taking office in January 2021.
Looking at recent presidencies, Biden is tied with Ronald Reagan (R) with the second-highest average of 48 executive orders annually, behind Donald Trump (R), who averaged 55 yearly. The most executive orders Biden issued in one month was 25 in January 2021, his first month in office.
Johnson defeats Vallas in Chicago’s mayoral election runoff
Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson defeated former CEO of Chicago Public Schools Paul Vallas in the runoff election for mayor of Chicago. Johnson received 51.4% of the vote to Vallas’ 48.6%.
Johnson’s margin of victory over Vallas was 2.9%, the closest margin of victory in a Chicago mayoral runoff election so far. Johnson will succeed incumbent mayor Lori Lightfoot, who finished third behind Vallas and Johnson in the Feb. 28 primary and did not advance to the general election.
Wisconsin Supreme Court to change from a 4-3 conservative majority to a 4-3 liberal one
Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated former Justice Daniel Kelly in the general election for Wisconsin Supreme Court 55.5% to 45.5%. Protasiwicz’s win means the balance of the court will change from a 4-3 conservative majority to a 4-3 liberal majority for the first time in 15 years.
Protasiewicz’s 11 point margin of victory on Tuesday is the highest since 2018, when liberal candidate Rebecca Dallet defeated conservative candidate Michael Screnock 55.8% to 44.2%, a margin of victory of 11.5%.
Catch up on other results from one of the biggest election days of 2023
The biggest day in the Spring 2023 election calendar has come and gone. Voters in eight states we cover – Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin – went to the polls on Tuesday, April 4, and cast their ballots for offices ranging from city mayor to state supreme court.
Click the link below to read about all the April 4 races we covered.
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