#State Legislature

[tomorrowusa]

Another reminder that every vote counts.

In Minnesota House of Representatives District 54A, DFL incumbent Brad Tabke has apparently beaten GOP challenger Aaron Paul by 15 votes. In Minnesota, DFL = Democratic.

This was determined after a hand recount. If Tabke had lost, Republicans would have flipped the chamber. But with Tabke's victory, the DFL and GOP would likely be tied in the House and must work out a power sharing agreement.

In a race that could determine control of the Minnesota House, state Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, has won reelection after narrowly defeating Republican challenger Aaron Paul by 15 votes after election officials recounted thousands of votes by hand on Thursday. The results are unofficial because 4 ballots are still in dispute. Tabke’s margin of victory widened by one vote from an earlier count.  A lawyer representing Paul suggested that he may challenge the results in court but said he wants to discuss the matter with Paul first. Paul asked for the recount after election officials rescanned thousands of ballots days after the election because they discovered a ballot screening malfunction. Election officials are also investigating the loss of 21 physical absentee ballots. Scott County elections officials spent Thursday hand counting thousands of ballots under the watchful eyes of campaign representatives for Tabke and Paul. As election judges sorted and reviewed ballots at eight different tables, partisan representatives disagreed four times with the election judges’ assessment.  Those so-called challenged ballots will be reviewed on Monday when the Scott County Canvassing Board meets to certify the election. Tabke’s victory means there’s an even greater likelihood that Republicans and Democrats will share power in the Minnesota House. After this month’s election, the two parties won 67 seats each pending recounts in Scott County and another legislative race in Sherburne County. 

That race alluded to in Sherburne County is House district 14B. DFL candidate Dan Wolgamott has 10,005 votes (50.36%), Republican Sue Ek has 9,814 votes (49.40%) and there are 48 stupid write-in votes. The DFL is likely to win the recount there.

Historically, hand recounts don’t result in a meaningful change in votes because the scanning machines are very accurate. As the recount was occurring, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders met to discuss their plans for the upcoming session. Since Democrats will no longer control the House, there will have to be bipartisan agreement to pass a two-year budget next year.  [ ... ] Democrats hold a one seat majority in the state Senate. The Legislature is scheduled to convene on Jan. 14. 

[ivygorgon]

Hey everyone,

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Cheers!

[taylorscottbarnett]

Perhaps the most consequential case in US history is facing the Supreme Court.

Moore v. Harper.

The North Carolina State Supreme Court last year blocked North Carolina’s congressional voting map, drawn by Republican lawmakers, as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander under the state Constitution.

Republicans in the state legislature appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, stating that the courts could not second-guess the legislature under the US Constitution:

“The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.”

A sentence found in Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the US Constitution.

This gives authority to state legislative bodies over their elections and the argument goes that the state courts cannot declare a map drawn by the state legislature because the they are given the Constitutional right to decide their election laws. Aka: State Courts cannot overrule a state law redrawing maps or affecting elections.

This would give state governments the power to do anything they wanted (that didn't run afoul of the US Constitution's Supremacy Clause -- in theory) in regards to elections with no checks and balances by another state body.

It's known as the "independent state legislature theory" that state legislaturs are independent and therefore immune from court challenges on how they decide elections.

Interestingly, the composition of North Carolina's Supreme Court flipped in the last election. Now favoring Republicans by a 5-2 margin. After the election, the court ordered a rehearing of the case.

A ruling in favor of North Carolina's State Legislature would undermine a core tenant of checks and balances between state governments and state courts. It would state that the court had no right to declare a state law passed by the legislature invalid because it would effectively be second-guessing the legislature.

If that's not a knife to the heart of checks and balances I don't know what is.

Moreover, it would mean that state governments would be unchecked by ANY other body. A veto by the Governor would be impossible for election laws.

A national voting law would be declared unconstitutional under the "independent state legislature" theory.

Although this would clash with the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution as well and how that would play out in court is anyone's guess, given the court has generally gutted federal voting laws in the past.

One should also remember there's not really a lot of federal voting law left after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act years ago, so there's a big question if anything could actually be enacted at the federal-level to supercede this that's already law -- and given Republican filibustering any form of new voting rights act, it's unlikely that a State Legislative body would have any oversight at all period.

[the-farmers-rabbit]

GOOD MORNING TODAY I AM PREACHING THE WORD OF PAMELA STEVENSON

The black kentucky rep. who is fighting for me and dragging these people for their bs

https://twitter.com/i/status/1631804888966483968 she is a god send, she screamed with the protestors, and made her point. she is keeping my state safe. God bless her and her... her everything

[ajunicetryagain]

Say it with me: Local elections matter

[subsidystadium]

The Minnesota Twins want to stay put for decades to come...in exchange for taxpayer money on a yearly basis

The Minnesota Twins love playing in Minnesota. Team representatives talked to local media this week and brought up their desire to play in the state for “decades to come”. In fact, the team wants to put pen to paper to stay at their current ballpark until 2059! In return, the team doesn’t want anything big or flashy. They just want a lot of taxpayer money given to them every single year. No big…

[iasguidance]

P V Narasimha Rao Case: Bribery vs Parliamentary Privileges

Context: A 5-judge Constitution Bench, presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, has referred the matter of Sita Soren Case to a larger 7-judge Bench that will assess the interpretation of Articles 105(2) and 194(2) of the Indian Constitution. Sita Soren Case She was accused of accepting a bribe to vote for an independent candidate in the 2012 Rajya Sabha elections. Sita Soren, an…

[queenvlion]

[seriousbusinessforhumans]

The Wyoming Republican Party is seeking to kill a bill working its way through the state Legislature proposing to raise the state's legal marriage age to 16, arguing that putting "arbitrary" limits on child marriage interferes with parental rights and religious liberty. The bill—which already passed the Republican-controlled Wyoming House of Representatives on a 36-25 vote late last month—proposes banning state residents from marrying anyone under the age of 16, while requiring anyone under the age of 18 seeking to get married to receive written consent from their parents under the eye of a competent witness.

Currently, Wyoming is one of just eight states in the country—including California, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington and West Virginia—without a minimum age requirement for marriage, and it currently ranks among the top ten states in the country for child marriages, according to a 2021 study by advocacy group Unchained at Last.

Newsom had shared a clip on Twitter from a House Committee hearing in Missouri earlier this week where an opponent of Moon accused him of supporting minors as young as 12 getting married to adults. During a Senate debate on a bill to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth on Tuesday, Rep. Peter Merideth, a Democrat, confronted Moon about his previous vote opposing a bill that would have prevented children as young as 12 from getting married to adults.

"I've heard you talk about parents' rights to raise their kids how they want. In fact, I just double-checked, you voted no on making it illegal for kids to be married to adults at the age of 12 if their parents consented to it. You said actually that should be the law because it's the parents' rights and the kids' rights to decide what's best for them, to be raped by an adult," Merideth said. "That was the law, you voted no to change it."

Moon replied: "Do you know any kids who have been married at age 12? I do. And guess what? They're still married."

-

A Tennessee General Assembly bill to create a legal marriage pathway available only to straight couples will not advance this year following public outcry over the initial version of the legislation. The legislation sparked widespread condemnation after early versions failed to include an explicit minimum age requirement, which opponents argued could open minors up to abuse and underage marriages. The bill's sponsors, including Rep. Tom Leatherwood, R-Arlington, maintain that was never the intent of the bill, which was brought by opponents of same-sex marriage.

Sponsors of the legislation added amendments specifying a man and woman seeking the contract must have "attained the age of majority," which is 18 in Tennessee. Though the bill garnered condemnation over child marriage concerns, the legislation was initially filed as an anti-gay marriage measure. Supporters of the legislation, including former state Sen. David Fowler, say they can't conscientiously sign Tennessee marriage licenses because LGBTQ couples are now afforded the right to marry. 

Conservative Republicans are obsessed with the sex lives and bodies of young girls [and boys].

[tomorrowusa]

Minnesota has had a narrow Democratic trifecta since early 2023. Since then, the legislature has been cranking out progressive legislation with Gov. Tim Walz signing it.

A new measure authored by first-term State Rep. Leigh Finke (DFL-66A) would prevent educational institutions and local governments from removing Pride flags and related symbols.

Minnesota schools, colleges and local governments would be barred from removing rainbow pride flags, banners or posters under a bill moving through the state Legislature. The proposal advanced through the House Local Government Finance and Policy Committee on Tuesday and is set to move to a full floor vote after LGBTQ+ advocates said it would provide support for the community. GOP lawmakers said it was an overstep. “The bill does not require anyone to display rainbows, nor does it supersede policies that prohibit the display of all banners, flags or posters,” said bill author Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul. “It just prohibits rainbows from being singled out and banned in schools, libraries and other government spaces.”  Several states are weighing bills that take the opposite approach and would prohibit pride flags from being flown in classrooms and other settings.  “The rainbow is a sign of hope and affirmation to the 2SLGBTQIA community — my community,” Finke continued. “For those outside of the queer community, it may seem trivial to legislate the definition and presence of rainbows. But in our community, depending on the circumstance, the value of a publicly-visible rainbow on a doorway or window or classroom is literally impossible to overstate.”

Minnesota seems to be competing with Illinois to be the Anti-Florida or Anti-Tennessee of the Midwest. 😎

BTW, in Minnesota the Democrats are known as the DFL for Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party – the result of a party merger in the 1940s.

Minnesota is another example of what can happen when Republicans loose control of a state legislature.

Find out who represents you in your legislature. If it's a MAGA Republican then contact your local or state Democratic Party to ask about helping to flip the district(s) or the entire legislative chamber.

Find Your Legislators Look your legislators up by address or use your current location.

[frankwolftown]

Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures | American Civil Liberties Union

The more we track, the more we can fight back!

[ezra-returns]

yup

[actual-nobody]

1. Minor error to point out, but I think you mean the second link (Reading Rocket) being the old one

2. While I can only assume that you made this statement on my specific reblog because I was one of the more recent ones, I did not say that the article was only bad because it was old. I also said it was because the pie chart seemingly contradicts a statement. The article says that only 4 textbooks in educator schools were acceptable for general reading courses. However, the pie chart says that 51 of them (23% of the sample) are acceptable.

Additionally, the article appears to not even be the original study, so any claims it makes have to be taken with some salt. However. I will admit that I was wrong about the article not crediting the original study, since I completely missed the contact information for the National Council on Teacher Quality, who made the original study (I also completely missed the date stated, May 2006).

3. The age of a study is still relevant, however, since information referenced in a study can change with time. While I didn’t specifically bring attention to it, the following article:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/why-more-u-s-schools-are-embracing-a-new-science-of-reading

states that more schools are focusing on the science of reading, the superior form of teaching reading skills, due to demands from parents to try and get their children up to speed after the pandemic. While it isn’t an academic study, I can only presume that it’s a more accurate reflection of the problem today since it came out this year. I won’t say that you deliberately ignored an improvement in the situation, since the original post came out before the news article was published, but it still reflects progress.

Another thing that changed between then and now is that more than 50% of educator schools studied use the science of reading in their curriculums, as stated in this 2020 assesment by the National Council on Teacher Quality, the same group cited by the Reading Rocket article (the link leads to a summary page and link to download the assesment results).

https://www.nctq.org/publications/2020-Teacher-Prep-Review:-Program-Performance-in-Early-Reading-Instruction

It also states that there have been efforts to improve since the first assesments were published in 2013. This is progress towards fixing the problem your post talks about, even if it’d take a while for the effects to be felt, and even if the progress is stated, by the assesment itself, to be too slow for what’s at stake.

The age of an article doesn’t mean that the article itself is inferior, but that the information it presents is more likely to be inaccurate in the present.

If your purpose was to illustrate only the length of time that reading illiteracy has been an issue, I think it would’ve helped if you included an article that specifically talked about that subject, or had specifically brought attention to the date that the article you linked to was published. (Besides, you should’ve realized that we would need some help with reading, since you brought it up).

For anyone else reading whose in the US who cares about this, the most you can do is become a teacher yourself and/or to write to the members of your state’s legislature (part of the state government, not the federal government that gets all of the attention) and/or vote for the ones you can vote for who have a proven track record for making favorable policies. To find out which people represent you at the state level, search for “(your state here) legislature members” in a search engine, or use something like “who’s my representative (your state here)” instead, then look for a website that looks something like (your state here).gov

Quick question, genuine question:

Why on earth does "more than half of US adults under 30 cannot read above an elementary school level" not strike horror into the heart of everyone who hears it?

Are the implications of it unclear????

I'm serious, people keep reacting with a sort of vague dismissal when I point this out, and I want to know why!

If adults in the US cannot read, then the only information they have access to is TV and video, the spaces with the most egregious and horrific misinformation!

If they cannot read, they cannot escape that misinformation.

This obscene lack of literacy should strike fear into every heart! US TV is notoriously horrific propaganda!

Is that???? Not??? Obvious???????

I know this sounds sarcastic, I know it does, but I'm completely serious here. I do not understand where the disconnect is.

[1900scartoons]

The Man Who Knows 

April 10, 1907

Bryan explains to The Public what the administration should do about railroads; President Roosevelt, meanwhile, has crawled under the US Railroads car to spot the problem, and the State Legislature stands by with a wrench.

The caption reads "William J. Bryan tells us how the administration should put the railroads on the proper running basis."

Bryan held no political power, and so was free to say what he wanted, while Roosevelt actually had to fix the problem. The state legislatures had passed several laws regulating railroads as well.

See Also: William Jennings Bryan; Theodore Roosevelt

From Hennepin County Library

Original available at: https://digitalcollections.hclib.org/digital/collection/Bart/id/5718/rec/104

[potofsoup]

Guess who's excited to get their ballot in the mail tomorrow? Me! So I slapped together a quick comic, as well as a map based off of this and this. A list of when same day registration is available is at the bottom of this article.

But also: wow, early voting stuff is so confusing! For example, I get my ballot in the mail tomorrow, and I can immediately mail it back. But if I want to drop it off in person, I need to either go to a special ballot drop box by city hall, or wait for early in-person voting sites to open, which isn't until Oct 22nd for my state.

Or like, early voting in Louisiana is apparently from Oct 16 to Oct 29th? And then there's a week of no voting, and then polls open again on Nov 5th? Or like how the only day you can register and then immediately vote is Oct 26th?

Anyway, best way to figure out the info for your area is to check your state and county's election website. I've found usvotefoundation.org to have clear fact sheets for each state (including ID requirements, polling location finders, as well as direct links to state election websites): https://www.usvotefoundation.org/state-voter-information . You can also jump to each state's election websites via usa.gov, or by searching directly, though some websites are more confusing than others.

Happy voting!

Oh, and here's the voter registration deadlines map from last time, in case you haven't registered and want to register. Oct 7th is the last day for a bunch of states!