Welcome to the Tuesday, February 6, Brew.
By: Samuel Wonacott
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Just in time for Super Tuesday – announcing Ballotpedia’s new Sample Ballot Lookup Tool
- Governors in states with divided government vetoed the most election legislation in 2023
- Democratic party committees outraised Republican counterparts every month in 2023
Just in time for Super Tuesday – announcing Ballotpedia’s new Sample Ballot Lookup Tool
Our free Sample Ballot Lookup Tool is central to our mission to solve the ballot information problem—helping millions of voters find meaningful information about the candidates and measures on their ballots. Now, just in time for Super Tuesday, we’re pleased to announce the launch of our new and improved Sample Ballot Lookup Tool.
We’ve offered a sample ballot lookup tool since 2014—and tens of millions of people have used it since then to help them prepare to vote. Now, we’ve upgraded the tool with more features.
Now in English and Spanish, this tool is America’s most trusted, user-friendly, and comprehensive sample ballot.
New features include:
- Candidate comparisons
- Time to use estimates
- User-controlled level of information detail
- Improved usability and accessibility
- In-depth policy explainers
Voters can use the tool to see and compare candidates in upcoming elections within Ballotpedia’s scope, read candidate biographies and Candidate Connection survey responses, view past election results, and explore additional background information on offices, districts, and more. The tool allows you to explore the ballot measures we cover, including summaries, campaign finance, and arguments for and against every measure on your ballot.
When a candidate has completed the Candidate Connection survey and uses certain keywords, voters can select the following icon to go deeper into a range of issues, like voting policy, public-sector unions, and healthcare policy:
For example, if a candidate uses the word primary in the survey, voters can click the blue icon to learn more about voting regulations and how elections are run—all within the Sample Ballot Lookup Tool. These issue summaries can also be read in Spanish.
Using the tool is as simple as plugging in your address. We don’t store or retain your information. You can safely and securely learn about what will be on your ballot.
Bookmark the link and come back anytime you are getting ready to vote.
Click here to see what’s on your ballot
Governors in states with divided government vetoed most election legislation in 2023
According to our Election Administration Legislation Tracker, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed more election-related bills than any other governor in 2023—both in terms of total bills and the percentage of election-related bills introduced. Hobbs vetoed 21 bills, or 29% of all election-related bills introduced in the Arizona Legislature last year.
Among the bills Hobbs vetoed was SB1265, which would have banned ranked-choice voting in the state. Hobbs also vetoed HB2308, which would have required the secretary of state to recuse themselves from overseeing an election in which they were a candidate.
Arizona has a divided government, with Republicans controlling both chambers of the legislature and Democrats maintaining control of the governorship.
Governors in Arizona, Nevada, Louisiana, and Wisconsin—all states with divided governments—vetoed the most election-related legislation in 2023.
- Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) of Nevada vetoed seven election-related bills, or 17% of those introduced.
- Former Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) of Louisiana vetoed three bills, or 12% of those introduced. Both Nevada and Louisiana had divided governments in 2023.
- In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers (D) vetoed three election bills, or 4% of those introduced. Due to the nature of Wisconsin’s legislative calendar, the Republican-controlled legislature may still attempt to override Evers’ vetoes.
Other findings from our report include:
- In North Carolina, the Republican-controlled legislature overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) two vetoes of election-related bills. Republicans control both chambers of the legislature in North Carolina.
- Only one governor in a state with a partisan trifecta, Gavin Newsom (D) of California, vetoed more than one election-related bill last year. Newsom vetoed two bills (3% of all introduced) related to local redistricting.
- In Republican trifecta states, Gov. Doug Burgum (R) of North Dakota vetoed HB1273, a bill that would have banned approval and ranked-choice voting in the state.
Explore all vetoed election-related bills in 2023 here.
Every Friday, we send out the Ballot Bulletin—a newsletter about election-related policy and legislation. Among other things, the newsletter provides in-depth coverage of legislative trends and bill activity using data pulled from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Here’s an update on what happened in election policy last week:
- State legislatures acted on 316 bills this week, 42 more than the week before. Top bill topics included election types and contest-specific procedures (29), Absentee/mail-in voting (15), and Alternative voting methods (14).
- Democrats sponsored 93 (29.4%) of the 316 bills active over the past week, and Republicans sponsored 169 (53.5%) bills. Thirty-one (9.8%) bills had bipartisan sponsorship. Twenty-three (7.3%) bills had sponsors other than Democrats or Republicans, such as nonpartisan lawmakers or committee sponsorship.
- However, no bills were enacted.
Read more in the latest edition of the Ballot Bulletin, or click below to subscribe.
Democratic party committees outraised Republican counterparts every month in 2023
In the 2024 election, the three committees associated with the Democratic Party have raised $315 million and the three committees associated with the Republican Party have raised $257 million—less than the amount those committees had raised at this point in the 2021-2022 election cycle.
Every month throughout 2023, the three Democratic committees cumulatively outraised their Republican counterparts every month. These figures are according to data recently filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that run through Dec. 31, 2023.
The three Democratic committees are:
- The Democratic National Committee (DNC)
- The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC)
- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
The three Republican committees are:
- The Republican National Committee (RNC)
- National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC)
- The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
The Democratic committees’ cumulative receipts through December ($315 million) outpace their receipts at this point in the 2020 election cycle ($279 million), but are less than than their receipts at this point in the 2022 election cycle ($388 million). On the Republican side, the three committees have raised $257 million, less than this point in the 2020 ($394 million) and 2022 ($403 million) cycles.
Click below to read more about party committee fundraising.