Welcome to the Wednesday, December 4, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- 65% of general elections held on Nov. 5 were uncontested
- President Joe Biden (D) has issued three commutations and one pardon so far in the lame-duck period
- Louisiana voters will decide on ballot measures and offices on Dec. 7
65% of general elections held on Nov. 5 were uncontested
Sixty-five percent of more than 40,000 elections across the country on Nov. 5, 2024, were uncontested, meaning that the sole candidates on the ballot were virtually guaranteed to win each election.
In five states—Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, and Michigan—more than 75% of elections were uncontested. Iowa topped the list: of the 1,902 elections held there, 1,614 (85%) were uncontested. Conversely, the five states with the lowest uncontested rate were New Jersey (0%), New Hampshire (11%), Virginia (19%), Connecticut (23%), and Utah (26%).
The map below shows the percentage of uncontested elections by state out of the 40,646 elections we covered on Nov. 5. Of those, 26,218—or 65%—were uncontested.
Congressional and state elections made up 15% of the roughly 40,000 elections covered. Thirty-one percent of those elections were uncontested.
That leaves local elections as the largest group of elections on a given major election day and the level of government with the highest percentage of uncontested elections.
For several office types—including district and city attorneys, who prosecute crimes, and clerks and auditors, who often run elections—more than 90% of elections were uncontested.
Overall, on Nov. 5, a majority of elections were uncontested across every type of local office we covered, except those for boards of regents (46% uncontested), fire boards (46%), and school boards (45%).
That actual number and percentage of uncontested elections is likely higher than the findings of this analysis. Some states cancel uncontested elections, which affects the available data and decreases the percentage of uncontested elections in those states.
One example is California, where municipalities can cancel uncontested elections under certain circumstances. Of the 2,907 elections we covered there on Nov. 5, 32% were uncontested, but the actual percentage of uncontested elections was higher because several uncontested elections did not appear on the ballot.
Arkansas, similarly, may omit uncontested elections from the general election ballot. But, there, we identified all elections, including those not on the ballot. As a result, of the 2,336 elections identified, 77% were uncontested.
For a historical comparison, through November 2024, we covered 76,780 elections—both primaries and generals—in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories. Of that total, 53,428 (70%) were uncontested and 23,352 (30%) were contested.
On average, between 2018 and 2023, 58% of elections we covered have been uncontested, ranging from a low of 50% in 2021 to a high of 64% in 2020.
The current year-to-date rate of 70% uncontested elections is the highest rate we have covered at this point in the year since data collection began in 2018. The second highest rate of uncontested elections was in 2020, at 65%. The lowest rate at this point was 50% in 2021.
Why do so many elections go uncontested? Earlier this year, The Appleton Post-Crescent’s Sophia Voight joined an episode of Ballotpedia’s On the Ballot to help answer that question and discuss her reporting on uncontested local elections in Wisconsin.
Voight identified the time commitment, the lack or small amount of compensation, and the scrutiny individuals might encounter as several reasons individuals might opt against running for local offices.
Click on the link below to view Ballotpedia’s analysis of uncontested elections throughout 2024.
President Joe Biden has issued three commutations and one pardon since Nov. 5
President Joe Biden (D) has issued three commutations and one pardon so far in the lame-duck period, or the period since the Nov. 5 general election. Biden issued three commutations on Nov. 22 as part of a prisoner swap with China. Biden issued a pardon on Dec. 1 for his son, Hunter Biden.
A pardon is when the president overturns a federal conviction, while a commutation is when a president shortens or reduces a federal prison sentence. Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution grants the president this power. The Constitution imposes two major limits on the power of executive clemency: it’s limited to federal offenses, and the president may not use it to intervene in an impeachment proceeding.
So far during his presidency, Biden has issued 26 pardons and 136 commutations. Historically, presidents often issue a significant number of pardons and commutations during their final months in office. Looking at the eight presidents who served from 1975 to 2021, four issued at least half of their pardons and commutations between election day in their final term and the inauguration of their successor. Donald Trump (R) issued the greatest share of his pardons and commutations during this time period (82%), while Ronald Reagan (R) issued the smallest share (8%).
With three commutations issued in November, Biden has issued the third-most pardons or commutations in the final November of a president’s time in office. George W. Bush (R) issued the most pardons or commutations in November of the lame-duck at 16, while Reagan, Jimmy Carter (D), and Gerald Ford (R) issued none.
Looking at lame-duck periods from 1975 to 2021, five of the eight presidents issued the most pardons and commutations in January. The other three issued the most pardons and commutations in December. See the chart below for a breakdown of monthly pardons that each president issued from 1975 to 2021 and a tally of the pardons and commutations Biden has issued so far.
Louisiana voters will decide on ballot measures and offices on Dec. 7
Louisiana voters will head to the polls on Dec. 7 to decide on several ballot measures and local offices.
Voters will decide on four statewide ballot measures— the final four of 2024. That’s part of the total 159 statewide ballot measures that were certified for the ballot in 41 states this year. So far, for 2025, four measures have been certified for the ballot nationwide. Additionally, six states have already certified eight measures for the 2026 ballot in six states.
We’re also following the results for three local ballot measures in East Baton Rouge Parish, four in Jefferson Parish, and one in West Baton Rouge Parish. That’s part of our coverage of local ballot measures that appear on the ballot for voters within the 100 largest cities in the U.S., within state capitals, and throughout California.
Although this will be the first time voters will decide on those ballot measures, this will be the second time that voters decide on several offices. That’s because Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright with more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
Let’s look at some of the offices within our coverage scope on the Dec. 7 ballot.
Orleans Parish School Board
Gabriela Biro (D) and Eric Jones (D) are running in the general election to represent District 2 on the Orleans Parish School Board. Jones received 43.9% of the vote in the nonpartisan primary, and Biro received 30.1%. A third candidate, Chan Tucker (D), received 25.9%.
East Baton Rouge Metro Council
Voters will also decide on two East Baton Rouge Metro Council seats. Incumbent Brandon Noel (R) and Eric Smith Sr.(D) are running in the general election for District 1. Noel received 45.4% of the vote in the nonpartisan primary, and Smith received 37.8%. A third candidate, Gary Price (R), received 16.8%.
Eugene Collins (D) and Anthony Kenney (D) are running in the general election for District 2. Collins received 34.3% of the vote in the nonpartisan primary, and Kenney received 30.7%. Additionally, Dina Johnson (D) and Tia Mills (D) received 17.7% and 17.4% of the vote, respectively.
Mayor of Baton Rouge
Incumbent Mayor Sharon Weston Broome (D) and Emile Edwards (R) are running in the Mayor of Baton Rouge general election. In the nonpartisan primary, Edwards received 34.4% of the vote, and Broome received 31.2% in a field of eight candidates.
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