Nine states will have new signature requirements for citizen initiatives in 2025
The number of valid signatures required to place a citizen initiative on the ballot in nine states will change in 2025. That’s because the 26 states that allow for some form of statewide initiative or referendum base their signature requirements on another number.
The reasons for the changes in signature requirements in 2025 are as follows:
- Seven states had to change their signature requirements due to voter turnout in the Nov. 5 general elections.
- Two states needed to change their requirements due to a change in the number of registered voters.
The average change in signature requirements in those nine states was 12.5%.
Three candidates are running in the nonpartisan primary for Wisconsin’s Superintendent of Public Instruction
In Thursday’s Brew, we previewed Wisconsins’ nonpartisan primary for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Incumbent Jill Underly, Brittany Kinser, and Jeff Wright are running. The top two finishers will then run in a general election on April 1.
The position is one of seven statewide offices up for regular election across all 50 states in 2025. As of Feb. 3, Underly has raised $39,070 and spent $28,131, Kinser has raised $15,000 and spent $0, and Wright has raised $84,793 and spent $5,634.
34 federalism bills introduced in 2025 so far
Among the thousands of bills that lawmakers are considering in state capitals and in Congress this year are several related to the concept of federalism.
Ballotpedia’s Administrative State Legislation Tracker has so far identified 34 federalism bills. These pieces of legislation reflect the ongoing debate about the balance of power between the federal and state governments and address issues from unfunded mandates to federal regulatory authority. In 2024, at least 61 federalism bills were introduced, and eight were enacted.
Twenty-four percent of January’s elections were uncontested
Throughout January, we followed 25 elections in seven states, 24% of which were uncontested. That’s down from December when 44% of the 123 elections we covered were uncontested.
We define an uncontested election as one where the number of candidates on the ballot is less than or equal to the number of seats up for election. Candidates running in uncontested elections are usually guaranteed to win.