Year: 2025

  • Nine states have changed their recount laws in 2025

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    In the 2026 midterms, some elections could be decided by thin margins. In 2024, three U.S. Senate races and six U.S. House races were decided by less than one percentage point. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the states that have been updating their recount laws this year. State recount laws differ…

  • U.S. Supreme Court has granted 83% of the Trump administration’s requests on the emergency docket

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    As of Oct. 1, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court had fully granted 19 of the Donald Trump (R) administration’s emergency applications for intervention in lower court cases, 83% of the decided emergency applications that the administration filed. The court granted in part and denied in part two applications, denied one application, and denied one other…

  • September saw President Donald Trump’s (R) second-lowest monthly executive order total

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    President Donald Trump (R) issued 11 executive orders in September, bringing his second-term total to 209. This is the second-fewest executive orders he has issued in any month of this term. To view each order he issued in September, click here. So far this term, Trump issued the fewest executive orders in June 2025 with…

  • Third quarter federal agency rule count lower at this stage in Trump's presidency than Biden's

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    Federal administrative agencies in the third quarter of the first year of the second Trump administration have issued less proposed and final rules than in the third quarter of the first year under the Biden administration. President Donald Trump (R) issued more presidential documents in Q3 2025 than former President Joe Biden (D) did in Q3…

  • ICYMI: Top stories of the week

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    Voters could decide whether to repeal or keep Missouri's new congressional map in November 2026 The organization People Not Politicians is currently gathering signatures for a veto referendum campaign in Missouri to put the state's redrawn congressional district map on the 2026 ballot, following Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' (R) rejection of the group's initial…

  • The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia's Weekly Digest on Election Administration, October 3, 2025

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    Welcome to The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration. Every Friday, we deliver the latest updates on election policy around the country, including nationwide trends and recent legislative activity.  In this week’s Ballot Bulletin, we cover 28 bills state legislatures acted on in the past week. Weekly highlights The big takeaways from the…

  • President Donald Trump (R) hit 43% approval in September, lowest rating of his second term

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    At the end of September, approval polling averages showed President Donald Trump (R) at 44% approval. Fifty-four percent of voters disapproved of his performance. In early September, Trump received a 43% approval rating, the lowest of his second term. The highest approval rating Trump has received this term is 54%, last seen on Jan. 22,…

  • California voters will decide on a proposition to allow public financing of campaigns in Nov. 2026

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    California voters will decide in 2026 whether to allow state and local governments to create public financing programs for election campaigns under Senate Bill 42 (SB 42), which Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed on Oct. 2. The measure would repeal a prohibition, enacted through Proposition 73 in 1988, on public officers and candidates using or…

  • Voters could decide whether to repeal or keep Missouri's new congressional map in November 2026

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    Welcome to the Friday, Oct. 3, Brew. By: Briana Ryan Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Voters could decide whether to repeal or keep Missouri's new congressional map in November 2026 The organization People Not Politicians is currently gathering signatures for a veto referendum campaign in Missouri to put the…

  • Tracker: Article III federal judicial nominations by president by days in office since 2001

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    There were 50 vacancies out of 890 authorized federal judicial posts as of Sept. 30. Forty-nine of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships. In the past month: By Sept. 30—254 days in office—President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 26 judges…