Welcome to the Friday, April 25, 2025, Brew.
By: Lara Bonatesta
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Why do some states count and report election results faster than others?
- Beyond the Headlines Part One: The Importance of Local Elections and the Quiet Crisis of Uncontested Local Elections
- An early look at Arkansas’s 2026 ballot measures
Why do some states count and report election results faster than others?
If you’ve followed results on election night, you’ve probably noticed that some states seem to count their ballots faster than others. In some states, such as Florida, unofficial election results are reported quickly, with nearly full results available on Election Day or shortly thereafter. In others, such as California, it can take election officials weeks to deliver the same results.
This is because the United States has a decentralized election system, meaning every state has different election administration methods, policies, and priorities. There are also many differences at the local level, with more than 10,000 election administration jurisdictions in the country.
Ballotpedia covers election administration extensively because it helps readers understand the nuts and bolts of democracy. That’s why today, we’re introducing our new report on policies affecting when states count and report ballots, including a case study of Florida and California’s election administration practices.
Let’s look at some of the key parts of the report.
Prevalence and timing of absentee/mail-in and early voting
Depending on the state, the number of ballots cast before Election Day can either speed up or slow down counting and results reporting.
For example, in Arizona, some lawmakers said slower results in the 2020 and 2024 elections were due to an increase in absentee/mail-in ballots returned on Election Day.
Pre-processing, tabulation, and reporting requirements
Policies that govern how and when votes are counted and requirements to report results at specific times can also affect how quickly votes are counted and when results are reported.
Some states allow election officials to scan ballots before or on Election Day, although the results are not compiled until Election Day or released before the polls close in any state. In those states, election officials may simply press a button to add up the previously scanned ballots once polls close. Elsewhere, election officials must scan millions of ballots on or after Election Day.
Resources available to election officials
Another factor that affects ballot processing and counting speed is the resources available to election officials.
That means the number of election officials and volunteers, the availability and type of ballot counting equipment, and the overall number of polling locations or tabulation centers. As the MIT Election Lab noted, “The multitude of approaches to election administration at the local level creates a problem for policymakers striving to set uniform standards for how election resources should be allocated.”
Deadlines to return absentee/mail-in ballots
Because of processing requirements, state laws that require voters to return their ballots before Election Day may result in quicker results reporting. As of April 2025, Louisiana is the only state that requires mail-in ballots to be received before Election Day.
The number of absentee/mail-in ballots that are returned or that need to be processed on Election Day also affects how quickly election results are reported.
Every state requires voters to postmark absentee/mail-in ballots by Election Day. As of the November 2024 election, 18 states counted at least some ballots that arrived after Election Day. Because states report election data differently, it is difficult to get a full picture of the scale of late-arriving ballots.
In some states, like Nevada, less than 1% of the 1.3 million ballots cast in Clark and Washoe counties arrived after Election Day. These ballots may not have been a significant factor in delivering unofficial results. In other states, like Washington, 8.9% of absentee/mail-in ballots counted in the 2024 election arrived after Election Day. In California, nearly 40% of all ballots in 2024 arrived after Election Day. These ballots were more likely to be a factor in slower results.
Other parts of the report
Ballotpedia has also identified several other variables that affect how quickly ballots are counted:
- Provisional ballot rules
- Rules for curing ballots
- The existence of jurisdictions that hand count ballots
Critics of slow election result reporting say it frustrates voters, provides opportunities for the spread of misinformation or disinformation, and is ultimately unnecessary. Other observers say that election administration policies should not prioritize quicker results because it risks disenfranchising eligible voters and may lead to inaccurate election results. To see a more detailed outline of these arguments, click here.
Click here to read the full report, and keep an eye out for next week’s new episode of On the Ballot featuring our Florida and California case study. Click here to find the latest podcast episodes.
Beyond the Headlines Part One: The Importance of Local Elections and the Quiet Crisis of Uncontested Local Elections
When voters think about politics, they might focus on what’s happening at the national level. This makes sense because the media tends to focus its coverage on that level. Occasionally, however, voters may think about state politics, particularly if there is an election for governor underway.
But the further down the ballot we go, to local offices like mayors, city councils, and school boards, the less clear a voter may be of who holds those positions, when the next election will be held, or what the candidates seeking those offices intend to do.
That’s a major problem Ballotpedia is working on right now. The reason is very simple: there are more than 500,000 elected officials in the United States. The overwhelming majority of them serve in local offices. Their responsibilities touch almost every aspect of our lives, from public safety to educating our children. Understanding who these officials are, what they do, how and when they are elected, and what the issues are in those elections is central to the overall health of the American experiment in self-governance.
Ballotpedia devotes considerable staff and volunteer resources to identifying local candidates and covering local elections. In 2024 alone, we covered 69,025 candidates running in 37,048 local elections.
What have we learned from that coverage? I asked our Local Elections Project Manager, Doug Kronaizl, what has surprised him most as he and his team have combed through the filings and the election results of thousands of local races. Doug said, “One of the most surprising things we’ve encountered is how many local elections go uncontested. Throughout 2024, 70% of the elections we covered had only one candidate running — most of these were local contests.”
Which is astonishing. Was that a one-off, the product of unique circumstances tied to the dynamics of a presidential election year? Doug said that on “April 1 of this year, Illinois and Wisconsin held major local elections. Across both states, 80% of the tens of thousands of candidates on the ballot had no competition.”
This should be a far bigger story than it is. When there is no competition for offices, it follows that there is also a lack of civic engagement. It’s not because voters don’t want to be involved — many do. But for various reasons, including the steady erosion of local news coverage in many parts of the country, voters have trouble finding even basic information about local candidates and elections.
Doug said that Ballotpedia’s commitment to covering more local races is a way of countering this growing information desert: “We want our coverage to be another tool in the toolkit for voters to be informed. We also want to give those local candidates a place where they can come and share more information about who they are and why they are running for office.”
On the surface, it looks like Ballotpedia is struggling against insurmountable odds. While we covered 69,025 elections in 2024, that was only a fraction of the number on the ballot that year. What we did cover showed that most local elections are merely ceremonial affairs, without competition, debate, or, in the longer run, accountability.
In next week’s column, I’ll examine the complexity of local election administration. The web of rules, structures, and even language makes covering local races such an enormous challenge.
An early look at Arkansas’s 2026 ballot measures
Arkansas voters will decide on three legislatively-referred constitutional amendments on Nov. 3, 2026. The amendments would expand the constitutional right to bear arms, require citizenship to vote, and allow the creation of economic development districts.
Right to bear arms amendment
Senate Joint Resolution 11 would expand the state’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms to include lawful hunting, recreational use, and other lawful purposes. The amendment would prohibit limitations on the possession and use of ammunition, firearm accessories, or firearm components.
The Senate approved the amendment 28-7 on April 10. The House passed it 86-10 on April 15. The amendment received 23.8% support from Democratic legislators and 99.1% support from Republican legislators.
Forty-four states have a state constitutional right to keep and bear arms similar to the Second Amendment. The exceptions are California, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York. The most recent state to add a constitutional right to bear arms was Iowa in 2022, where 65% of voters approved the measure.
As of November 2024, 24 states, including Arkansas, also had constitutional amendments providing a right to hunt and fish. Arkansas voters approved that amendment 82.8%-17.2% in 2010.
Citizenship requirement to vote
House Joint Resolution 1018 addresses citizenship requirements to vote. Currently, section 1 of Article 3 of the Arkansas Constitution says, “any person may vote in an election in this state” who is “a citizen of the United States,” “a resident of the State of Arkansas,” “at least eighteen (18) years of age,” and “Lawfully registered to vote in the election.”
The amendment would state that “Only a citizen of the United States meeting the qualifications of an elector” may vote in the state and that “A person who does not meet the qualifications of an elector under this section shall not be permitted to vote in any state or local election held in this state.”
The House approved the amendment 82-6 on April 7. The Senate passed it 27-10 on April 14. The amendment received 33.3% support from Democratic legislators and 100% support from Republican legislators.
The amendment will be the 17th statewide ballot measure related to citizenship voting requirements since 2018. Voters in South Dakota and Kansas will also decide on amendments to create citizenship requirements to vote in 2026.
Between 2018 and 2024, voters in 14 states decided on 14 statewide ballot measures addressing citizenship requirements for voting. All were approved.
Economic development districts
Senate Joint Resolution 15 would authorize the Legislature to create Economic Development Districts with the power to issue bonds and use public funds to promote economic development, reduce unemployment or underemployment, and support transportation, commerce, and real estate projects. Property in these districts would be exempt from state and local property taxes but subject to taxes or assessments levied by the district.
The Senate approved the amendment 28-6 on April 14. The House passed it 74-21 on April 16. The measure received 100% support from Democratic legislators and 74.3% support from Republican legislators.
Bond measure
The Legislature also referred a bond issue to the November 2026 ballot. It would authorize the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission to issue up to $500 million in general obligation bonds to fund water-related infrastructure projects, including water treatment and transportation, waste disposal, pollution abatement, drainage, irrigation, flood control, and wetlands and aquatic resources infrastructure.
Process for legislative amendments in Arkansas
In Arkansas, a simple majority vote is required in a single legislative session to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. This amounts to at least 51 votes in the House and 18 in the Senate, assuming no vacancies. Legislative amendments do not require the governor’s signature. The Legislature is limited to referring up to three constitutional amendments to each general election ballot.
Voters decided on 50 ballot measures between 2000 and 2024. Thirty-four were approved, and 16 were defeated.
Click here to learn more about Arkansas’ 2026 ballot measures.