Year: 2024
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California voters decided on the highest number of local ballot measures in more than a decade
In 2024, California voters decided on 842 local ballot measures on five different election dates. This is the greatest number of local ballot measures decided in California from 2014 to 2024. Voters decided most of the ballot measures during the general election on Nov. 5, 2024, when 697 local measures were on the ballot. However,…
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Number of local ballot measures in the 100 largest cities and state capitals has increased every election cycle since 2018
In 2024, Ballotpedia covered local measures that appeared on the ballot for voters within the top 100 largest cities in the U.S. and in the state capitals not among the 100 largest cities. There were 502 local measures across 37 states on the ballot for voters in the top 100 largest cities and state capitals…
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Approval rate for constitutional amendments in 2024 hits lowest level since 2005
In 2024, voters in 35 states decided on 96 constitutional amendments, approving 60 (63%) and rejecting 36 (38%). The approval rate was the lowest since 2005, when voters approved 14 (54%) of the 26 amendments appearing on statewide ballots. From 2003 through 2024, odd-year election cycles featured a higher average approval rate for proposed constitutional…
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SNAP work requirements 2024 state legislation roundup
Ballotpedia tracked two state bills related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements that were enacted in 2024. One was a Florida bill that expanded work requirements for SNAP benefits by increasing the age for which requirements still apply beyond the federally set age. The other bill was in Louisiana and limited the…
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2024 marks three-year low in elected officials targeted for recall
In 2024, Ballotpedia tracked the fewest recall efforts and officials targeted for recall since 2020. From January 1 through December 20, 2024, 244 recall efforts were launched against 381 officials. This was higher than the 238 efforts targeting 301 officials in 2020, but it marks the third consecutive year of decline since the 2021 peak,…
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ICYMI: Top stories of the week
The 2024 Cookie Election winner… Sugar Cookie This year’s Cookie Election was close enough to have many of us hanging on the edge of our seats. With 100% of precincts reporting, a winner has emerged: Sugar Cookie wins Ballotpedia’s 2024 Holiday Cookie Election with 29.5% of the vote. Here are the final results as of…
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No members of Congress have announced 2026 retirement plans since Nov. 27
No members of the U.S. Congress have announced plans to not seek re-election in 2026 since Nov. 27. That means the total number of congressional retirements for 2026 remains at one. The last incumbent to announce their retirement was Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who said he would not seek re-election to the U.S. House of…
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44% of December’s elections were uncontested
Throughout December, Ballotpedia covered 123 elections in 13 states, 44% of which were uncontested. That’s down from November, when 65% of the 40,710 covered were uncontested. Ballotpedia defines an uncontested election as one where the number of candidates running is less than or equal to the number of seats up for election. This analysis does…
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Campaigns for abortion rights measures raised eight times more than opposing campaigns in 2024
In 2024, voters in ten states—Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota—decided on 11 abortion-related ballot measures in Nov. 2024. This is the most on record for a single year. Ten addressed state constitutional rights to abortion. Voters approved seven of them in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New…