A special election was called for December 18 for House District 14.

The seat is vacant after Rep. Christian Coomer withdrew from his re-election campaign to accept an appointment to the Georgia Court of Appeals.

A runoff is scheduled for January 15, if necessary.

The city of Toledo will hold a special election to maintain a jail in Lucas County.

The ballot initiative to keep the Lucas County jail in downtown Toledo will appear before voters in a special election on February 26, 2019.

The City Council unanimously voted in favor to place the issue of a proposed jail on the ballot.

The city council of San Diego voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance providing tighter restrictions on the handling of confidential documents by council members.

Following a breach and subsequent criminal probe for information provided to investors by a council member last year, the council voted to close the loophole allowing disclosure if done as a necessary function of official duties.

In addition, new language in the code now makes it illegal for lobbyists who may receive confidential documents from using or disclosing them in any way.

Lobbyists are also prohibited from disseminating a confidential document through intermediaries, such as a spouse or a cousin.

Penalties for lobbyists who illegally review or disseminate confidential documents include potential misdemeanor charges and the possibility of being sued by the city for damages.

Loudoun County officials announced a special election for the 33rd state Senate District seat on January 8, 2019.

Candidates have until November 19 to file for the seat, but Democrats and Republicans will meet this weekend to vote for their nominees.

The seat was vacated by Congresswoman-elect Jennifer Wexton who was elected in the general election to represent Virginia’s 10th District.

The winner of the special election will complete Wexton’s term until December 31, 2019.

North Dakota Congressman-elect Kelly Armstrong resigned his District 36 seat in the State Senate.

District 36 Republicans will nominate their replacement to finish the remaining two years of Armstrong’s term by November 30, 2018.

Armstrong will replace Kevin Cramer in the U.S. House of Representatives.

South Carolina will hold a special election to fill a vacant seat in Senate District 6 after William Timmons resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Congress.

Filing for this special election will open at 12:00 p.m. on November 30 and close at the same time on December 8.

Partisan primary elections will be held in 2019 on January 22, with runoffs scheduled for February 5. The special election will be held on March 26.

Speaker Kirk Cox formally calls a special election to fill House District 24 on December 18. The House of Delegates seat must be filled before the 2019 legislative session begins in January. Del. Ben Cline vacated the 24th District seat after winning the election for Virginia’s 6th Congressional District in the November general election.

Maine has elected state Attorney General Janet Mills as governor, making her the first woman to hold the state’s highest office. Mills is taking over for Republican Paul LePage, who is known for being combative.

In addition to making racist remarks, he led efforts to block Medicaid expansion in Maine, even after voters approved the move in a ballot initiative. In fact, LaPage sued Mills after she refused to represent him in several federal cases.

Mills, who was the first woman elected as a district attorney in New England, was also the first female attorney general of Maine.

Her main priorities for the state include increasing access to Medicaid by funding the efforts with the $35 million she secured from a tobacco settlement, providing broadband access in rural areas and addressing the opioid crisis.

Incumbent Republican Governor Kay Ivey won her first full term as Alabama governor defeating Democratic challenger and Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox 59.6 percent to 40.4 percent.

Ivey, who was elected lieutenant governor in 2014, was sworn in as governor last year when her predecessor Robert J. Bentley resigned on April 10, 2017.

Ivey is Alabama’s first Republican female governor and second female governor.

Alabama, a Republican stronghold state, has not elected a Democratic governor since 1998.

In a state sweep, Democratic candidate Steve Sisolak won the governor’s race, ending twenty years of Republican control.

Nevada’s gubernatorial election was marked by heavy turnout, which kept voters casting ballots for nearly three hours after polls where scheduled to close, according to the Washington Times.

Steve Sisolak, Clark County Commissioner, beat Republican Adam Laxalt, the state’s attorney general, winning with 49.47 percent of the vote, in what’s called “one of the tightest gubernatorial races in recent Nevada memory.”

Notably, 12 members of Laxalt’s family published an op-ed in the Reno Gazette-Journal opposing his gubernatorial run, and outgoing republican governor Brian Sanodval did not endorse Laxalt.

Sisolak additionally ran against independent candidate Ryan Bundy (son of Cliven Bundy), who received less than 2 percent of the state’s vote.

Governor Greg Abbott won re-election in Texas, easily defeating democratic challenger Lupe Valdez.

Abbott won 55.8 percent to Valdez’s 42.5 percent. This was a win many saw coming, as Abbott led in all polls preceding the election.

A conservative state, Texas has elected a republican governor in every election since 1994. The race was largely uneventful compared to previous elections.

A former Dallas County sheriff, Valdez ran as an advocate of the Texas working class.

Abbott mostly ignored her during the race and touted the successes of his first term in office and used his large fundraising efforts to assist candidates in down-ballot races.

Portland, Oregon voters passed a campaign finance measure to limit large political campaign contributions.

The amended charter limits independent expenditures to an aggregate of $5,000 per individual and an aggregate of $10,000 per political committee, provided contributions to the committee by individuals does not exceed $500 per individual per year.

The campaign limits are vulnerable to legal challenge. In 1997, the Oregon Supreme Court struck down statewide campaign finance limits as a violation of free speech protection outlined by the Oregon Constitution.

Prior to the passage of this measure, the City of Portland adopted a public finance system by City Council vote.

It provides matching funds to eligible candidates for mayor, city commissioner, and auditor with funding to begin in the 2019-2020 election.

This week, Utah voters passed Proposition 2 legalizing medical marijuana.

The highly controversial ballot initiative caused Gov. Gary Herbert to announce his intention to call a special session on medical marijuana regardless of the outcome of this week.

The proposition will go into effect on December 1, 2018, and Gov. Herbert’s office announced its intent this week to convene a special session shortly thereafter.

Under state law, an initiative passed by statewide vote can be amended by the legislature after it becomes law.

Gov. Herbert has already discussed changes and compromises with lawmakers and proponents of Proposition 2. This will be the state’s third special session this year.

A majority of Akron voters approved Charter Amendment Issue 9, moving the city’s primary date from September to May.

The date change is expected to save the city money, boost voter turnout, and bring the Board of Elections into compliance with state law by enabling it to meet a deadline to get ballots to overseas voters 45 days before the November general election.