PA: Pennsylvania mail ballots with missing or bad dates can’t be counted, court rules
Pennsylvania counties must separate and not count mail ballots with missing or incorrect dates, the state Supreme Court said in a ruling that could affect thousands of votes in November’s midterm elections.
MI, OH: Michigan governor says abortion rights would let her ‘steal’ companies, workers from Ohio
If Michigan voters enshrine abortion rights in their state’s constitution, Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she’ll start “stealing headquarters” from Ohio and luring trained workers from the Buckeye State.
MT: Native Americans, some urban areas make up disproportionate share of Montana state prisons
A new report by the Prison Policy Initiative and Western Native Voice shows that some neighborhoods and areas of Montana’s largest cities contribute disproportionately to the state’s incarceration rates, while some smaller towns and communities have a higher per capita incarceration rate than larger places.
TN: Tennessee AG says disposal of embryos not transferred to uterus doesn’t violate abortion law
The disposal of fertilized human embryos that haven’t been transferred to a patient’s uterus does not violate Tennessee’s abortion ban and isn’t punishable as a “criminal abortion,” according to state Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, a Republican.
AK: Alaska voters contend with increase in campaign text messages
Campaigns are no longer just using the traditional mailer or TV ad to reach voters. Now they’re increasingly popping up on cell phones. While campaign workers say it’s a better way to reach more voters, some Alaska voters say they’re getting inundated with text messages and want them to stop.
WY: Wyoming nuclear industry eyes expansion despite tenuous start
Having already agreed to take on one nuclear power plant in Wyoming, western utility giant PacifiCorp will now consider adding five more to its electric generation fleet by 2035, by co-locating small modular reactors where it plans to retire coal-fired power plants in Wyoming and Utah.
MO: No ‘magic’ mushrooms for Missouri’s troubled vets, legislative panel says
A special legislative panel has rejected calls to legalize the use of psychedelic drugs to address a suicide crisis among military veterans in Missouri.
IL: Billionaire governor uses trust to skirt contribution limits in Illinois Supreme Court races
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is using his personal trust fund to circumvent contribution limits in two races that will determine whether his party maintains its 4-3 majority on the Illinois Supreme Court.
HI: State grants promised to Hawaii nonprofits likely to be in limbo for weeks
Hawaii nonprofits that still haven’t received nearly $50 million in grant funds from the state may need to wait until December or early next year for that money.
GA: Judge says Georgia election workers’ defamation suit against Giuliani can advance
A federal judge has rejected former Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani’s request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two Fulton County, Georgia, election workers who say their lives were upended by false claims of voting fraud.
WA: Electric vehicles zooming off the lots in Washington, but many oppose gas car ban
So far, fully electric vehicles have made up an average of 6% of new vehicle registrations each month in Washington, about double the monthly average in 2020. But according to a recent poll, Washingtonians may have mixed feelings about what Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee called a “critical milestone” in the climate change fight: a statewide ban on the sale of new gas cars by 2035.
SC: South Carolina voters to decide Nov. 8 on changing constitution again to mandate larger state budget reserves
Flush with money, the South Carolina legislature considered beefing up the state’s budget reserve funds this year but instead decided to focus on $700 million in income tax cuts and another $1 billion in rebates.
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