News & Press - Fairness Project

Oklahoma Legislature Attacks Citizens’ Right To Initiate Ballot Measures, Targeting Urban Voters

New law follows troubling national trend, just weeks after Florida lawmakers passed similar ballot measure restrictions

Defying Will of Missouri Voters, Politicians Force a Vote to Ban Abortion

CITIZENS VOW TO PROTECT REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM

NPR: GOP-led states are passing new restrictions for voters to get issues on the ballot

Kelly Hall — the executive director of the Fairness Project, a group that works to pass economic and social justice policies through ballot measures — said she's seen more state bills to limit citizen-initiated ballot measures this year than ever before.

Associated Press: Lawmakers seek to rein in citizen ballot initiatives with new requirements for petitions

That information is not required in other states, said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, a progressive group that has backed dozens of ballot initiatives in states. Hall said people concerned about privacy might hesitate to sign petitions.

Gov. Desantis Places Nation’s Most Severe Restrictions on Florida Ballot Measure Process

New bill cuts voters out of constitutional amendment process, granting unprecedented power to state legislators and corporate interests

The 19th: Missouri’s voters restored abortion rights. Their leaders are trying to overrule them.

“It’s too simplistic to say everyone is sitting it out, but we need to have strong cases for what’s effective and that’s a reasonable request to have,” [Kelly Hall] said. “These things are resource-intensive, and the stakes are high and the impact of winning is high.”

Bloomberg: Sick Leave Wins at Risk as States Mull Ballot Initiative Limits

“This is an unprecedented number of serious pieces of legislation moving forward quickly,” to make it harder to put an initiative on the ballot, said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, which advocates for ballot measures across policy areas.

Stateline: States that enshrined Medicaid expansion in their constitutions could be in a bind

“Legislators cannot change that law without going back to voters for a whole other campaign to change the constitution,” said Kelly Hall, the executive director of the Fairness Project, a nonprofit that helped put the constitutional amendments on the ballot in all three states.

Roll Call: Hawley’s change of heart reflects evolving politics of Medicaid

Expanding Medicaid in red states has built political salience for the program and made it more difficult for Republican lawmakers to cut it, said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, which helped launch the Medicaid expansion ballot initiative campaigns.

The Independent: Mike Johnson opens the door to Medicaid cuts and the resulting political fallout

“The places that have expanded Medicaid are at real risk of losing their rural hospital infrastructure if the program is rolled back, and that is not just devastating to people who are beneficiaries of the Medicaid program, but anyone who lives in those communities, regardless of their type of insurance,” said Kelly Hall of the Fairness Project.

Rolling Stone: Trump and Republicans Are Leading an Open Assault on Free Elections

In 16 of the 23 states that allow ballot measures, Republican lawmakers are trying to make it more difficult for voters to get voter referendums on the ballot, says Kelly Hall of the Fairness Project, which has been tracking ballot measure laws.

NBC News: Republicans plow ahead with anti-abortion agenda in states where voters approved constitutional amendments

“Ballot measures have been a lifeline to working people in red and purple states, allowing them to make change even when politicians fail to represent their interests. Legislators are trying to systematically take that power away,” Kelly Hall, of the Fairness Project, a nonprofit organization that helps advance citizen-led ballot initiatives, said.

New York Times: The Three States That Are Especially Stuck if Congress Cuts Medicaid

“Expanding Medicaid anywhere protects it everywhere, which is now what we’re seeing today,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, the nonprofit that organized the constitutional amendment campaigns. She noted that her group expected the expansions would broaden support for the program in Washington.

Salon: Fear over Medicaid cuts across rural America could sway some Republicans

Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, a union-back advocacy group that campaigns for progressive ballot initiatives, told Salon that even though the situation looks dire, the fact that 41 states have made Medicaid expansion a key part of their healthcare system gives residents there a way to fight back.

BALLOT WATCH: Legislation attacking healthcare, democratic process advance in South Dakota

State legislature seeks to roll back Medicaid expansion passed by voters through 2022 ballot measure For second time, lawmakers try to push through supermajority requirement to amend state constitution by ballot measure – a scheme voters previously rejected

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