Voters in New Haven, Connecticut approved changes to the City Charter, which includes extending the terms of the mayor, the city clerk, and alders (members of the Board of Aldermen) from two to four years.

Additionally, the revision allows the Board of Alderman to increase the salaries for alders, allows them more power to reform commissions and boards, and requires all city contracts of above $100,000 to be approved by them.

The increases in the length of terms takes effect in 2027, following two more election cycles.

Democrats have managed to flip the Virginia House of Representatives in a heated primary.

Several wins in key districts were claimed in an attempt to thwart Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda on topics such as abortion, education, and the economy.

These seats were taken back from Republicans who, in 2021, won a slim majority.

News outlets have stated that the Virginia elections may give a glimpse of the 2024 presidential cycle and show a rallying support for the Democratic Party.

Democrat Deon Tedder has secured Senate District 42 in South Carolina with an overwhelming majority of 82% of the vote.

He defeated his opponent Rosa Kay (R).

Tedder managed to win the seat after a very narrow primary against Wendell Gilliard (D).

The primary went into a runoff with Tedder securing the win by 11 votes.

Now Tedder aims to tackle criminal justice reform, public education, and housing.

Voters passed Issue 23, a ballot initiative amending the city charter in several ways.

Introduced by council member Liz Keating, the issue has been in the works for at least two years.

The main change is to amend the city charter to mirror state law regarding the ballot initiative process, requiring a copy of any initiative, referendum or charter amendment petition to be filed with the clerk of council before any signatures can be collected.

These would be made public so anyone could see what proposed amendments are circulating.

The amendment also limits initiatives to one subject and provides a cure period for insufficient signatures.

Issue 23 also updates the charter to reflect the fact that City Council terms were changed from four years to two years by a 2018 charter amendment and gives city council members the option to vote electronically in addition to voice votes.

Democrat Gabe Amo has won the election for Rhode Island House District 1.

He defeated his opponent, Gerry Leonard (R), and became the state’s first black candidate to be elected to congress.

He states that he “didn’t run to make history” and is eager to serve the state he loves.

He aims to use his position to fight for stronger gun control and to protect social security.

Amo’s other top priority is to ensure the federal government begin to function again.

Amo continues democratic holding of this particular seat.

Republican Andrew Stepp has secured an easy majority in Mississippi House District 23 with 72% of the vote.

He bested his opponents Andy Clark (I) and Danny Lampley (D) in the special election.

Governor Tate Reeves has won the 2023 Mississippi gubernational election by a narrow margin against Democrat Brandon Presley.

Gov. Reeves secured a slim majority of 51.8% of the votes in Mississippi and his opponent secured 46.9% with 95% of votes having been cast.

Gov. Reeves was predicted to have an easy victory but faced steep competition from his opponent.

A late endorsement from former president Trump may have pushed Reeves ahead.

The Texas Legislature adjourned its third special session November 7 and announced a fourth special session on the same day to address the unresolved issue of school vouchers.

In Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session proclamation, he acknowledged the Texas Legislature made progress over the past month protecting Texans from forced COVID-19 vaccinations and increasing penalties for human smuggling but said more work must be done.

The agenda items of the fourth special session include the establishment of an education savings account program, and state border security.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear won re-election to a second term over challenger, Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who prevailed in a crowded primary in May.

Beshear became governor in 2019, winning by a narrow margin in a historically conservative state.

As of this morning, Beshear won with 53% of the vote and Cameron received 47%.

A charter revision for Stamford, Connecticut failed to pass in yesterday’s election.

The ballot measure would have altered the appointment process for non-elected boards and commissions, changed allowing board members with expired terms to continue to hold seats and participate in voting, and allowed any member of the Board of Representatives to nominate a candidate to a board or commission in certain circumstances.

Additionally, the measure would change how outside legal counsel is retained by the Board and added residency requirements for certain non-elected city officials.

Both opponents and proponents of the charter revisions saw it as shifting power away from the mayor to the Board of Representatives.

Lauren McLean, the incumbent, has been elected Mayor for the city of Boise once again.

McLean defeated Mike Masterson, the former police chief, after receiving more than 50% of the vote.

Masterson, who had spent over 40 years in policing, ultimately ended up conceded the race late last evening.

McLean also beat out candidates Joe Evans and Aaron Reis with neither garnering much of the vote.

On November 7, citizens of Hartford, Connecticut elected Democrat Arunan Arulampalam.

Arulampalam, CEO of Hartford Land Bank, defeated Republican Mike McGarry and a variety of petitioning candidates.

Before becoming CEO, Arulampalam worked as a commissioner with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection.

Arulampalam will replace Mayor Luke Bronin, who did not seek reelection.

Democrats were able to keep their legislative majority after Tuesday’s election.

They won a key race by recovering a South Jersey seat that was lost two years ago and were able to combat Republican takeover in various competitive races across the state.

Democrats won a majority of the 40 seat Senate and 80 seat Assembly races through campaigning on women’s issues and were able to capitalize on the backlash received from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Eight candidates were vying for three seats on the Akron Public Schools board.

Former state representative and Akron City Council member Barbara Sykes was overwhelmingly elected with 25.72% of votes cast, over 10,000 more votes more than any other candidate.

Summer Hall earned the second seat with 13.47%, and incumbent Rene Molenaur secured her first full term on the board with 11.83%, according to unofficial results as of this morning based on all precincts reporting.

Each seat is for a four-year term.