The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration, April 12, 2024

By

Ethan Rice

States approved 26 election-related bills since our last edition, compared to 17 in 2023 and 16 in 2022 during week 15.

Welcome to The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration. Every Friday, we deliver the latest updates on election policy around the country, including nationwide trends and recent legislative activity.

We want to hear from you! Click here to take a short survey letting us know what you like about The Ballot Bulletin and how we can improve our coverage of election-related legislation.

Legislative highlights

  • Twenty-six bills have been approved since our last edition. One hundred thirty-one bills have been enacted so far in 2024, compared to 156 in 2023 and 94 in 2022. 
  • State legislatures acted on 232 bills this week, 19 fewer than last week. 
  • Democrats sponsored 103 (44.4%) of the bills active over the past week, and Republicans sponsored 97 (41.8%) bills. Eighteen (7.8%) bills had bipartisan sponsorship. Fourteen (6%) bills had sponsors other than Democrats or Republicans, such as nonpartisan lawmakers or committee sponsorship. 
  • One hundred eighteen (50.9%) are in states with Democratic trifectas, 79 (34.1%) are in states with Republican trifectas, and 35 (15.1%) are in states with a divided government. 
  • One hundred thirty-six bills passed one or both chambers or were enacted this week. Fifteen were in Democratic trifectas, and of those, Democrats sponsored eight. Thirty-seven were in Republican trifectas, and of those, Republicans sponsored 29.
  • The top bill topics this week were:
    • Election types and contest-specific procedures (57)
    • Voter registration and list maintenance (32)
    • Election Day voting (18)
    • Audits and oversight (17)
    • Absentee/mail-in voting (16)
    • Ballot access (16)

    Recent activity

    Enacted bills

    States approved 26 election-related bills since our last edition, compared to 17 in 2023 and 16 in 2022 during the same period. To see all enacted bills, click here. 

    Arizona (divided government)

    • AZ HB2482: Voter registration changes; text notice

    Colorado (Democratic trifecta)

    • CO HB1067: Ballot Access for Candidates with Disabilities

    Connecticut (Democratic trifecta)

    • CT HJ00216: Resolution Proposing A State Constitutional Amendment To Allow Individuals Who Have Attained The Age Of Sixteen To Apply For Admission As Electors And To Be So Admitted Upon Attaining The Age Of Eighteen.

    Idaho (Republican trifecta)

    • ID S1377: Amends existing law to require paid signature gatherers to disclose that they are being paid and to revise provisions regarding the collection of signatures for ballot measures.

    Kansas (divided government)

    • KS HB2661: Requiring vacancies in county commissioner districts created by an increase in the number of commissioner districts be filled at the next general election and providing for staggered terms for such newly elected county commissioners.

    Maryland (Democratic trifecta)

    • MD HB585: Protecting Election Officials Act of 2024
    • MD SB480: Protecting Election Officials Act of 2024

    Tennessee (Republican trifecta)

    • TN HB2443: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 18, Chapter 6, relative to office qualifications.
    • TN SB2284: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 18, Chapter 6, relative to office qualifications.
    • TN SB1838: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 16, Chapter 2, relative to judicial districts.
    • TN HB2715: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 16, Chapter 2, relative to judicial districts.
    • TN SB2944: AN ACT to amend Chapter 14 of the Private Acts of 2011; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the City of Trenton.
    • TN HB2980: AN ACT to amend Chapter 333 of the Private Acts of 1953; as rewritten by Chapter 54 of the Private Acts of 1991; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the City of Cottage Grove.

    Virginia (divided government)

    • VA HB998: Conduct of elections; electoral board to meet and ascertain results.
    • VA HB1330: Absentee voting; persons confined awaiting trial or for conviction of a misdemeanor.
    • VA HB940: Elections administration; change to location of polling place, additional notice requirement.
    • VA SB605: Polling place; assistance for certain voters, clarifies definition of “person with a disability.”
    • VA HB989: Elections administration; duties of Dept. of Elections, required election and voter participation.
    • VA HB1512: Martinsville, City of; amending charter, notice of special meetings to council members.
    • VA HB1511: Martinsville, City of; amending charter, granting of town status.
    • VA SB165: Candidates for office; petition of qualified voters, start date.
    • VA SB309: Smithfield, Town of; amending charter, municipal elections, repealing outdated provisions.
    • VA SB475: Pulaski, Town of; amending charter, municipal elections.
    • VA HB1127: Pulaski, Town of; amending charter, municipal elections.
    • VA HB91: Smithfield, Town of; amending charter, municipal elections, repealing outdated provisions.
    • VA HB1208: Portsmouth, City of; amending charter, aligning dates for nomination of candidates.

    Bills that passed both chambers

    Twenty-seven bills have passed both chambers since our last edition and await gubernatorial action. To see all bills that have currently passed both chambers, click here.

    Vetoed bills

    Governors vetoed eight bills since our last edition. One bill was vetoed during this period in 2023, and one was vetoed in 2022. To see all vetoed bills, click here.

    Kentucky (divided government)

    • KY HB622: AN ACT relating to elections and declaring an emergency.
    • KY HB388: AN ACT relating to local government and declaring an emergency.
    • KY HB44: AN ACT relating to elections.

    Virginia (divided government)

    • VA HB1408: Voter satellite offices; standards and guidelines for determining number and location.
    • VA HB1534: Voter or voter’s registration; challenges to candidate qualifications or eligibility.
    • VA HB623: Rights of voters; covered practices, civil cause of action, standing, jurisdiction, and venue.
    • VA HB26: Voter identification; accepted forms of identification, private entities licensed or certified.
    • VA SB428: Elections; ranked choice voting, locally elected offices.

    Recent activity by topic and sponsorship

    The chart below shows the topics and partisan sponsorship of the bills with legislative activity since our last edition. Click here to see a full list of bill categories and their definitions.

    * Note: Contest-specific procedures refer to primary systems, municipal election procedures, recall elections, special election procedures, and other systems unique to a particular election type. 

    Recent activity by state and trifecta status

    Of the 232 bills with activity this week, 118 (50.9%) are in states with Democratic trifectas, 79 (34.1%) are in states with Republican trifectas, and 35 (15.1%) are in states with a divided government.

    The map below shows election-related bills acted on in the past week by state trifecta status.

    All legislation

    Enacted bills by sponsorship and trifecta status

    States have enacted 131 bills so far this year, compared to 156 bills in 2023 and 94 in 2022. The chart below shows the number and partisan sponsorship of enacted bills in 2024, 2023, and 2022.

    Twenty-eight of the election-related bills passed this year (21.4%) are in states with Democratic trifectas, 73 (55.7%) are in states with a Republican trifecta, and 30 (22.9%) are in states with a divided government. The table below shows the number of enacted election-related bills introduced by trifecta status this year compared to 2023 and 2022.

    All bills by topic and sponsorship

    The chart below displays the topic and sponsorship of a sample of the 3,440 total bills we’ve followed this year. Note that the sums of the numbers listed do not equal the total number of bills because some bills deal with multiple topics.  

    All bills by sponsorship and trifecta status

    Of all the election-related bills introduced this year, 1016 (30%) are Democrat-sponsored bills in Democratic trifecta states. Republicans sponsored 744 (22%) bills in states with Republican trifectas.

    The chart below shows the percentage of all election-related bills by sponsorship and trifecta status.

    All bills by state and trifecta status

    Of all the election-related bills introduced this year, 1,578 (45.9%) are in states with Democratic trifectas, 1,267 (36.8%) are in states with Republican trifectas, and 595 (17.3%) are in states with divided governments. 

    Of all active bills in 2023, 42% were in states with Democratic trifectas, 43.8% were in states with Republican trifectas, and 14.2% were in states with divided governments. In 2022, 37.8% of bills were in states with Democratic trifectas, 30.4% were in states with Republican trifectas, and 31.8% were in states with divided governments.

    The map below shows the number of election-related bills introduced by state and trifecta status this year.