Governing: State and local government news and analysis
While secretary of state races are too close to call in Arizona and Nevada, Republican candidates who openly questioned the validity of the 2020 presidential election lost their bids in Michigan, Minnesota and New Mexico.
The state regulator scaled-back plan eliminates consumer fees. The original was abandoned after criticism from the governor and solar advocates that it could hurt the transition to renewable energy.
After the Civil War, white Southern leaders anchored the protection of their way of life in the private ownership of firearms. Piggybacking on American mobility, those ideas migrated out of the South.
Anticipating a future wave of EV ownership, the Pennsylvania PUC launched a streamlining process to potentially rewrite electric rates in the state to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles.
A new generation of legislators is taking on contemporary issues of drug abuse, the lack of housing and inadequate health care.
The 2022 midterms were a record-breaking year for women candidates. Several states already have made history with electing their first-time female governor and some are yet to be decided as votes are still being tallied.
A statewide clean-energy lending program in Ohio stalled last year before making any loans. Lawmakers want to add consumer protections in case the program resurfaces.
Honorees in this year’s Digital Cities Survey from the Center for Digital Government elevated their municipalities’ resilience, while bolstering services and prioritizing engagement with their residents.
For one thing, many more children would have gotten COVID, along with everyone they live with and most school employees. But the debate over school closings is infected with myths, misinformation and ignorance.
Several institutions and individuals have stepped up to rectify past injustice by bringing investments — and people — back to a decimated Louisville neighborhood.
Workers have had a tough time of late, and ballot measures attempted to improve their situation — with some exceptions.
A repudiation of the former president (but not of Trumpism), how Florida turned from purple to blood red, and what Democrats pulled off in the Michigan Senate.
The party took control of both chambers in Michigan and the Minnesota Senate. This may be the first time the president’s party has gained legislative seats in 20 years.
Not a single incumbent had been defeated as of Wednesday morning. Both parties believe they've found new stars among the freshmen, including Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Democrat Wes Moore.
Results were still pending in the biggest races of the night, but a major initiative to raise taxes for transit projects failed in Orange County, Fla., while early results for a “mansion tax” in L.A. showed promise.
Political divisions in America were on full display on Tuesday night. Early returns show strong support for reproductive choice, but mixed enthusiasm for legalizing recreational cannabis.
Seven states have vacancies for the top office. In five, the winners are already assured. Two are women. Two are Republicans. Here’s what they’ll want to do once they’re in power.
States are sending billions out to households in one form or another. But states don’t print money; they just shuffle it around. The payments amount to a rounding error in the overall inflation picture.
As election day approaches, a Maryland candidate for office uses every minute to secure every vote.
The GOP stands a good chance of winning the elections for governor in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. A victory in Oregon would be the party's first since the 1980s.
“Final four voting” ensures that party primary voters aren’t the bosses anymore, changing incentives for campaigning and governing and knocking down barriers to compromise and cooperation.
Bans are an illiberal idea that undermines a long and honorable tradition of making knowledge and ideas widely available, making people free to choose what to read for themselves.
Transit must be part of a larger narrative for what cities can be, according to experts who gathered at the American Public Transit Association TRANSform Conference last month.
The housing tends to be older, is more often rented, making it less likely to be maintained and more vulnerable to serious damage in the wake of a disaster. But there are steps communities can take to help.
Los Angeles and Austin will elect new mayors; Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is facing a Republican challenger; and San Francisco will get a new D.A. after recalling its last one. These are the local races to watch next week.
They’re happening in gentrifying neighborhoods, creating a flashpoint of ethnic and racial conflict. Some cities are trying to deal with the problem, but there are no easy solutions.
Republicans have controlled nearly two-thirds of state legislative chambers ever since 2010. Democrats have little chance of breaking that stranglehold in this year’s elections.
In June, a museum housing the world’s largest collection of works by Chicano artists opened in Riverside, Calif. Years of community-based work and a partnership with collector Cheech Marin set the stage for success.
Some candidates for secretary of state still dispute the 2020 election. They may not be able to change future outcomes, but they can sow distrust and uncertainty.
Laws, court rulings and local and state politicians have targeted ballot drop boxes since 2020, when 41 percent of ballots were submitted via boxes. Now, they’ve become a symbol for attacks on voter access.
