Politics
Polarized politics has changed the dynamics of legislation and policymaking at the state and local level. Political parties with supermajorities are increasingly in control in many states and cities. These stories explain what that means for legislators, governors and mayors and how politicians can navigate this new political landscape.
The issues that drove the winning campaigns reflected a mix of local and national concerns, and the results pointed to divergent, sometimes contradictory, priorities for big-city voters.
The Dallas native was the state’s first Black district attorney and used DNA testing in cases, leading to about two dozen exonerations. His Conviction Integrity Unit has been nationally and internationally recognized.
A successful lawsuit based on 19th-century laws to combat the Ku Klux Klan has renewed attention on how police officers can help protect voters. It's part of a broader effort to crack down on intimidation.
Legislative veteran John Whitmire should be able to improve Houston's relations with the state, while pledging to crack down on crime and deficit spending.
Its sprawling size is one reason. But there are other factors at work, including discouraged Democrats and Republicans’ success at courting Hispanic voters.
The primary is often the only real contest in choosing those who will represent us. Closed party primaries are unrepresentative and undemocratic, and they disenfranchise more than half of the voting public: independents.
The state’s new maps added more majority-Black districts but added them to areas that already had Black representation and whitewashed or combined other districts, leading to maps that offer little chance of partisan competition.
The Michigan GOP is not the only state party with a treasury running dry. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the fix is in for the governor's race. Plus, a reflection of Sandra Day O'Connor, legislator.
Election offices in California, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon and Washington received powder-filled letters around the November election. But states and workers are increasing efforts to protect democratic elections amid continued risk.
The National League of Cities has created a task force to make presidential candidates aware of local concerns — and to forge relationships with officials who'll move from the campaign into the next administration.
On Monday, Nov. 27, the governor’s office conceded that it lacked the votes to push ahead its “Clean Cars” regulations. Now the governor must find another way to achieve his goal of phasing out new gas-powered cars by 2035.
The 4-3 ruling approved the new state House and Senate maps and will enact them through 2030, dismissing lawsuits that claimed the new maps were illegally gerrymandered.
Despite an election having just passed, at least 11 states are considering abortion-related ballot measures for next year’s election. But garnering enough support to get the measures on the ballot will require time and money.
The state will join 16 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing 16-year-olds to preregister to vote once Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs the bill. The new law will go into effect next year.
Democrat Andy Beshear wins re-election in a state that otherwise elects only Republicans to statewide office, the particular challenges facing Black women mayors and other election fallout.
In a busy year for ballot initiatives, Ohio voters approved abortion rights and marijuana legalization, while voters elsewhere were wary about taxes, public ownership of major assets and participatory budgeting.
The tilt of major cities to the left continued, with progressives winning key races in Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and other cities. The few bright spots for the GOP were in the Northeast.
This time next year, Americans will be casting votes in the 2024 general election. State and local races (and issues) will take place in the long shadow of a carefully watched presidential rematch.
Ohio voters approved an abortion rights measure while Virginia Democrats won control of the legislature, guaranteeing rights there will be preserved.
Virginia Democrats have made abortion central to their campaign for legislative control. Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other Republicans believe they've come up with a rejoinder.
Dissident counties are joining quixotic efforts to secede from their states in much of the country. They’re a manifestation of real political resentments and a way to attract some attention.
Concerns about crime and homelessness have made urban voters more open to centrist appeals, even in liberal strongholds such as Seattle and Boston.
The city’s next mayor will have to face fiscal shortfalls, public safety worries, aging infrastructure and how to pay for it all. Former mayors and neighborhood leaders can offer guidance, but there’s no singular solution.
Many see next year's election as a historic test of American democracy. What does a national survey say about how “democratic” the attitudes of the voters themselves are?
A coalition of six nonpartisan voting rights groups sent a letter to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber calling upon her office to monitor the elections in Shasta County due to concerns about safety and misinformation.
Fifty years ago, Atlanta’s Maynard Jackson was elected as the first Black mayor of a major city in the Deep South. His legacy is one that today’s mayors and other public officials would serve themselves well to know about.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear looks more likely than not to win re-election. Meanwhile, Louisiana Democrats failed to field candidates in many districts for state House and Senate, Oklahoma's Republican attorney general files a lawsuit to block a publicly funded religious charter school and more.
It just might. The state’s new election system, combining nonpartisan primaries and instant-runoff general election voting, makes elections more competitive and encourages cooperative governance.
Even as state officials continue opposition against the newly drawn maps, the document will be used in next year’s elections, state Attorney General Steve Marshall explained on Wednesday.
Effingham County, Ill., has approved new voter registration software, which has the ability to upload election results on election night. Officials also approved the disbursement of $32,780 from the contingency fund for the purchase.
The county commissioners will likely file a lawsuit if a bill that would make it a state crime to illegally cross the border becomes law. Officials are concerned that the financial burdens of the law would fall on localities.
