Year: 2025

  • Thirty states have adopted English as an official language, 11 through ballot measures since 1920

    Posted on

    President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order “[designating] English as the official language of the United States” on March 1, 2025. While the federal government had never before provided for an official national language, 30 states have designated English as their official language. Three—Alaska, Hawaii, and South Dakota—also recognize some indigenous languages as co-official…

  • Idaho enacts universal private school choice tax credit, becoming the 14th state with a universal school choice program

    Posted on

    What’s the story? Gov. Brad Little (R) signed House Bill (HB) 93 into law on Feb. 27, 2025, making Idaho the 14th state to adopt a universal private school choice program. Universal private school choice programs provide families with public funds to cover expenses incurred by private education. Vouchers, ESAs, and education tax credits are…

  • Arkansas governor signs four bills revising initiative and referendum rules, including signature gathering period, ballot language approval, and circulator requirements

    Posted on

    Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed four bills into law, changing state and local initiative and referendum processes. The bills are Senate Bill 102, Senate Bill 207, House Bill 1221, and House Bill 1222. Senate Bill 102 (SB 102) applies state initiative requirements to local initiative petitions. Changes include: SB 102 passed with support…

  • Robe & Gavel: SCOTUS concludes February 2025 sitting

    Posted on

    Welcome to the March 3 edition of Robe & Gavel, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S. Give me your hand and give me your love, give me your hand and dance with me. A single flower, and nothing more, a single flower is…

  • Nearly 90% of the country lives in a county that voted for the same presidential candidate from 2016 to 2024

    Posted on

    Welcome to the Monday, March 3, Brew.  By: Briana Ryan Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Nearly 90% of the country live in a county that voted for the same presidential candidate from 2016 to 2024 With President Donald Trump (R) starting the second month of his second term in…

  • ICYMI: Top stories of the week

    Posted on

    Total partisan composition of state legislatures changed by less than one percentage point in 2024 As lawmakers around the country meet in the 2025 legislative sessions, we’re continuing our analysis of the elections that brought them there. In Monday’s Brew, we looked at the seats that changed party hands. In the Nov. 5 elections:  That…

  • The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration, Feb. 28, 2025

    Posted on

    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 511 bills state legislatures acted on in the past week. Weekly highlights The big takeaways from the…

  • President Donald Trump (R) ends February with 48% approval, 48% disapproval

    Posted on

    At the end of Feb., approval polling averages showed President Donald Trump (R) at 48% approval. Forty-eight percent of voters disapproved of his performance. The lowest approval rating he’s received during his presidency is 47%, last seen on Feb. 7, 2025. The highest approval rating Trump has received is 54%, last seen on Jan. 22,…

  • Democratic state financial officers support ESG in letter to regulators

    Posted on

    Seventeen Democratic state financial officers sent a letter to the acting heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Labor (DOL), asking them to not restrict the use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in financial decisions. The letter responds to one sent last month by Republican state financial officers…

  • Following boycott in tied chamber, Minnesota Republicans file recall petitions against state House Democrats

    Posted on

    Welcome to the Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, Brew.  By: Lara Bonatesta Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Following boycott in tied chamber, Minnesota Republicans file recall petitions against state House Democrats Over the past 111 years, there have been 186 recall attempts against state legislators. On Feb. 25, that number…