ICYMI: Top stories of the week

One-third of the U.S. lives in a state that will decide ballot measures on at least one of five topics: abortion, electoral systems, wages, marijuana, and taxes

Approximately one-third of the U.S. population (118,238,372 people) lives in a state that will decide ballot measures related to at least one of five topics this year: abortion, electoral systems, wages, marijuana, and taxes. Thirty-nine of the 54 ballot initiatives that are either certified for the ballot or have had signatures submitted fall under these five categories.

An average of 45.6% of Democratic legislators, all Republican legislators, backed placing noncitizen voting bans on state ballots

Voters in six states approved ballot measures banning noncitizen voting from 2018 to 2022, and a record eight such measures are on the ballot this year. Looking at all 11 noncitizen voting ban measures that legislatures put on state ballots, 100% of Republican legislators voted to place them on the ballot, save for those who were either absent or did not vote. An average of 45.6% of Democratic legislators voted in favor of these measures.

Read more of this story in Friday’s edition of The Daily Brew.

Signatures submitted for Washington initiative prohibiting restrictions on access to natural gas

Supporters of Washington Initiative 2066 submitted 431,063 signatures, 324,516 of which must be valid to qualify, for a ballot initiative that would prohibit restrictions on natural gas access.

The initiative seeks to repeal changes to House Bill 1589, which the Legislature approved in March 2024. The law sets a 2027 deadline for utilities to submit plans to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC), showing how much it would cost to electrify the state’s power grid. Read more about the measure at the link below.

Idaho voters will decide on a ballot initiative for top-four primary and ranked-choice voting system in November

The Idaho Secretary of State announced on July 10 that a ballot initiative that would establish top-four primaries and ranked-choice voting for general elections at the congressional, statewide, and county level qualified for the November ballot.

The initiative would replace the partisan primaries with a top-four primary system where all candidates for an office appear on one ballot. The top four vote-earners advance to the general election. Candidates could choose whether to list their party affiliation.