Welcome to the Thursday, Oct. 23, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- This year’s statewide ballot measures were written at the highest reading level since 2017
- A look at local battleground elections happening on Nov. 4
- On the Ballot breaks down the elections happening in New Jersey on Nov. 4
This year’s statewide ballot measures were written at the highest reading level since 2017
Voters in nine states are deciding on 30 statewide ballot measures this year. According to our new report, voters in some states will need the equivalent of a doctoral degree to be able to understand the ballot language used to summarize these measures.
The language for those 30 measures was written at an average readability grade level of 21, equivalent to a doctorate degree. That’s the highest level since 2017, when we started following the data.
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), our report measures the accessibility of these texts based on objective factors, such as the number of syllables, words, and sentences in a text. These readability grade levels focus solely on language structure, not the complexity of the ideas themselves.
The following bar charts illustrate the average grade level for ballot titles and summaries. The year with the lowest ballot title grade was 2019, with 15, and the year with the highest was 2025, with 21.
A ballot title is the official language that a voter sees for a ballot measure on the ballot. This year, New York has the lowest average grade level for a ballot title or question, with a level of eight years of education for one measure. The highest average level is 26 in Maine, which has two measures on the ballot. The average number of words in a ballot title was 52, ranging from 16 words in California to 298 in Ohio.
Citizen initiatives are written at a higher reading level than legislative referrals, with initiatives having an average of 26 years of education and referrals having an average of 20 years. Additionally, statutes are written at a higher reading level than constitutional amendments, with constitutional amendments averaging 20 years and statutes averaging 25 years.
Since ballot measures often consist of multiple pages of legal text, each state assigns a person or group to write a shorter title for voters to read on the ballot. The responsibility for drafting this language varies by state. State boards drafted ballot titles at the lowest reading level. Secretaries of state drafted titles at the highest reading level.
Of this year’s statewide measures, only California’s Proposition 50 includes a ballot summary in addition to the ballot question. The measure would allow the state to use a new, legislature-drawn congressional district map for 2026 through 2030. The reading levels for Proposition 50’s ballot question and summary were each 20 years of education.
The ballot measure with the highest ballot title grade level, at 39, is Louisiana Amendment 2, which proposed several changes to tax and budget policies. Voters defeated that measure 35.3% to 64.7%. While no formal education level, including post-graduate, corresponds to a 39th-grade level, this indicates that the language structure is advanced or difficult, based on the FKGL.
The ballot measure with the lowest ballot title grade level, at 8, is New York Proposal 1, a constitutional amendment addressing the Mount Van Hoevenberg Complex and Adirondack Park. Based on FKGL, this is equivalent to an 8th-grade reading level.
The longest ballot title, with 298 words, is for Ohio Issue 2, which allowed the state to issue up to $2.5 billion in general obligation bonds to assist local governments in funding public infrastructure improvement projects. Voters approved this measure 67.8% to 32.2%.
The shortest ballot title, with 13 words, is for Texas Proposition 16, a constitutional amendment to provide that “persons who are not citizens of the United States” cannot vote in Texas.
Click here to read this year’s report on ballot measure readability.
A look at local battleground elections happening on Nov. 4
There are less than two weeks to go until Election Day, and Ballotpedia will cover more than 10,000 elections on Nov. 4. To help our readers understand what’s at stake, the Daily Brew will feature previews of key elections from now through Election Day. To see what elections we’re covering in your area, check out our Sample Ballot Lookup Tool.
Yesterday, we told you about the mayoral elections happening on Nov. 4. Today, we’re looking at the battleground elections happening for other local offices. In total, we’ll cover 13,750 elections for local offices across 29 states on Election Day.
Philadelphia District Attorney
Incumbent Lawrence Krasner (D) and Patrick F. Dugan (R) are running in the general election. Krasner defeated Dugan 64% to 36% in the Democratic primary. Dugan won the Republican nomination as a write-in candidate and announced after the primaries that he would run as the Republican nominee.
WHYY Radio’s Carmen Russell-Sluchansky wrote, “The contest pits two competing philosophies against each other: Krasner’s commitment to continuing to overhaul a historically punitive system and Dugan’s pledge to restore a sense of safety.”
Observers, such as Northeast Times‘ Tom Waring, have compared Dugan’s campaign to that of Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala (D). In 2023, Zappala lost the primary but won re-election as a Republican. Although appearing on the ballot as a Republican, Dugan says he is not running as a partisan candidate and described himself as “running as an independent Democrat.”
Plumas Unified School District, California
Keith Barnett and Matthew De La Montanya are running in the nonpartisan special election for District 5 of the Plumas Unified School District, California.
Incumbent Leslie Edlund resigned from the board on April 2. As a result, the board decided to pick a successor to serve the remainder of Edlund’s term, which expires in December 2026. Barnett and De La Montanya were the only two candidates to apply for the seat. On May 12, the board voted 2-1 in favor of Barnett, but under state law, the vote was invalid due to the absence of one member. On May 14, the board reconvened with all members and split 2-2 on who to appoint. Subsequently, Plumas County Office of Education Superintendent Andrea Ceresola-White asked the district’s superintendent, Jim Frost, about the next steps. Frost recommended that either White make an appointment or that she call a special election. On June 2, White called for a special election, which the board approved on June 18.
Albuquerque Public Schools, New Mexico
Four seats on the seven-member nonpartisan board of education are up for election. Incumbents Danielle Gonzales and Courtney Jackson are running for re-election.
Albuquerque Journal‘s Noah Alcala Bach writes, “Historically, the local teachers union, the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, and the metro’s business community power players, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and the local chapter of NAIOP, a commercial real estate organization, have been key organizations in the battle for power on the APS board.”
The Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce endorsed Gonzales, Jackson, David Ams, and Joshua Martinez. The Albuquerque Teachers Federation endorsed Betzen, Warigia Margaret Bowman, and Kristin Wood-Hegner. The union did not endorse a candidate for District 5.
Currently, the seven-member board includes three members who are affiliated with the business community and three who are affiliated with the teachers’ union. One is not affiliated with either side.
Mentor Exempted Village School District, Ohio
Three seats on the five-member nonpartisan board of education are up for election. Incumbent Maggie Cook is running for re-election. This election could affect which ideology has a majority on the board.
Cook and two other candidates (Robert Haag and Daniel Hardesty) are running as a slate. Cook and Haag are Democratic-affiliated, while Hardesty identifies as nonpartisan. The other slate includes Robert Izzo, Linda O’Brien, and Don Schutz, and they are Republican-affiliated.
If the Cook, Haag, and Hardesty slate wins the election, there will continue to be a progressive majority on the board. If Izzo, O’Brien, and Schutz wins the election, there will be a conservative majority.
South-Western City Schools, Ohio
Three seats on the five-member nonpartisan board of education are up for election. Incumbents Camille Peterson and Chris Boso are running for re-election.
The six candidates are running on two separate slates. Although the board is officially nonpartisan, the ideological control of the board is at stake. The Franklin County Republican Party endorsed four of the five members of the board (Peterson is the exception) in previous elections. Both local Democrats and Republicans have endorsed opposing slates.
County executive election in King County, Washington
The last battleground election we are featuring is for executive of King County, Washington.
This election effectively features two progressive candidates, and is the first election since 2009 without former incumbent Dow Constantine on the ballot. Instead, King County Councilmembers Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay are running this November.
Despite similar platforms and credentials, Democrats and progressive organizations have split their endorsements between the two candidates. Balducci’s endorsements include Washington Auditor Pat McCarthy (D), U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D), The Seattle Times, and SEIU Local 925. Zahilay’s endorsements include Gov. Bob Ferguson (D), Washington Attorney General Nick Brown (D), U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D), and Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.
Click here to view our local battleground election coverage this year.
On the Ballot breaks down the elections happening in New Jersey on Nov. 4
In this episode of On the Ballot, we’re headed to New Jersey to break down the state’s upcoming elections. NJ.com’s Brent Johnson and Ballotpedia’s Briana Ryan join our host Norm Leahy to break down what’s happening and why it matters.
Among the elections on the ballot are those for governor and lieutenant governor, all 80 seats in the General Assembly, and a state legislative special election.
To listen to this episode and more, click here. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to On the Ballot on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast. Plus, if you’re a New Jersey voter click here to learn more about what you can expect to see on your ballot.