Welcome to the Friday, Oct. 18, Brew.
By: Mercedes Yanora and Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Top 15 elections to watch this Nov. 5
- 50 states in 25 days – Texas and Colorado
- Did you know that in 28 states (and Washington, D.C.) employers are required to provide you with time off to vote?
Top 15 elections to watch this Nov. 5
Our editorial staff will cover 9,827 races on Election Night. Our team has selected 15 elections from that coverage to make up our list of the most important, compelling, and competitive elections in the country.
Our editorial department selected these elections based on past election results, unique election-specific circumstances, and election forecasters’ race ratings. The final selections were made with the goal of including a mix of federal and state races. There’s a lot to monitor this Nov. 5—and this list is by no means comprehensive—but here’s our take on 15 races to pay attention to.
Below, we provide a quick summary of each race and a link to our more extensive coverage on Ballotpedia.
California’s 13th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. John Duarte (R) and Adam Gray (D) are running in a rematch. In 2022, Duarte defeated Gray by 0.4 percentage points.
New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Gabriel Vasquez (D) and Yvette Herrell (R) are running in a rematch. In 2022, Vasquez defeated Herrell by 0.7 percentage points.
New York’s 17th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Michael Lawler (R/Conservative Party), Mondaire Jones (D), and Anthony Frascone (Working Families Party) are running for a seat Republicans won in 2022.
Oregon’s 5th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R), Janelle Bynum (D), and four other candidates are running for a seat that Republicans won in 2022.
Washington’s 3rd Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (D) and Joe Kent (R) are running in a rematch. In 2022, Gluesenkamp Pérez defeated Kent by 0.8 percentage points.
U.S. Senate election in Michigan: Elissa Slotkin (D), Mike Rogers (R), and four other candidates are running to succeed retiring incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D).
U.S. Senate election in Ohio: Incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) is running against Bernie Moreno (R) and Don Kissick (L) for a fourth term.
New Hampshire gubernatorial election: Joyce Craig (D), Kelly Ayotte (R), and Stephen Villee (L) are running to succeed retiring incumbent Gov. Chris Sununu (R).
North Carolina Attorney General election: Jeff Jackson (D) and Dan Bishop (R) are running to succeed incumbent Josh Stein (D), who is running for Governor of North Carolina.
Michigan Supreme Court: Two seats on the seven-member court are up for election. Republicans need to win both seats to gain a majority and Democrats need to win one seat to retain their majority.
Ohio Supreme Court: Three seats on the seven-member court are up for election. Democrats need to win all three seats to gain a majority and Republicans need to win one seat to retain their majority.
Arizona Legislature: All 30 seats in the state Senate are up for election, with Democrats needing to win two additional seats to gain control of the chamber. All 60 seats in the state House are up, with Democrats needing to win two additional seats to gain control of the chamber.
Alaska House of Representatives: All 40 seats are up for election. Republicans have a 22-13 majority in the chamber. There are also four independents and one nonpartisan member. A multipartisan governing coalition has controlled the chamber since 2016.
Michigan House of Representatives: All 110 seats are up, with Republicans needing to win two additional seats to gain control of the chamber.
New Hampshire Senate: All 24 seats are up, with Democrats needing to win three additional seats to gain control of the chamber.
For an in-depth look at the races included in our list click on the link below. You can also check out other races that we’re following as battlegrounds, here.
50 states in 25 days – Texas and Colorado
Continuing our 50 states in 25 days coverage, today, we will look at what’s on the ballot in Texas and Colorado. Yesterday, we gave our readers a sample of what to expect in Connecticut and Rhode Island. With 10 business days between now and the final Friday before the election, let’s continue looking into what’s on the ballot across the nation.
Texas
Let’s start with a look at some key dates and deadlines in Texas.
- The deadline for registering in person and by mail was Oct. 7. Early voting begins Oct. 21 and ends on Nov. 1.
- All polls open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (local time). Everyone who is in line when the polls close must be allowed to vote. Voters can find polling locations here.
- We’ve listed Texas’ time zone as “local time” because all of Texas is in Central Time except for El Paso and Hudspeth counties, which are in Mountain Time.
- According to USA Today, Texas is one of 15 states with more than one time zone.
What’s on the ballot?
- Texas voters will elect one U.S. Senator and 38 U.S. Representatives. Four districts are open because an incumbent is not running for re-election.
- There will also be a special election to fill the remainder of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee‘s (D) unexpired term.
- Seven seats on the Texas State Board of Education, including two open seats, are up for election. There is also one seat on the ballot for the Texas Railroad Commission.
- Fifteen seats in the state Senate and all 150 seats in the state House are up for election. There is one open seat in the state Senate and 16 in the state House.
- There will also be a special election to fill the remainder of state Rep. Charles Anderson’s (R) unexpired term.
- Three seats on the Texas Supreme Court and three on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are up for election. All three seats on the court of criminal appeals are open. There are also 46 seats up for election on the Texas Intermediate Appellate Court, including 16 open seats.
- There are 28 school boards up for election in Texas. The districts these boards represent are part of the 475 school districts included in Ballotpedia’s coverage of school board elections. This includes all school districts in the nation’s largest cities and school districts.
- Municipal elections will be held in 13 counties and four cities across Texas. Ballotpedia’s coverage scope for local elections includes the nation’s largest cities and state capitals.
- Texas is one of 26 states where we are expanding our local election coverage beyond the nation’s biggest cities, school districts, and state capitals. Including those mentioned above, Ballotpedia will cover elections for offices such as local councils and other county-level positions.
Colorado
Next is Colorado.
- The deadline for registering by mail or online is Oct. 28. For in-person registration, the deadline is Nov. 5. Early voting begins Oct. 21 and ends on Nov. 5.
- All polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mountain Time. Everyone who is in line when the polls close must be allowed to vote. Voters can find polling locations here.
What’s on the ballot?
- Colorado voters will elect eight U.S. Representatives. To learn more about the U.S. House elections in Colorado, click here.
- Colorado is holding elections for three seats on the Board of Regents and four seats on the Board of Education.
- Eighty-three seats in the Legislature are up for election, including 18 seats in the state Senate and all 65 seats in the state House. There are eight open seats in the Senate and 16 in the House.
- Three seats on the Colorado Supreme Court and six seats on the Colorado Court of Appeals are up for election.
- Denver and Adams, Arapahoe, and El Paso counties are holding elections. To read more about the elections in each municipality, click here.
- Voters will decide on 14 statewide ballot measures.
Want to learn more about the elections you’ll be voting in this year? Click here to use our Sample Ballot Lookup tool!
The information above is just a small snippet of the detailed information on Ballotpedia for each state. You can check out our deep dive into Texas’ 2024 elections here and Colorado’s 2024 elections here.
Also, make sure to check back to our hub page, linked below, for future installments of the series.
Did you know that in 28 states (and Washington, D.C.) employers are required to provide you with time off to vote? In 21 of those states, the law requires employers to provide paid time off. Employers in D.C. are also required to provide paid time off.
Other requirements vary from state to state, including the amount of time employees can take off and whether they must provide their employers with advance notice.
Click here to learn more about time off work for voting.