This Week in Research: June 27 – June 30

Highlights from the Week

1. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, June 24th. Roe v Wade was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court in 1973 in which it was ruled that the US Constitution protects the right of a pregnant person to access abortion. With the ruling overturned, states will now have the freedom to enact abortion restrictions that may have been previously struck down. To see what laws your state has passed regarding abortion, click here. To see statements from members of Congress regarding abortion, click here.

2. Pressure on Democratic officials has intensified with calls to enact federaslation protecting the right to abortion. In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, June 27th, Vice President Kamala Harris was asked how she would respond to Democratic voters who may be disappointed by perceived inaction on the part of the Democratic party. Click here to see Harris’s remarks from that interview, or click here to see all speeches from the executive branch on the topic of abortion.

3. Between June 20th and June 30th, the Supreme Court of the United States released 14 decisions, many of which generated considerable coverage in the press. To see statements from members of Congress on Judicial topics, click here.

• On June 21st the court sided with NCAA athletes in a decision saying that the NCAA’s limits on scholarships and compensation for collegiate athletes is illegal under antitrust laws, designed to encourage competition. To see statements from members of Congress on Higher Education, click here.

• On June 23rd the court upheld an earlier decision in the case of a high school student who was suspended from the JV cheerleading team at her school after criticizing the cheerleading team online. The court ruled that the student’s free speech rights were infringed upon by the school when they removed her from the team because her statements did not cause substantial disruption to the school. To see statements from members of Congress on K-12 topics, click here.

• In the case of Lange v. California, the Supreme Court ruled on June 23rd that the pursuit of a misdemeanor suspect who is fleeing CAN justify a warrantless entry into the suspect's home in some circumstances. This ruling, based on the 4th amendment, gives police officers leeway in determining whether a situation meets the circumstances required for warrantless entry. To see statements from members of Congress on Criminal Justice, click here.

Elections

By the Elections Research team (Noah, Seth, Nick, Caleb, & Anthony) and Elections Interns (Andres, Liam, Luke, Muzhi, Ephriam, Hugh, Riley, Mia, & Charles) Elections: Want to learn more about the candidates running in primary elections? You can see the full list of candidates running for various offices by state below:

• New Hampshire

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

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  • State Legislative Primary Candidates

• Florida

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

  • Gubernatorial Primary Candidates

  • Statewide Primary Candidates

  • State Legislative Primary Candidates

Want to learn more about the results from the primary elections this week? Please click on the office you would like to view for the states below:

• Colorado

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

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  • Statewide Primary Candidates

  • State Legislative Primary Candidates

• Illinois

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

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  • State Judicial Primary Candidates

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• New York

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

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• Oklahoma

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

  • Gubernatorial Primary Candidates

  • Statewide Primary Candidates

  • State Legislative Primary Candidates

• Utah

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

  • Statewide Primary Candidates

  • State Legislative Primary Candidates

Want to learn more about the results from the primary runoff elections this week? Please click on the office you would like to view for the states below:

• Mississippi

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

• South Carolina

  • Congressional Primary Candidates

  • Statewide Primary Candidates

  • State Legislative Primary Candidates

Biographies: Want to learn more about the candidates running in New York Congressional primary elections? You can see the full list of candidates running here. If you want to learn more about a candidate, click on a candidate and go to their ‘Bio’ tab to learn more. Want to learn more about the candidates running in Arkansas Statewide Primary Candidates primary elections? You can see the full list of candidates running here. If you want to learn more about a candidate, click on a candidate and go to their ‘Bio’ tab to learn more.

Issue Positions/Political Courage Test:

Want to learn more about the candidates who are currently being tested and their responses to the Political Courage Test? You can see the full list of candidates, their responses, and response rates running for various offices below:

• Alabama Congressional Primary Candidates

• Alaska Congressional Primary Candidates

• Arkansas Congressional Primary Candidates

• Arizona Congressional Primary Candidates

• California Congressional Primary Candidates

• Colorado Congressional Primary Candidates

• Connecticut Congressional Primary Candidates

• Florida Congressional Primary Candidates

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• Nebraska Congressional Primary Candidates

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• Oregon Congressional Primary Candidates

• Pennsylvania Congressional Primary Candidates

• South Carolina Congressional Primary Candidates

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• Tennessee Congressional Primary Candidates

• Texas Congressional Primary Candidates

• Virginia Congressional Primary Candidates

• Vermont Congressional Primary Candidates

• Washington Congressional Primary Candidates

• West Virginia Congressional Primary Candidates

• Wisconsin Congressional Primary Candidates

• Wyoming Congressional Primary Candidates

Officials

By the Officials Research team: Thomas, Bibi, Eliana, Johanan, Neal, Jake, Craig, Israel, Wyatt, and Katie

Public Statements: 4,460 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.

Key Votes:

• States: 41 new votes were added, 9 bills were updated with new information.

  • The California House of Representatives passed AB 1666, prohibiting the state from recogizing lawsuits over out-of-state abortions. This bill would prohibit legal action against non-resident who travel to California to receive abortion services.

  • The governor of Louisiana signed into law HB 450, which authorizes access to Original Birth Certificates for adoptees over the age of 24. This is a win for many Louisiana adoptees who had been fighting for access to these records which can provide insights into health problems and family history.

  • In Pennsylvania, a bill was passed by the House of Representatives which limits access to public records for incarcerated individuals and clarifies language and policies surrounding public records in the state. The bill defines “vexatious requesters” as people who intend to harass or annoy local agencies by submitting public information requests and authorizes those agencies to seek relief from alleged “vexatious requests”. The bill outlines police blotter information as public records and increases penalties for bad faith denials of public records and destruction of records.

• Federal Legislation: 2 new votes were added.

• The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed by the House, Senate, and signed into law by Joe Biden on June 25th, 2022. This bill amends and appropriates funds for gun reform, including expanding access to mental health services, increasing the background check requirements for buying firearms under 21, and establishing a federal standard on school safety. The bill also closed the “boyfriend loophole” in domestic violence legislation (as it has been nicknamed), which allowed individuals who were convicted of domestic violence to acquire firearms as long as the victim was not married to the offender.

Special Interest Groups

• There were 90 endorsements and 26 ratings released to the live web this week, which can be viewed here (organized by group). This year to date, the SIGs team has rated 69,350 candidates and entered endorsements for 10,188 candidates.