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 not account for write-in candidates.

Arkansas, New Jersey, and Texas had no uncontested elections. In Arkansas and Texas, the elections covered were general runoffs, which are always contested by design.  

All elections covered in Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, and Oregon were uncontested. However, only one or two elections were covered in each state. 

December’s rate of uncontested elections was less than the 58% average rate identified between 2018 and 2023.

It also brings the year-to-date rate of uncontested elections to 70%. 

For comparison, since 2018, each year has had more uncontested than contested elections except for one, in 2021, when 50.4% of the elections Ballotpedia covered were contested.