EDITORS:
Several states hold off-year elections on Tue., Nov. 7, with voters electing mayors in cities including Houston, Philadelphia and Uvalde, Texas; electing governors in Kentucky and Mississippi; weighing in on ballot measures, from property taxes in Colorado to abortion and property taxes in Ohio; and deciding several legislative races.
The AP’s coverage plans are below and in AP Newsroom’s Coverage Plan.
Find our election coverage, election results and AP VoteCast in the U.S. Elections hub in AP Newsroom.
TEXT:
ELECTION 2023-DECISION NOTES-VIRGINIA – Control of Virginia’s legislature is up for grabs in Tuesday’s off-year general election. Republicans hold a slim majority in the House of Delegates, while Democrats hold an equally narrow majority in the state Senate. All 40 state Senate seats and 100 state House seats will be on the ballot. But the balance of power will likely be determined by a handful of competitive districts in northern, central and southwest Virginia. SENT: 1,070 words, photo.
ELECTION 2023-MAINE-ELECTRIC UTILITIES – Taking a page from the “throw-the-bums-out” script in politics, Mainers will vote on whether to rid themselves of the state’s two biggest private electric utilities. The referendum on the November ballot is unprecedented. It would forcibly dismantle Central Maine Power and Versant Power and create a nonprofit utility with a board composed of elected and appointed members to operate the state power grid. SENT: 1,050 words, photo.
ELECTION 2023-MICHIGAN-MAYORAL – Democrats in Michigan who hold power in the governor’s office and slim majorities in both chambers of the Legislature may be at risk of temporarily losing full control, depending on the results of two mayoral elections Tuesday. SENT: 350 words, photo.
ELECTION 2023-MISSISSIPPI-BLACK VOTERS – Mississippi’s long history of voter suppression has created widespread voter fatigue among Black residents in a state where they account for nearly 40% of the population. But this year’s elections have given reason for renewed optimism. The governor’s race appears competitive and is attracting national attention. Tuesday’s election also happens to be the first one to be held without the burden of an unusual post-Reconstruction constitutional provision that had made it virtually impossible for Black candidates to win on a statewide basis. SENT: 1,270 words, photos.
ELECTION 2023-PENNSYLVANIA-COURTS – Pennsylvania voters will settle four statewide judicial contests in Tuesday’s election, filling an open seat on the state Supreme Court and three seats on two lower appellate courts. The state Supreme Court election is the marquee race on the ballot in the presidential battleground state. SENT: 710 words, photos.
ELECTION 2023-UVALDE MAYOR – Kimberly Mata-Rubio’s 10-year-old daughter was one of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the May 24, 2022, shooting in Uvalde, Texas. After a year of advocating for gun control and school safety at the state and federal level, Mata-Rubio is getting her start in politics at the local level by running to become Uvalde’s first female mayor. SENT: 975 words, photos, video.
ELECTION 2023-VIRGINIA – Voters are set to make a critical decision in the Virginia legislative elections. They’ll decide on Tuesday whether to give the GOP full state government control for the first time in a decade or empower Democratic legislators to keep serving as a check on Republican Gov. Youngkin’s agenda. The outcome may hinge on what voters think of Youngkin’s proposed new limits on abortion access. SENT: 1,200 words, photos.
ELECTION 2023-VIRGINIA-SCHOOL BOARDS – Over the past three years, local school board elections have become the place where America’s deep political divisions are on full display. In Tuesday’s races in Virginia, far-right candidates are looking to take over a number of school boards or expand their slim majorities from past elections. SENT: 2,495 words, photos, video. There is also an abridged version of 1,000 words available.
ELECTION 2023-WHAT TO WATCH – The most-watched races in Tuesday’s off-year general election have all been dominated by the ongoing debate over abortion rights. It’s a common theme in American politics since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision last year overturning Roe vs. Wade. SENT: 900 words, photos.
UPCOMING:
ELECTION 2023 – Continuing coverage of the 2023 general election is planned. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-TAKEAWAYS – Takeaways from key races in the 2023 general election. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-LIVE UPDATES – Live updates from the 2023 general election. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-COLORADO – As state’s struggle to keep property taxes in check as home prices soar nationwide, Colorado voters will decide in the November election whether to lower property taxes and make up the lost revenue by eating into the state’s tax refund – which returned $750 to each taxpayer last year. A second Colorado ballot measure would permit more funds from a tobacco tax to go toward the state’s new universal preschool program. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-CONNECTICUT – Mayoral races in Bridgeport, where two Democrats are accusing each other of ballot box stuffing, and Derby, a small city where the incumbent Republican is in danger of being unseated by a candidate awaiting trial for entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-HOUSTON MAYOR – Houston elects a new mayor but maybe not a fresh face. The two leading Democrats in the crowded race, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire, are both in their 70s and already local institutions as they seek to lead the nation’s fourth-largest city. A runoff, if needed, is scheduled for Dec. 9. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-KENTUCKY – Democratic incumbent Gov. Steve Beshear faces Republican David Cameron in the Kentucky governor’s race. Other prominent races may also wrap into coverage on merits. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; on merits.
ELECTION 2023-KENTUCKY-EXPLAINER – On merits explanatory coverage of the Kentucky governor’s race. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; on merits.
ELECTION 2023-MAINE – Maine voters face a busy ballot in an off-year election dominated by a decision about whether to replace the state’s two much-criticized private electric utilities. Voters were also set to decide whether to restore language about honoring obligations to Native American tribes to printed versions of the constitution. Other referendums included a vote on whether to attempt to curb influence from foreign governments and entities on state politics. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-MISSISSIPPI – Republican incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves faces Democrat Brandon Preley in the Mississippi governor’s race. Other key Mississippi races may wrap into coverage on merits. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; on merits.
ELECTION 2023-NEW JERSEY – The balance of power is at stake in New Jersey’s legislative elections. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-OHIO-MARIJUANA – Voters will decide whether to legalize adult use of cannabis. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-OHIO-ABORTION – A ballot measure in Ohio will determine if abortion rights are ensconced in the state’s constitution. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-OHIO-ABORTION-EXPLAINER – On merits explanatory coverage of the Ohio abortion ballot measure vote. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; on merits.
ELECTION 2023-PENNSYLVANIA – Philadelphia will get a new mayor, there will be a new Allegheny County executive in Pittsburgh, and the district attorney race in Pittsburgh pits Allegheny County’s public defender, the Democrat who won the primary, against longtime incumbent Stephen Zappala, running as a Republican after being beat in the primary. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-PENNSYLVANIA COURTS – Voters fill a state Supreme Court vacancy that will leave it with a Democratic majority of either 5-2 or 4-3, and elect two judges for Superior and one for Commonwealth court. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-RHODE ISLAND – Democrat Gabe Amo faces Republican Gerry Leonard to win Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District seat. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-UVALDE MAYOR – A Uvalde mother who has been outspoken about the failures of police during the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting is running for mayor of the small Texas town. Kimberly Mata-Rubio’s daughter, Lexi, was among the 19 children and two teachers killed in one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-VIRGINIA – Democrats and Republicans are vying to win majorities in the Virginia legislature. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; will be updated.
ELECTION 2023-VIRGINIA-EXPLAINER – On merits explanatory coverage of the Virginia legislative elections. UPCOMING on Tue., Nov. 7; on merits.
PHOTOS:
Photo coverage expected throughout day and night from polling stations and candidates in various states.
In Kentucky, freelancers are staffing the Beshear and Cameron watch parties; we’ll also have voter features from polling locations,
In Virginia, freelancers are staffing Richmond-area polling locations and events; we’ll also have file photos and handouts of candidates in key races.
VIDEO:
Live coverage is planned of the Houston, Philadelphia and Uvalde mayoral races; the Kentucky and Mississippi governor’s races; and, in Ohio, rallies/speeches from Issue 1, the ballot measure that seeks to protect abortion access.
Live coverage from polling locations, including of live voting and voter voices, including from New York, Texas and Virginia.
Live beauty shots from throughout the U.S. are planned, including from the National Mall in Washington.
Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits of the Houston and Philadelphia mayoral races; the Kentucky governor’s race; ballot questions from Ohio on abortion and marijuana; polling locations and voter voices; and analysis are planned.
AUDIO:
Actualities, soundbites and wraps are planned.
— The AP
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