Welcome to Ballotpedia’s Weekly Brew. Each week, we’ll bring you a collection of the most-viewed stories from the Daily Brew, condensed, along with other content from across Ballotpedia that we think you’ll like.
Today’s Weekly Brew brings together content from the week of November 9 - November 13.
This week’s top stories
Here are the Daily Brew stories our subscribers clicked on most this week.
How state party-backed ballot measures fared, and where they outperformed the party's candidates
When state Democratic and Republican parties took opposite sides on statewide ballot measures this year, voters sided with Democrats more often. Of the statewide measures called as of Nov. 6, the Democratic position had a 61% success rate, and the Republican position had a 39% success rate.
Our analysis of state party positions on ballot measures identified endorsements across the 164 statewide measures voters decided in 2026.
The state parties took opposing positions on 70 statewide measures this year, with Republicans backing 50 and Democrats backing 20. Voters decided on 64 statewide measures on Nov. 3 and six earlier in the year.
How election results are made official
This week, we're sharing the 10th installment in our project marking America's 250th anniversary: The Blueprints of Democracy.
Many voters assume that when 100% of the precincts have reported their election returns, an election is over. While it’s true that in the overwhelming majority of elections we know who won and who lost once that 100% reporting figure is reached, the election administration process still has several more steps to complete before the returns are official.
79 candidates that the Democratic Socialists of America endorsed won elections on Nov. 3
The national Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and its local chapters endorsed 164 candidates in 32 states and the District of Columbia running on Nov. 3: one for the U.S. Senate, 10 for the U.S. House of Representatives, 64 for state legislatures, and 89 for local offices. They also took positions on 72 state and local ballot measures.
As of Nov. 10, 79 of those candidates had won and 24 had lost. Results for the remaining 61 have yet to be called.
The DSA website describes itself as "the largest socialist organization in the United States because we're a member-driven mass organization. We believe that working people should run both the economy and civil society, and we show our commitment to this principle by being an organization of, by, and for the working class."
Four new Democratic legislatures will be able to refer constitutional amendments to the ballot in a single session
Democrats have gained control of 12 state legislative chambers, as a result of the Nov. 3 elections, while control of the North Carolina Senate and the Alaska House remains uncalled. These changes could affect which constitutional amendments reach voters in each state.
Four states that allow lawmakers to refer constitutional amendments to voters in one session moved to Democratic legislative control: Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. Michigan previously had divided control, Arizona and New Hampshire had Republican control, and Minnesota had a tied House and Democratic Senate. Georgia and Texas, which also have one-session requirements, shifted from Republican to divided control, as would North Carolina if Republicans retain the Senate.
Steeped in History
Welcome to Steeped in History, a column where every week we'll share a story from America's political past.
From appointee to elected official: A brief look at the transformation of New York City’s mayor’s office
There will be thousands of local elections in 2027 for positions many of us are familiar with, such as city council members and county supervisors. There will also be a number of mayoral races on the ballot. And here’s something people may not know about America’s mayors: for much of our early history, these positions were appointed and largely ceremonial while elected councils had considerable legislative, financial, and executive power.
During the colonial era, colonial governors — who were themselves royal appointees — selected mayors while colonists usually elected their own council members.
Following the American Revolution, local governments kept the mayor-council system they had inherited from the British. But the job of appointing mayors shifted from colonial governors to the elected members of city councils.
Thomas Willett is likely the first such mayor to be appointed in the English colonies. As a teenager, Willett arrived in the Plymouth Colony in 1629. Willett had a unique talent: he was fluent in both Dutch and English, which would become very important to him and to what would one day become New York City.
In 1664, a British fleet arrived in what was then the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam and, without firing a shot, took control of the region. The expedition's leader, Colonel Richard Nicolls, was appointed governor of what became New York, and in turn he appointed Willett, whose language skills had helped facilitate the Dutch surrender, as the first mayor of New York in 1665.
It wasn’t until the early 19th century that some cities began letting voters elect mayors directly. New York City, for example, held its first mayoral election in 1834 following a change in the city’s charter. It would end up being a major test for the residents of this dynamic hub of innovation and commerce.
That election became notorious as one of the most violent in New York history, with armed partisan gangs clashing in the streets, fighting with “knives and clubs,” destroying ballots, attacking rival newspaper offices, and some “ransacking gun shops and arsenals, preparing for all-out chaos.” One man was killed, and twenty others were wounded. Roughly 1200 troops were called out to restore order.
The Democrat, Cornelius Lawrence, defeated the Whig candidate, Guilian Verplanck, by 200 votes. Lawrence served three consecutive one-year terms, losing his re-election bid as the Panic of 1837 shifted voters away from the Democrats and toward the Whigs.
In other news
Go beyond the Daily Brew with Ballotpedia News. Explore this week's headlines below:
- New Democratic trifectas in five states could provide enough electoral votes for National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
- Thirty-four states complete unofficial results reporting by Nov. 10
- The side that raised more money won or is leading in 64% of the 2026 ballot measures with campaign contributions
- Democrats – still divided on federal scholarship tax credit – gain control of five governorships
This week’s read
This week’s read comes from the November edition of State Ballot Measure Monthly, a monthly newsletter that tracks ballot measure certifications and the news that surrounds them.
How statewide ballot measure results compare with candidate results across five policy areas, including taxes, abortion, voter ID, and more.
Candidate results show who voters chose to hold office. Ballot measure results show how voters decided specific policy questions. Voters can elect a candidate while approving a policy the candidate opposes or rejecting one the candidate supports. The following analysis compares statewide ballot measure and candidate results across five policy areas: income and wealth taxes, voter ID, abortion, sex-based requirements for school sports and medical procedures for transgender minors, and criminal justice.
Massachusetts voters submit signatures for a 2028 veto referendum to repeal a recently enacted law permitting abortion after 24 weeks' gestation
In Massachusetts, the Compassionate Care Coalition submitted approximately 100,000 signatures to the state election division in support of a veto referendum that would repeal Massachusetts’ latest legislation concerning abortion. The veto referendum aims to repeal Massachusetts House Bill 5595 (H. 5595). H. 5595 permits abortions in the state of Massachusetts after 24 weeks' gestation "based upon the professional judgment of the physician."
This week’s watch
Chaz Nuttycombe Unpacks the 2026 Midterm Results Across the States
On this episode of On the Ballot: Chaz Nuttycombe returns to talk with Host Norm Leahy about what happened in state legislatures on November 3rd. They discuss the largest net gain in state legislative seats for either party this century, pre-election polls and what Chaz calls “total recall bias,” the chambers that flipped and supermajorities that fell from Texas to Kansas, how data centers shaped races in states like Utah and West Virginia, and what the results could mean for Virginia’s 2027 General Assembly elections and beyond.