New Mexico completes state legislative redistricting
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed the state’s new Senate district map into law on Jan. 6. The map will take effect for New Mexico’s 2022 elections. New Mexico was the 28th state to complete legislative redistricting after the 2020 census.
Six of 11 wave elections in the U.S. House took place during a president’s first midterm election
According to our definition, a U.S. House election cycle qualifies as a wave election if the president’s party loses at least 48 seats. Between 1918 and 2016, 11 wave elections took place in the U.S. House. Six of these waves occurred during a president’s first midterm election.
36 states hold two or more top-ballot statewide elections in 2022
In 2022, 36 states are holding elections for two or more top-ballot statewide offices. We define those offices to include: U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. Twenty-six states are holding elections for governor and a U.S. Senator.
California voters decided 46 local ballot measures last year
California voters decided 46 local ballot measures on seven different election dates and ultimately approved 35 (76.1%) of them in 2021. Altogether, there were 57% fewer local measures in California last year than the average number of measures during the last three odd-year election cycles.
There were 173 vacancies in state legislatures in 2021
Ballotpedia tracked 173 state legislative vacancies across 43 states in 2021. As of Jan. 6, 2022, 130 of those vacancies have been filled. Of the 43 remaining, 24 have special elections scheduled for sometime in 2022 and 19 are awaiting appointees.