Election Legislation Weekly Digest: December 23, 2022

By

Ethan Rice

Note: This digest will be taking a break next week for the holidays. We’ll be back in your inbox on January 6, 2023.

Here is our weekly round-up on election-related legislation. In it, you’ll find the following information: 

  • Noteworthy bills: Here, we identify and report on the contents and legislative status of noteworthy bills. 
  • Recent activity: Here, we report on the number of bills acted on within the past week. 
  • The big picture: Here, we look at the bills in the aggregate. 
    • Legislative status: How many bills have been introduced, voted upon, or enacted into law?
    • Concentration of activity: What states have seen the highest concentration of legislative activity?
    • Partisan affiliation of sponsorship: How many bills have been sponsored by Democrats vs. Republicans? 
    • Subject: What subjects are most commonly addressed in the bills? 
  • Pre-filed bills for 2023: Here, we look at bills pre-filed for 2023 legislative sessions.

Noteworthy bills

This part of our report highlights recent activity on specific noteworthy bills. A bill is noteworthy if it meets one or more of the following criteria: 

  • It has been enacted into law. 
  • It is poised to be enacted into law. 
  • It is the subject of significant debate in the legislature. 
  • It is the subject of significant commentary by activists, journalists, etc. 

Ohio HB458: This bill:

  • Changes the types of identification (ID) that are acceptable for voter registration and voting and requires an elector to have photo ID to vote in person.
  • Requires an Ohio driver’s license or ID number or the last four digits of the person’s Social Security number (SSN) for voter registration.
  • Shortens the deadline to apply to cast absent voter’s ballots by mail from noon on the third day before Election Day to the close of business on the seventh day before Election Day.
  • Requires the boards of elections to process absent voter’s ballots before the close of the polls on Election Day.
  • Eliminates local special elections held in August.

Legislative history: Ohio Rep. Thomas Hall (R) introduced the bill on Oct. 19, 2021. The Ohio House passed the bill on Dec. 9, and the Ohio Senate passed the bill on Dec. 13, 2022. 

Political context: Ohio has a Republican trifecta, meaning the Republican Party controls both the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature. 

Recent activity

Since December 16, no bills have been acted on (representing a decrease as compared to last week’s total of five bills). 

The bar chart below compares recent activity on a week-to-week basis over the last eight weeks. 

The big picture

To date, we have tracked 2,534 election-related bills. These bills were either introduced this year or crossed over from last year’s legislative sessions. 

Legislative status 

The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of the bills we are tracking. The following status indicators are used: 

  • Introduced: The bill has been pre-filed, introduced, or referred to committee but has not otherwise been acted upon.
  • Advanced from committee: The bill has received a favorable vote in committee. It has either advanced to another committee or to the floor for a vote. 
  • Passed one chamber: The bill has been approved by one legislative chamber.
  • Conference committee: Differing versions of the bill have been approved by their respective chambers and a conference committee has been appointed to reconcile the differences. 
  • Passed both chambers: The bill has cleared both chambers of the legislature. 
  • Enacted: The bill has been enacted into law, by gubernatorial action or inaction or veto override. 
  • Vetoed: The bill has been vetoed. 
  • Dead: The bill has been defeated in committee or by floor vote. 

The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of bills in Democratic and Republican trifectas, respectively. 

Concentration of activity

The map below visualizes the concentration of legislative activity across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been introduced. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of relevant bills. 

Partisan affiliation of sponsor(s)

The pie chart below visualizes the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors.

The bar chart below visualizes the correlation between the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors and trifecta status (e.g., how many Democratic-sponsored bills were introduced in Democratic trifectas vs. Republican trifectas).

Bills by topic

The chart below presents information on the total number of bills dealing with particular topics. The number listed on the blue portion of each bar indicates the number of Democratic-sponsored bills dealing with the subject in question. The number listed on the red portion of the bar indicates the number of Republican-sponsored bills. The purple and gray portions of the bar indicate the number of bipartisan-sponsored bills and bills with unspecified sponsorship, respectively. Note that the numbers listed here will not, when summed, equal the total number of bills because some bills deal with multiple topics.

Bills pre-filed for 2023 legislative sessions

To date, Ballotpedia has identified 198 pre-filed bills for 2023 legislative sessions in 11 states. The charts and map below show the number of pre-filed bills by state, partisan sponsorship, and state trifecta status. 

Concentration of activity

The map below visualizes the concentration of pre-filed legislation across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been introduced. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of relevant bills. 

Partisan affiliation of sponsor(s)

The pie chart below visualizes the partisan affiliation of pre-filed bill sponsors.

State trifecta status

The pie chart below visualizes the state trifecta status of pre-filed bills.