April 1, 2019

Welcome to the Monday, April 1 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Nearly 2,000 candidates responded to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey in 2018
2. Miami will host first set of Democratic presidential primary debates
3. Kansas will decide constitutional amendment in 2019 to end practice of adjusting census data

Nearly 2,000 candidates responded to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey in 2018

In 2018, Ballotpedia introduced a new initiative to help voters better understand those who were seeking to be their representative at all levels of government—Candidate Connection. We surveyed candidates at the federal, state, and local levels to learn more about their backgrounds, priorities, and proposed solutions to the issues faced by their communities.

A total of 1,957 candidates responded to our survey. They came from all but two of the 50 states and ran for all levels of government from school board to U.S. Senate. The largest number of candidate respondents in 2018 came from Texas with 186 of them answering Ballotpedia's candidate survey.

A majority of respondents—56 percent—ran for either the state House or state Senate. Almost one-quarter, 24 percent, of our survey respondents won their elections.

Learn more about these candidates in our new report, which also highlights a few notable candidates who completed the survey, identifies the respondents who won their elections, and lists all 1,957 respondents who sent in answers.

Learn more

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Miami will host first set of Democratic presidential primary debates

The Democratic National Committee announced last week that the first set of Democratic primary debates will be held in Miami, Florida, on June 26 and 27. The debates will be broadcast by NBC News, MSNBC, and Telemundo.

A candidate can qualify for these debates based on two factors—polling performance or fundraising from individual donors.

• Under the first option, a candidate must receive 1 percent support or more in three national or early state polls from a select list of organizations and institutions.
• Under the second option, a candidate must receive donations from at least 65,000 unique individual donors. Additionally, they must have a minimum of 200 unique donors per state in at least 20 states.

No more than 20 candidates—10 candidates on stage each night—will be able to participate.

Also last week, Wayne Messam, the mayor of Miramar, Florida, brought the number of notable Democratic candidates in the race to 16. He formally announced that he was running for president after having launched a presidential exploratory committee two weeks ago.

Kansas will decide constitutional amendment in 2019 to end practice of adjusting census data

In 2019, voters in Kansas will decide a ballot measure to end a process that requires the state to adjust its census population during the process of state legislative redistricting. Kansas is the only state that adjusts its census population when redistricting.

Before 1988, Kansas redrew state legislative districts based on the state government's own census. In 1988, voters approved a constitutional amendment to use the decennial federal census for state legislative redistricting, with adjustments to (1) exclude nonresident military personnel stationed in Kansas and nonresident students, and (2) include resident military personnel and students in the district of their permanent residence.

Secretary of State Scott Schwab (R), who supports the ballot measure, said the state expects to spend $834,000 to adjust the 2020 U.S. Census. He said the state would hire a private consultant for the adjustment, who would contact resident military personnel and students to determine where they want to be counted.

The ballot measure to be voted on this year would eliminate the requirement to adjust the census data for state legislative redistricting. It was approved unanimously by the state Senate on March 14, and by the state House by a margin of 117 to seven on March 27. As a constitutional amendment, the governor's signature is not required.

Following the 2010 federal census, Kansas used a mix of electronic and paper questionnaires to make the adjustments for military personnel and students. Riley County, Kansas, was the only county with a negative adjustment for redistricting purposes of over two percent, as the county’s population was reduced by 11,017 residents, a 15.5 percent decline. Riley County is home to Kansas State University and the U.S. Army's Fort Riley.